Basic economy fares; major US airlines push the ULCCs

Overall, the roll-out of segmented fares by the three large global US airlines during the past year seems to have produced positive results. But there has also been some churn in the evolution of tiered fares, as United pulled back on an aggressive roll-out of its Basic Economy offering and American has adjusted product accoutrements of its lowest fare offering to become more competitive with Delta.

Even with those adjustments, the upsell rates from basic economy for American and Delta remain solid, which bodes well for each company reaching its respective revenue goals from segmented fare schemes.

There has obviously been some effect on US ULCCs from a larger pool of lower fares in the US marketplace, and during the past year Spirit has worked to shore up operations and its product. And although Spirit's revenue growth was solid in 1H2018, pressure on its fares remains intact.