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Why American Airlines Brought Big Bags Back to Basic Economy

Andrew Sheivachman

Photo Caption: American Airlines President Robert Isom (right) on stage Skift Global Forum in New York. Erika Adams

Skift Take

American Airlines hopes that newer, nicer planes will resonate with its customers. After success with increased fare segmentation, though, it will be interesting to see how the airline drives revenue on its new fleet.

As the big three major U.S. air carriers have moved to fight back against low-cost carriers, emulating basic economy fares has become a fascinating challenge. Eroding the quality of service in order to compete on fare price is easier said than done. When American Airlines introduced its basic economy fares with restrictions on bag size, it quickly realized that the fare's value proposition wasn't resonating with its customers. "One of

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