Skift Take

Air Canada's new spectrum of fare classes released may rub some casual and frequent flyers the wrong way. Everyone else may appreciate the precise targeting that the airline has built up for every type of traveler.

Montreal-based Air Canada launched a new spectrum of fare classes last week to better compete with low-cost carriers.

Like similar products at American, Delta, and United, Air Canada’s new fares include a “basic” option that effectively strips any perks from the ticket, and squeezes out ancillary revenue for amenities like checked bags or seat selection. Unlike American and United, though, Air Canada has taken it a step further to completely segment the economy cabin into five tiers where each fare offers a different set of perks and flexibility. In this way, the airline seems to be following in Delta’s footsteps toward precisely segmenting the cabin for specific types of customers and extracting revenue at each tier.

Frequent flyers may find the new fare structure disturbing as only the top three out of five tiers earn full frequent flyer miles. But for everyone else, the ability to purchase only exactly what’s needed on each ticket may prove useful.

For feedback or news tips, reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet me @grantkmartin.

— Grant Martin, Business of Loyalty Editor

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Skift Business of Loyalty Editor Grant Martin [[email protected]] curates the Skift Business of Loyalty newsletter. Skift emails the newsletter every Monday.

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Tags: air canada, business travel, corporate travel, loyalty, red lion

Photo credit: Air Canada has introduced a new series of fare classes.

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