American Airlines is trying this to keep business travellers out of the cheap seats

American Airlines has high hopes for its new strategy to compete with LCCs by offering cheap, zero-frill fares. By offering bargain basement tickets, American can raise fares for business travellers unwilling to do without “extras” such as seat selection and the ability to stash items in overhead bins, the airline’s executives said Friday. “Clearly the product features (on basic economy) — not changeable, not upgrade-able, as well as no seat selection — are effective variants for business travellers,” said Derek Kerr, American’s CFO. “This is really all about tapping into the willingness to pay for existing product.” Introducing tickets that are cheaper but come with a bevy of restrictions will make American’s full-service products look better, he said. <br/>