United Airlines debuts basic economy fare hot on the heels of American Airlines

United Airlines Tuesday afternoon announced the rollout of its basic economy fare within hours of American Airlines debuting its basic economy fare this morning. But United is taking a different tack than AA did with its introduction of the new basic economy fare designed to make legacy carriers more competitive with ultra low-cost carriers. United is introducing basic economy fares in just one market initially, Minneapolis/St. Paul, for travel to and from 7 principal United hub markets, including Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, NY/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United said the move to introduce basic economy for travel to and from just one market was to "ensure a smooth rollout." The new fare class will be expanded to the rest of the US, Caribbean and short-haul routes to Latin America at a future date. <br/>