flying economy coach?

[onescgirl]

I'm looking to book a flight to NYC for my family in November.
I'm looking at package deals on Expedia & Hotwire.
On Expedia the prices are cheaper choosing Economy/Coach flight, but the price really goes up if I choose Premium Economy flight.
I want to get the cheaper price of Economy/Coach. By booking that, does it just mean that our family of four would probably not sit together? Or, is there a change we would be bumped from flight when checking in?
I'm not an experienced flyer at all as this will be my 1st flight in 23 years and 1st time for kids.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[adelaster]

I think this depends on the airline. Any idea which they are using?

 

[SirDuff]

Usually, "Premium Economy" is a separate cabin - not as good as business but better than economy. But that is more common on international flights in my experience (Air Canada has it as does Air France). "Economy/Coach" is just normal coach - the actual booking class will tell you if you have something like "Basic Economy" which is where you may have different rules about choosing seats/luggage/carry-ons/etc.). As the PP asked, what route (you say NYC, but not sure where you start - I don't see signatures if you have it there) and what airline(s)?

 

[DVCTX]

Make sure that Expedia is not showing Basic Economy. This is a new fare class that does not allow seat selection, does not guarantee seats together, does not allow for free use of the overhead bins (except for Delta) and does not allow any ticket changes.

 

[Klayfish]

I'm looking to book a flight to NYC for my family in November.
I'm looking at package deals on Expedia & Hotwire.
On Expedia the prices are cheaper choosing Economy/Coach flight, but the price really goes up if I choose Premium Economy flight.
I want to get the cheaper price of Economy/Coach. By booking that, does it just mean that our family of four would probably not sit together? Or, is there a change we would be bumped from flight when checking in?
I'm not an experienced flyer at all as this will be my 1st flight in 23 years and 1st time for kids.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Depends on the airline. Some let you chose your seat in advance for no extra charge (JetBlue for example), some will let you pick in advance, but for a charge. If you don't pick the seats in advance, yes you may get separated. They will try to accommodate, but can't guarantee. So if you want to be 100% certain to sit together, best bet is to pay for the seats.

Southwest Airlines does a "first come, first serve" seating. You don't pick the seat ahead of time (unless you pay for advanced boarding). First person to check in (24 hours in advance of the flight) gets on the plane first, second gets on second, etc... So you can pick your seat then, but frankly I hate that method.

 

[gottalovepluto]

In general here's how it goes now:
Basic economy- not always offered is a stripped down fares (no carry-on, no pre-selected seats, last to board, etc. changes depending on airline)
Economy/Coach- the coach fare you're familiar with
Premium economy- coach fare with some combination of extra leg room, free drinks, premium snacks (varies a lot depending on the airline, has as many different names as their are airlines- Delta Comfort+, United Economy Plus, American Main Cabin Extra)

I tried to research an answer by reading websites but I found it easier to go look myself. I plugged in a dummy booking on Expedia and it is clear when you are booking a basic economy fare. I'm going to try to add my screenshots here for you to see what it looks like on Expedia when a basic economy fare is offered.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

In general here's how it goes now:
Basic economy- not always offered is a stripped down fares (no carry-on, no pre-selected seats, last to board, etc. changes depending on airline)
Economy/Coach- the coach fare you're familiar with
Premium economy- coach fare with some combination of extra leg room, free drinks, premium snacks (varies a lot depending on the airline, has as many different names as their are airlines- Delta Comfort+, United Economy Plus, American Main Cabin Extra)

This is a good description. If sitting together is important to you and your family, you will want to pick economy/coach at a minimum. Seats for basic economy are selected for you, and there is no guarantee that you will be sitting with other members of your party.