Starting January 3, 2025, carry-on baggage will no longer be included with Air Canada’s Basic Economy fare.
If you have already purchased or wish to purchase a Basic Economy ticket up to and including January 2, 2025, you will not be charged.
All passengers purchasing a Basic Economy ticket on or after January 3, 2025 will be able to bring only one personal item on board.
A personal item must meet the following dimensions:
So if you don’t want to pay between $35 and $42 to check in your carry-on bag, select Standard, Flex, Comfort, Latitude, Economy Preferred or Business Class.
If a passenger wishes to bring acarry-onwith a ticket purchased at the basic economy fare from January 3, 2025, they will have to pay to check it in on the following flights:
A cabin bag (carry-on) has the following maximum dimensions:
Aeroplan Elite members holding a Basic Economy ticket will still be able to bring one personal item and one standard carry-on bag on board free of charge.
In addition, a passenger who has purchased a basic economy fare for flights with international connections will also be able to continue to bring one standard item and one personal item in the cabin free of charge.
If you purchase a Basic Economy ticket after January 3, 2025 and do not want to pay for your carry-on baggage, you can check it in for free with an Aeroplan credit card such as:
Air Canada seems to be following the trend of other airlines such as WestJet, which launched an UltraBase fare in June 2024, including no cabin baggage.
At Air Canada, the basic fare includes automatic allocation of free seats at check-in for passengers who have declined the pre-selection fee when booking.
As of January 21, 2025, passengers with a basic fare ticket who have received a seat automatically, but want to change it because it doesn’t suit them, will now have to pay.
Unlike cabin baggage changes, seat allocation for your Basic Economy fare journey will be based on the date of travel, not the date of ticket purchase:
For Aeroplan Elite members, Star Alliance Gold status holders, and Aeroplan Prestige credit cardholders, seat selection rules remain unchanged.
In April 2024, Air Canada had tried to charge to change seats at check-in for Economy and Standard fares, but had backed down in its decision.
There is some good news for passengers taking the Comfort Fare from January 3, 2025.
At present, the fare includes only one checked bag. Anyone purchasing a Comfort fare ticket on or after January 3, 2025 will now be entitled to two free checked bags to any destination worldwide.
Savings are here:
