Should Qantas, Virgin introduce 'Basic Economy' fares?

American Airlines is the latest of the Big Three in the US to launch 'Basic Economy' fares, allegedly cheaper fares with no hand luggage apart from one very small bag to fit under the seat in front of you, pre-assigned seating, reduced earning of points and status credits, no upgrades and as you would expect no changes to the ticket, it's "use it or lose it".

Small bag only would be the only issue I have. I haven't travelled with check luggage in years. I manage to get everything into a roll-aboard. Maybe if it was a day trip only this could work. Apart from that, if the price is a fair bit cheaper than a standard seat, I could see it being very popular.

I can't see it happening here in Australia due to our flights being used liked bus services. If you were to stand at the baggage carousel for a flight between a major city (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth) you'll find that hardly and bags are actually checked.

QANTAS and VIRGIN have this already... in the form of JETSTAR and TIGER

Like everything these past 20 years, it's a race to the bottom HOWEVER not everyone wants the bottom YET no one writes about this. The word Porsche and cheap don't match so why would anyone support SQ to provide cheaper that Scoot / Tiger fares on their aircraft? Just let people who want cheap to fly cheap.

US airline companies in Economy are more like cattle trucks, they charge for checked baggage & food & don't always run on time. Booking on no fills airline Economy fare in Australia is for the birds, can't see Virgin or Qantas wanting to do that. There are cheap airlines for those that feel the need.