For my recent trip to Oahu, this time to surprise my dad and take him out for his 80th birthday, I decided to fly basic economy. I’m here this week.
At first, I was planning on stacking in first class for $1,600 RoundRiptrip because the plane was on a Boeing 777 300er, my favorite plane with Solo First Class sleeping flat beds next to the window. But in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to pay much, mainly because of my hard work.
We had a strong stock market in 2025 that part of me felt like it was waiting for me to behave. After all, I sold my old house in the first quarter of 2025 and bought a dip with 80% of my home sales going on in March and April.
But just as I was about to buy a first class ticket, I noticed something else. I haven’t suffered in a very long time, and the longer I go without discomfort, the softer and lazier I turn. You should check out my growing package! So I decided to accept the suffering of the first world by booking not just the economy, but the basic economy.
The joy of basic economics
When I was about to check out for $460 standard dollars, United hit me with a $60 upsell to select a window seat. That felt like obstacles and change. And upgrading to Economy Plus would cost around $750, which was not desirable for the extra four inches of legroom, especially since I’m five feet five inches tall.
So, in true financial fashion, I declined the Upsell and booked basic economy for $360. In basic economy, you can’t choose your seat, and you’re limited to carrying a bag that fits under the seat in front of you. Based on what I read, I wouldn’t know my seat assignment until the gate, which meant I needed to arrive earlier than usual.
We had to change our morning routine. Instead of leaving home at 8:15 to get the kids to school at 8:27 am, we left at 7:40 am so I was able to drop them off at 7:53 am and still successfully leave at 9:30 am.
Without the hassle, paying $360 feels totally worth it. You get to the same place at the same time no matter what you fly. I took the big difference between first class and basic economy, and invested $1,100 of my money Fundrise Activity my children’s account.
I’m glad I did because Microsoft, Nvidia, and anthropic created a partnership that now values anthropic at $350 billion. And anthropic is a participating site in Fundrise Venture.
Winning the lottery is the basis of economics
The Sunday before my flight, I played basketball until ten at night hoping to tire myself out enough to sleep on one lung for a long time on the plane. It worked, as I ended up sleeping for about an hour and a half at four hours and forty four minutes. Here are the basic economics of economics.
The first lottery win: can be entered online
I received an unexpected text from the cloud. It said:
“Your New Perk. Basic economy customers can now check in online and get a digital boarding pass.”
This removed all worries about needing to go through a counter or gate. I was expecting a two step process, but instead the basic economy felt suddenly in the general economy and the economy and so on.
Second lottery win: short safety line
United Now operates an international terminal for some flights in Hawaii. This means that the safety line was eight percent shorter than the average home line. I quickly passed and arrived at the gate at eight seven on my nine flight.
As a matter of fact, I only spent 17 minutes from the time I arrived at the airport to reach my gate. With 35 minutes to spare before boarding, I treated myself to a lunch box for teflerariath TOFURARANI.
Third lottery win: Early entry
The flight was on time and arrived twenty-two minutes early. My last connecting flights just happened to be late, so this felt lucky.
Fourth Lottery Lottery – Big:
I avoided seat 51e, the dreaded seat. Because I arrived early, I asked the gate agent if he could change my seat. I asked for any window seat since I like to lean against the wall for more space.
He said he changed me to 46l but I couldn’t print the new boarding pass. That was fine with me. When I logged in again, he said the change didn’t go through. He tried twice before asking me to ride and hope to get ahead while the line behind me grew longer.
I stayed in the attack for more than twenty minutes. When they finally closed the door, I realized I had gotten a window seat after all. That seat would have effectively cost twenty five hundred dollars if I had booked economy and paid more for seat selection.
With $160 saved against the economy, I bought Poké from Tamura’s market for my parents, sister, and me.
Basic economics is not a brain saver
My seat fits his seat perfectly, something that is not always allowed in economy. He supported my way AA Lot But it was good. He was flying to Hawaii for his thirty-fifth birthday.
I was tempted to use the hilarious “I can meet you on the line” suggested by billionaire investor Bill Ackman, but no need. We naturally ended up talking about her ten day trip to Hawaii five years ago, how much she enjoyed living in the Richmond area of San Francisco, and my Big Plan to surprise my dad.
The plane turned out to be one of the most fun travel experiences, especially since I was able to make up for the time difference due to daylight savings. I thought we had another hour in the air, so waking up from my exit and seeing that we were arriving at the beginning of the world was an unexpected bonus.
The basic economy ended up being the clear winner. And honestly, after this experience, I’m not sure if any level of pay or wealth would make me pay for first class again. Paying for four first class seats so my whole family feels more secure.
It is best to be under six feet tall. Besides the long life benefit, it’s good to fit almost any seat and save money at the same time.
He wants the next attempt to suffer
With this luck but in the end he failed to try and suffer, maybe I need to find new ways to hold myself back. Maybe I should teach my kids tennis to save the $160 an hour in private tuition fees and put up with the occasional strip. Oh wait, I’m already doing that.
Finally, I realize that there is also an interesting part of basic economics that I enjoy.
Although I expected to sit in the middle seat, it is not guaranteed. You can always get lucky and end up with a knee bashing aisle seat or you can get a middle class seat. If you like to gamble or invest, there is a little fun in not knowing. You may suffer or you may be lucky.
Are you feeling lucky? I always do it so I like to experiment.
Readers, what are your thoughts on flying basic economy? With such a low price, why not try it? And do you have a first world suffering in the world that would make you send it or someone else and increase our appreciation for life? How much do you need to feel comfortable paying for a first class seat?
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