Delta offers a bare-bones ticket -- no refunds, no exchanges

While the recent trend among most airlines is to introduce higher-fare seats with extra legroom and no baggage fees, Delta Air Lines is moving in the other direction.

The nation’s largest carrier announced the addition of “basic economy” seating, the airline’s lowest-fare offer.

The ultra-low-cost seats started in mid-March and are only offered at select routes, primarily Detroit to the Florida cities of Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.

The basic economy seats are about $12 to $20 cheaper than regular economy seats but the tickets are nonrefundable and no cancellations or changes will be allowed once the tickets are purchased.

Also, passengers do not get advance seat selection with basic economy. The seats are automatically assigned by computers. Still, passengers who buy the low-fare tickets can earn frequent flier reward points and the seats qualify for complimentary upgrades for elite-status passengers.

Delta officials declined to say if or when the new ticket option would be expanded. “We are testing it in markets that we think are a good fit for this product,” said Delta spokesman Paul Skrbec.

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