It Gets Worse: Delta Basic Business Cancellations Cost $500

As reported by AwardWallet, Delta added steep cancellation fees to the basic premium fares it launched earlier this month. Canceling a Basic Business ticket now costs $500. Delta Premium Select Basic runs $400, and Delta First Basic runs $300. Main Basic and Comfort Basic stay where they were, at $99 domestically and $199 on long-haul international routes.

These are cancel-for-eCredit fees, deducted from whatever the ticket was worth. Delta's own policy notes that if the fee is larger than the ticket value, no eCredit is issued.

Premium Select Basic and Basic Business are only sold on a handful of routes right now, mostly to Italy, and Delta is charging roughly $400 more round-trip to skip the basic fare in business class.

Andrew's Take

Something's grim about paying four figures for a lie-flat seat and then getting nickel-and-dimed like you bought a $79 basic economy fare. You can't pick where you sit, and moving your trip costs $500. Business class used to mean the airline stopped charging you for extras once you booked. This version just feels cheap, and not in the way anyone wanted.