[equestria]

But that's not making the actual price lower. There are few situations where you don't need carry-on, so almost everyone will end up booking a "cheaper" flight, but then paying extra for carry-on.

In fact, obfuscation like that probably allows the airline to charge you more, because you don't get to see all the fees until you commit.

[umanwizard]

> There are few situations where you don't need carry-on

I have taken tons of flights where I didn’t need a carry on. Either because I already needed to check a bag, or because everything I needed fit in my personal item.

> you don’t get to see all the fees until you commit.

Not true in my experience. Whenever I’ve booked basic economy it seems like they’re very clear about what’s not included.

[equestria]

So you paid another fee for a checked bag (or soon will, given that more and more airlines are converging on that). Either way, you're paying less for the base fare, but more for extras that most passengers need and that used to be free.

As for the second part, I meant "by the time you looked at the dates and hours and clicked on a specific flight".

[arcticbull]

I've never seen an airline that doesn't allow you to confirm what all the fees for ancillary services would be at the time of booking, and if you need to do it right after you pay there's usually a 24h window to refund after booking for no fee.