Most business travelers want to avoid basic economy fares at all costs (literally). The Hopper travel search app offers a new feature designed to help you identify the hidden costs of basic economy, or avoid that airfare class altogether. The Hopper flight search app just gained a new feature. It’s called the Fair Bear, and though the name is corny, the big fuzzy animal might save you some money — or at least some aggravation. The Fair Bear’s goal in life is to point out all the add-on costs a flight itinerary may present you. As more airlines get into ‘basic economy’ fares, it’s a welcome if, at least for now, limited new feature. The basics on basic economy fares Delta started introducing basic economy fares in 2012. More recently, American and United are in various stages of rolling out basic economy fares. The idea: Squash upstart, no-frills carriers like Spirit and Frontier Airlines. The airlines position the fares a bit differently, of course, as a way to give price-sensitive travelers more options. Basic economy fares mean you forgo advance seat assignment, refunds, changes, any hope of early boarding, and eligibility for upgrades, and you can only carry on a small personal item, like a laptop bag. You’ll also be charged extra to recline your seat, turn on the little air blower above your head, or bring aboard your own food. (I kid.) Basic economy may not even make economic sense. The “new basic economy class seats are expected to be in many cases the same price as the standard economy fare, meaning travelers will get less for the same price,” The New York Times recently reported. Also, when using some travel search tools like Google Flights or Kayak, it’s not especially easy to spot a no-frills flight. And in a quick spot check, neither of these tools allows you to filter out basic economy fares. The Fair Bear cares The Hopper app’s Fair Bear alerts you when you’ve landed on a no-frills itinerary. In a Minneapolis to Denver flight on Spirit, for instance, I could easily see that carry-on bags are allowed with purchase; how much the first and second checked bags cost; and that seat selection was ‘available for purchase.’ I was also given links to Spirit.com’s pages about its cancellation and change policies. And when you start researching a trip, you can tap the ‘Filters’ button and deselect the ‘Basic Fares’ option, so you won’t see basic economy fares at all. What Fair Bear didn’t do, at least in my tests, was to let me choose, say, the carry-on bag and seat selection options and then roll the additional costs into the fare, so I could really see what I’d be spending. Still, if you’re looking to avoid basic economy, or at least want to have some idea up front what the hidden fees may be, add Hopper to your travel search apps. Heads up: As of this writing, the Fair Bear has shown up only in the Hopper Android app, though it’s expected on iOS any day now. Related content opinion 3 top travel apps worth revisiting TripAdvisor, Kayak, and TripIt have been around for years. But they keep getting more powerful and more useful with new features. By James A. Martin May 09, 2017 4 mins Mobile Apps Consumer Electronics opinion Amazon Echo Dot gets more portable and better sound from Vaux A new speaker/dock called Vaux gives Echo Dot two things Amazon left out. But does that make Echo Dot and Vaux a better buy than Amazon Tap? By James A. Martin Apr 29, 2017 2 mins Amazon.com Gadgets Mobile Apps opinion Who's smartest — Alexa, Siri, Cortana, or Google Assistant? You won't be shocked to learn that Apple's Siri virtual assistant has the best sense of humor. But you might be surprised to learn which virtual assistant is the smartestu2014and which one is no. 2 with a bullet. By James A. Martin Apr 27, 2017 4 mins Gadgets Mobile Apps Artificial Intelligence opinion Does the world need a Windows smartwatch? The answer is, 'yes,' if you like the idea of a commercial-grade wearable for retail, hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing. But the track record of squeezing Windows into a small device isn't good. By James A. Martin Apr 26, 2017 4 mins Wearables Mobile Apps Consumer Electronics Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe