Delta's Basic Economy seats will be gone for good in October

Remember when booking a flight meant two choices — first class or coach? And seats in both classes came with “perks” like actually knowing where on the plane you were going to sit?

Those days are long gone, and now you practically need a special dictionary to navigate all the different terms that airlines have for various seating categories and classes.

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Understanding the differences can be extremely important, as your seat class can affect not just the price, but also when you can board, what you can bring on the plane, whether you are entitled to a refund if you cancel, and more.

If you did have that dictionary, though, you'd have to update it soon for one major airline. That's because Delta is doing away with Basic Economy seats starting October 1. The airline is eliminating this entire seat category and folding base-level fare into a new class of seats called Delta Main.

This isn't just a name change. Delta Main is actually going to have three different “experience options,” according to the airline's press release on the change. Depending on which option you choose, you may get more or fewer perks than the simple Basic Economy used to offer.

Confused yet? Here's what you need to know about the new seating products on Delta flights starting with October bookings.

Delta's new seating options may take some getting used to.

Image source: Guay/AFP via Getty Images

Delta's new seat options offer more flexibility, but it can be harder to figure out what to book

Starting in October, Delta is going to have five broad categories of seating options. While this is arguably entirely too many to keep track of, the new options include:

Delta Main, which is replacing Main Cabin seating
Delta Comfort, which is replacing Delta Comfort+
Delta First, which is the name for first class
Delta Premium Select
Delta One

Basic economy seats are now becoming part of Delta Main, but will be called Delta Main Basic.

This is the cheapest ticket option, and there are a host of restrictions, including not getting assigned a seat until after you check in, boarding in Zone 8, no cancellations except for partial eCredits after being charged a fee, and no Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQD) earned for your trip.

With this entry-level fare, you aren't allowed into the Sky Club, even with credentials. But at least they do still let you on the plane.

Seat perks only go up from there, with those who opt for Main Classic getting to earn MQD at a rate of 5 miles per dollar, as well as becoming eligible for fee-free cancellation and the ability to pick your seat. And upgrading to Extra means you can actually get a refund instead of a credit, and you'll earn 7 MQD per dollar for flying.

Delta claims this will provide more flexibility to travelers

Delta has promised this switch will be simple to navigate, with a “modernized” shopping layout on the website and app, making it easy to tell which ticket class offers the perks you want.

“Our reimagined shopping experience gives customers more options and flexibility to pick the travel experience that works best for them, and a full picture of all the benefits of flying with Delta,” explained Eric Phillips, S.V.P. and chief digital officer, in the press release revealing the changes.

Still, customers may not necessarily want to have to pick from more than half a dozen different fare classes when they're just trying to visit Grandma or book a trip to the beach.

While it's nice that airlines are apparently trying to offer more flexibility and avoid making people pay fees for things they don't really value that much — like getting an assigned seat — it would be a whole lot nicer if airlines would just stop charging so much for all this stuff that used to be a standard part of any ticket.

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Of course, that's about as likely to happen as a Delta Main Basic customer not getting stuck with the middle seat or one in the back of the plane.