The 50th state airline is following the lead of the 49th state airline and is updating their logo. I'm always in favor of planes that aren't all white.
Should you buy United Airlines Basic Economy fares? It's a surprisingly complicated answer, so I drew it out in a Visio diagram. It comes down to do you care about where you sit and qualifying for elite status. The less you care, the less you pay.
Alaska Airlines presenting these bad options when checking out. It looks amaturish and might encourage cart abandonment. Next time just keep those choices to yourself Alaska.