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{{Short description|Identifier for airline fare types}}
A '''fare basis code''' (often just referred to as a '''fare basis''') is an
Airlines can create any number of booking or fare classes, to which different prices and booking conditions may apply. Fare classes are complicated and vary from airline to airline. The meaning of these codes is not often known by the passenger, but conveys information to airline staff; for example, they may indicate that a ticket was fully paid, discounted, part of an excursion package, or purchased through a loyalty scheme.
Fare codes start with a letter called a '''booking code''' (indicating [[travel class]] among other things) which almost always matches the letter code that the reservation is booked in.<ref name="cranky">{{cite web | url=http://crankyflier.com/2007/07/25/fun-with-fare-basis-codes/ | title=The Cranky Flier, Fun with Fare Basis Codes | year=2007 | accessdate=19 December 2013}}</ref> Other letters or numbers may follow. Typically a fare basis will be 3 to 7 characters long,<ref name="gbtp">{{cite book | title=A Guide to Becoming a Travel Professional | author=Todd/Ginger, Rice, Susan | year=2005 | page=244}}</ref> but can be up to 8.<ref name="cranky"/>▼
▲Fare codes start with a letter called a '''booking
== Booking class ==▼
▲== Booking class ==
The first character of the fare basis code is always a letter, and will almost always match the booking class.<ref name="gal">{{cite book | title=Galileo 360(degrees). V1 Course book. | publisher=Galileo Travelport | year=2009 | page=9}}</ref> Booking codes are the identifiers used by the airline's [[revenue management]] department to control how many seats can be sold at a particular fare level.
Booking codes were defined by [[International Air Transport Association|IATA]],{{cn|date=February 2018}} but airlines have deviated from the IATA standard and current booking codes are airline-specific.<ref name="gal12">{{cite book | title=Galileo 360(degrees). V1 Course book. Galileo Travelport. 2009. | page=12}}</ref> The same code may have different meanings for tickets issued by different airlines. Many airlines use nearly all
{| class="wikitable"
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! Meaning
|-
|
| full-fare [[First class (aviation)|First class]],<ref name="gal1316">{{cite book | title=Galileo 360(degrees). V1 Course book. Galileo Travelport. 2009. | year=2009 | pages=13–16}}</ref>
| full-fare [[Economy class]]▼
|-
| J
| full-fare [[Business class]]
|-
|
| full-fare [[Premium economy]]<ref>on airlines that offer it, may be some discount economy on airlines without it such as [[Turkish Airlines]]</ref>
▲| [[First class (aviation)|First class]]<ref name="gal1316">{{cite book | title=Galileo 360(degrees). V1 Course book. Galileo Travelport. 2009. | year=2009 | pages=13–16}}</ref>, on airlines which have first class distinct from business class.
|-
| Y
▲| full-fare [[Economy class]]
|}
== Other common patterns ==
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| H or L
| Other than first letter
| High or low season
|-
| W or X
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| OW
|On higher level fares, normally follows the initial booking code.
| One
|-
| RT
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| Return fare
|-
| Two
|Usually at the end of the code, except if followed by "CH" or "IN
| Fare
|-
| CH
| Last two characters
|Child fare
|-
| IN
| Last two characters
|Infant fare
|}
== Airline
There is an endless list of other codes on modern fares.
* '''Codes that indicate an airline's common name for a fare'''. As a hypothetical example, an airline selling what they refer to as their "Super-Saver" fare may use SPRSVR in the fare basis, or may use it as the entire code.
* '''Codes that limit a fare to a particular company or organisation'''. An airline may negotiate a fare with the XYZ company and include these letters in their fare basis. Negotiated fares are normally only visible to agents that have a contract to sell them, and are not publicly listed.
* '''Codes for use with military personnel, or federal government employees'''. These are commonly used in the United States, and often indicate fares with minimal or no restrictions on changes and refunds.
* '''ID''' and '''AD''' used for airline staff (Industry Discount) and travel agency staff (Agent Discount). It may include a number indicating the percentage of discount from the full fare, e.g., AD75.
== Fare details ==
Each published fare basis code corresponds to a fare, which applies to travelling between two cities on a certain airline, with certain restrictions.
These restrictions can include, but not limited to:
* which particular flights can / cannot be taken on this fare
* whether the fare can be used for one-way / round-trip journeys
* changeability / refundability
* restrictions on connections and stopovers
* any minimum / maximum stay requirement (applicable for round-trip fares)
* whether [[open jaw]] is allowed or not
* combinability with other fares
* advanced purchase restrictions
which is published in [[legalese]] such that it can be validated automatically by [[global distribution system]]s.
== Fare construction ==
Fare construction refers to the application of fares which can cover the flights in the reservation, necessary to price the air ticket for issuance.
It is commonly presented as a single line with standardized codes<ref>[https://servicehub.amadeus.com/c/portal/view-solution/774026/en_US/fare-calculation-symbols-and-explanations Fare Calculation Symbols and Explanations, Amadeus]</ref> which can be used for travel agents to price the ticket in [[global distribution system]]s. For example, a fare construction may say:
{|class=wikitable
|-
|HKG||SU||X/MOW||SU||KGD||598.78SCLA||/-RIX||SU||X/MOW||SU||HKG||371.37ACLA||NUC 970.15||END||ROE 7.849222||XT 160G3 120HK 45I5 105RI 33LV 61XM 713YQ
|-
|from [[Hong Kong]]||by [[Aeroflot]]||transfer in [[Moscow]]||by [[Aeroflot]]||to [[Kaliningrad]]||598.78 on fare SCLA||[[arrival unknown]] to [[Riga]]||by [[Aeroflot]]||transfer at [[Moscow]]||by [[Aeroflot]]||to [[Hong Kong]]||371.37 on fare ACLA||total fare in [[Neutral unit of construction|NUC]]|| end of fare ||rate of exchange|| the various taxes, fees and charges added in ticketing currency
|}
Fare construction is a complicated task because each fare comes with a lot of rules regarding the usage, however the rules are designed to be validatable by computers so the system can decide to accept or reject easily. Most commonly fare construction is done by a computer automatically, but it is not guaranteed that the lowest fares can be found. Due to the above reason, or in case when the automatically generated fare has some restrictions which the traveller does not want, manual fare construction can also be done, which means finding the suitable fares manually and applying the fares to an itinerary in order to buy a ticket.
== Multiple fare basis ==
It is common for a multi-sector air ticket to have more than one fare basis, particularly if it is for carriage on more than one airline, or different classes of travel are involved. The issuing airline may often have an interline agreement to allow other airlines on the ticket. One disadvantage of this system is that if any change is made, the most restrictive fare rule, and/or the highest change fee, may apply to the entire ticket, not just the portion being changed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://businesstravel.about.com/od/faqs/g/Glossary-Fare-Basis.htm |title=What is a Fare Basis (or fare code)? |publisher=Businesstravel.about.com |date=2014-03-03 |
== Global Distribution Systems ==
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== Tickets ==
The fare basis is normally shown on the air ticket. On older paper tickets, it was highlighted on the relevant coupon for that flight. On modern e-tickets, it is often printed under the flight details.
==See also==
* [[Travel class]]
== References ==
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[[Category:Airline tickets]]
[[Category:Pricing]]
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