Fare basis code: Difference between revisions

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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 alphabetic or alpha-numeric code used by airlines to identify a fare type and allow airline staff and travel agents to find the rules applicable to that fare. Although airlines now set their own fare basis codes, there are some patterns that have evolved over the years and may still be in use.

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 class''' (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 class''' (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 | accessdateaccess-date=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"/>

== 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. For example, a plane may have 25 economy seats still available and the airline may show it in a reservation system as <code>Y7 K5 M4 T6 E3</code> which indicates how many of each booking class can be reserved. Some codes cannot be sold by agents, and those seats may be reserved for international connections, loyalty programs, or airline staff relocation.

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 letters of the alphabet to allow finer yield management. Nevertheless, certain booking codes have retained the same meaning across most airlines:

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| 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>, on airlines which have first class distinct from business class.

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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 |accessdateaccess-date=2014-04-24 |archive-date=2014-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412165100/http://businesstravel.about.com/od/faqs/g/Glossary-Fare-Basis.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== 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:Aviation]]

[[Category:Pricing]]