Fare basis code: Difference between revisions

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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.

Fare codes start with a letter called a '''booking codeclass''' (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"/>

== 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 farebooking typeclass 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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! Meaning

|-

| YF

| 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.

| full-fare [[Economy class]]

|-

| FJ

| full-fare [[EconomyBusiness class]]

|-

| W

| full-fare [[Premium economy]]<ref>on airlines that offer it, may be some discount economy on airlines without it such as [[Turkish Airlines]]</ref>

|-

|J Y

| full-fare [[BusinessEconomy class]]

|-

| F

| [[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.

|}