The airline booking codes are a short assortment of numbers and letters that act like a unique identifier for a flight reservation. This allows the airline staff or experienced travelers to understand what type of ticket they are holding just by having a glance at the reservation code. It generally holds a lot of information in a small space, such as details on fare types, travel dates, selected travel cabins, restrictions related to the ticket, and more. The main focus is to make it easier to access critical information without needing to search through a long list of data.
Though there are general guidelines for how airlines should structure their booking codes, every airline eventually goes for its own unique codes and formatting. This makes it impossible to create a single, universal system that works across all airlines. Let’s gather more information about airline booking codes and what they look like!
What’s The Meaning Behind Your Reservation Code?
An airline booking code might appear as a combination of seemingly random letters and numbers. But it contains a coded message that conveys details about a specific flight reservation. Every character holds meaning based on the airline’s unique reservation system. Think of it as a secret language that only the airline’s reservation system and office staff can decipher. The reservation code helps the airline team track things like fare type, travel dates, and passenger details faster with a single code.
Booking Class
In this section, we will focus more on the fare basis code, which is represented by a single letter within the booking code. The very first letter in the booking code is the fare basic code that signifies the category of your ticket (bookings class), such as economy, business, or first class. This is the most significant part of the code, as it immediately explains the services associated with the selected fare. In short, this will be the key identifier for the type of seat you have purchased on the flight.
Think of fare class as a label on an airplane seat that informs you about the cost and rules applied to that particular seat. While every class is being identified by a single alphabet, the letter might not be the same across most airlines. To make things easier for you, we have discussed some letters that mean the same things for most airlines. For instance, “Y” stands for standard economy, and it’s almost the same across many airlines. The possibility of varying letters according to different airlines is still there. As long as you understand what each letter means, you are good to go!
The following are some basic codes that mean basically the same in most airlines:
- Y – Economy Class Tickets (full fare)
- W: Premium Economy (full fare)
- J – Business Class Tickets (full fare)
- F – First Class Tickets (full fare)
- K, L – Economy (discounted)
- A, D – First and Business Class (discounted)
When booking a flight with Delta and United Airlines, there is no such class marketed by the “F” code. Instead, the highest fare class you can choose is denoted by “J,” which usually represents a full-fare business class ticket. These airlines have stopped putting “F” in their booking code (representing a first-class ticket).
Eligibility For Upgrading
In most cases, travelers need to have a certain booking class in order to request a cabin upgrade to a higher ticket class. We will illustrate this by understanding the fare class British Airways.
According to British Airways’ fare guidelines, passengers holding the cheapest economy tickets with booking codes Q, O, or G are not allowed to upgrade their tickets to a higher cabin. To be honest, this is understandable, as it would clearly destroy the purpose of offering premium economy tickets. Why would anyone purchase a ticket worth around $1,000 premium economy ticket when they can upgrade to a higher cabin with just a $200 economy ticket with a bunch of Avios?
In fact, airlines like United heavily consider the specific fare class you purchased while deciding the priority on the upgrade list.
Earning Miles
Different reservation codes correspond to different mileage earning rates. This means that a passenger with a higher fare class can earn more miles than a discounted fare class. In a way, the more expensive your ticket, the more miles you will earn and accumulate to purchase a future flight or related services.
Qualification for Elite Status
Airlines booking codes not only help in determining the number of miles you can earn on your flight, but they are a huge factor in deciding what elite status you can get closer to. In simple terms, if you have a lower fare code, which is cheaper than higher fare classes, you will get fewer miles or points on a flight. All in all, the chances of qualifying for the elite status are very low!
Cancelling A Flight Ticket
Since travel plans can unexpectedly shift due to various reasons like bad weather, illness, wanting to extend your stay period or sudden emergencies, it’s crucial to know your options related to the airline’s ticket cancellation rules. This way, you will be aware of the options available to you at the moment.
The thing is that not all tickets have the same cancellation policies. This means that you can actually lose more money if you need to cancel one type of ticket compared to another. However, people with a higher booking code are not affected by this. But those who book cheap flights get a nonrefundable ticket. There is no specific booking code for nonrefundable flight tickets.
Fortunately, you can check the flight cancellation guidelines easily on the airline ticket page.
Learn From United Airlines Fare Basis Codes
Taking the example of the United fare classes, we will see how the fare class code works. For starters, airline cabins are categorized into four classes, which are sometimes called fare buckets! As mentioned above, United Airlines also labels its fare classes within the booking code a little differently. Check out the information below for a clear understanding.
| First/ Business Class Tickets | Premium Plus Tickets | Economy Class Tickets |
| Full fare: J High fare: C, D Discounted fare: Z Significantly discounted fare: P | High fare: O Discounted fare: A Significantly discounted fare: R | Highest full fare: Y Full fare: B High fare: M, E, H, U Discounted fare: Q, V, W Deep-discounted fare: L, K, S, T Lowest discounted fare: G Basic economy: N (on domestic flights). |
In the fare classes United shared above, airline staff can determine whether a passenger paid the full price for that ticket or received a discounted price. The different fare classes resonate with different price levels, with some representing full fares and others deep-discounted tickets.
How To Identify Your Fare Class United?
When you are searching for flight tickets on United Airlines’ portal, you can check the fare classes listed below each ticket type. For instance, the United H class will be written under the relatively high fare within the economy class. If you decide to shop for flight tickets on the online travel agency’s website, you can check the codes under the “Details” option.
Similarly, the United Economy l meaning shows that your flight is deeply discounted, indicating that the ticket is significantly cheaper than the standard price. Likewise, the fare codes K, S, and T mean the same.
If you need to amend your reservation, it is advisable to book tickets directly from the airline’s official website to avoid dealing with third-party sites.
Using Airlines Booking Code To Your Advantage
After going through the detailed explanation of basic knowledge about booking and fare basic codes, we must apply this information to real-world situations. We will be discussing how familiarizing yourself with the airlines booking code can help you with flight bookings, attempting to move from theory to practical application.
Upgrade Availability and Awarded Flights
The process of booking an “award flight,” the one you purchase with miles or points, can be difficult and complex. It’s more challenging when you are trying to get a seat in premium cabins like business or first class. This is because airlines sometimes reserve special access to these premium seats for their loyal customers. Such passengers are known as “elite status members” or credit card holders with high spending.
The best example of this would be United Airlines, where cardholders and elite members can book more award seats than other passengers. The airline releases more seats to the XN and IN fare classes for these members. If you need to book a flight quickly, especially when the departure date is close, having access to the following booking classes can be very helpful.
- JN – High-cost first and business class award flight (elites and credit cardholders).
- IN – Low-cost first and business class award flight (elite members).
- YN – High-cost economy class award (elites and credit cardholders).
- XN – low-cost economy class award (elites and credit cardholders)
Higher Chances of Cabin Upgrades
If you want to use your frequent flyer miles to upgrade to business class, buying a slightly more expensive economy ticket (not the cheapest option) gives you the best chance of successfully upgrading, as many airlines restrict upgrades from very low-priced economy tickets to business class. What most people do is that they go on and purchase a flight in a low-fare class, which lowers the chances of getting cabin upgrades.
By understanding your booking class through the basic fare codes, you can save and avoid the mistake of purchasing a low ticket class. Taking the example of fare codes United, you can not upgrade fares that are deeply discounted, such as the W, S, T, L, K, G, and N fare classes.
However, keep in mind that when an airline decides who to give the free upgrade to on a domestic flight, the most important factor will be the loyalty program status. In this case, whether you have the elite status or have the gold membership. After that, the airline will consider the second most important factor, i.e., the fare class of your ticket. Unfortunately, the higher the fare class is, the more expensive it is going to be, but it does give you a better shot at getting an upgrade.
Get Great Deals on Infant/ Child Fares
Traveling with your family member is not light on your pocket, the travel charges can significantly go up, especially when you are flying with infants (children under 2 years of age). If you are planning to fly with your children, you must go for these fare classes to save big bucks on expenses:
- IN – Known as infant fare, it offers up to 10% discount on adult fare.
- CH – This fare will offer up to 50% discount off of an adult fare.
Be mindful that when you see a percentage figure related to a ticket cost, it is calculated based on the price of the ticket itself unless specifically said otherwise. This states that when you purchase a business class award ticket for $10,000, you will have to pay 10% of that fare for the lap ticket (a ticket for an infant sitting on an adult’s lap), leading to only $1000 in addition to your travel expenses. This is actually better than paying the full amount of a ticket for your infant, who’s not even going to need a seat throughout the journey.
Earn Miles at a Higher Rate
As we discussed earlier how, different fare classes impact your miles earning rate, making it slower for some and faster for those with higher status. In case you are almost at a higher tier and close to earning an elite status level, you must earn the loyalty points quickly! For this purpose, you will have to choose a flight ticket with a certain fare class that will help you earn more miles per dollar spent. Since different ticket types can give you different “multipliers” of miles based on the fare class you purchase.
Having the right knowledge of the booking codes and smart selection of fare classes while booking a flight can significantly increase your chances of reaching a high loyalty status. You can actually earn status like “Executive Platinum” with an airline, which is generally reserved for frequent flyers with a large number of miles flown. This is just one perfect example of how a profound understanding of airline booking codes can make you win-or-bust your frequent flyer travel experience.
Know Your Ticket Flexibility
None of us has the power to anticipate changes to our travel plans. However, if you need flexibility with your ticket rules and are certain that you might need to cancel your trip, you should not buy a ticket with a “nonrefundable” tag. It’s basically a ticket that does not get any money back if you cancel your flight. Instead, you should choose a more flexible ticket option that enables making changes and cancellations without losing the full cost.
For instance, you get waitlisted for an award ticket, and based on the available information, it’s very likely you will get the seat you want. Let’s also assume that if you don’t get the ticket, you will be left with booked accommodations that cannot be fully realized. The only solution in this case is to book a ticket with more flexibility. If you are confirmed on the award flight, you can cancel the flexible ticket you bought, minimizing the risk of losing money on your travel plans.
The best way to find out if a ticket ticket is refundable is by using your knowledge on the “fare basis.” It will provide specific details about the cancellation policy for the selected ticket price.
Last But Not Least!
Finally, you have reached the last bits of this informative guide! Airlines booking codes and fare basis are hard-to-decipher codes used by airlines to define a type of ticket. This usually includes details pertaining to price, restrictions, and eligible changes. While most travelers would not know what they mean, experienced travelers can use the shared information to plan strategically and book their flights to get the best deals at reasonable rates.
While the shared explanation is focused on understanding booking codes primarily for United Airlines and British Airways, there are many other airlines with different systems creating “fare basis codes.” This makes it hard to interpret these codes across different airlines because there is no universal standard for how to create them globally.
Luckily, we have broken down every detail on this page for you. You are now equipped with resourceful information on the airline booking codes.
Questions You Might Have:
The airline ticket codes are a combination of strings of random alphanumeric characters that help airline staff determine the type of ticket and the services associated with it.
The letter displayed on United flight tickets represents the selected fare class. For instance, United Economy S meaning a deep-discounted economy fare.
The codes on plane tickets are a combination of numbers and letters that contain information on fare class, passenger name, boarding order, and more.
The letter “U” on a flight usually denotes a high-fare class in an economy cabin. It can also refer to a discounted main cabin fare class on some airlines.
Yes. Based on your MileagePlus status, you can request to upgrade from United Premium Economy (United XN) to Business Class.
The fare class with an “X” code on United Airlines means the saver economy award space. This seat is available for all customer and partner redemptions.
In the context of booking codes, the lowest fare signifies the cheapest available ticket price for a specific flight.
The fare basis code is usually the first letter within the booking code, which is a unique identifier for a specific fare class on an airline.
You can locate your fare basis code printed on the ticket and under the selected flight details.
United Airlines uses a variety of fare codes, including J, C, D, Y, B, M, and more. These codes indicate fare class and ticket type.
United Airlines denotes its basic economy with fare code “N” on the ticket of domestic flights.
Yes. The fare code “K” can denote basic economy on some airlines, such as United Airlines.
