Delta Fare Class Tickets? What do they mean???
 

I am trying to book tickets from Atlanta to Venice, with a return from Barcelona to Atlanta. (I am taking a long cruise next fall).

On the Delta site they list NINE fare classes in coach alone.

They are:
T
U
L
K
Q
H
M
B
Y

Can anyone help me here? I have searched the Delta site, I have googled, there doesn't seem to be any answers or explanation as to why they would need 9 separate categories for tickets in coach. It is beyond ridiculous.

Is there a Delta employee out there who can explain this to me? I have been on hold with Delta now close to 30 min and I am getting impatient and thought someone in Fodor's might have the answer.

Thanks bunches for any answers.

The fares are from lowest discounted to unrestricted full fare. Unless you're interested upgrades or elite qualification miles, you don't really need to concern yourself with fare classes. An example of where this comes into play is if you wanted to upgrade using miles, you can only upgrade Y/B/M fares.

I guess that is what confuses me. If Y, B and M classes are upgradeable, why not just have (1) "upgradeable" fare instead of three, and why have (5) that aren't? Why not just have 2 classes of coach fares, upgradeable and non-upgradeable? These airlines just baffle me sometimes.

Thanks so much for the reply.

The airlines seem almost secretive about what the difference between the codes is.

Sometimes it is something as simple as how long before the flight the ticket is sold. A discount ticket sold within 14 days of the flight would probably have a different fare code than one sold more than 14 days before the flight. A discount ticket that earns miles will probably have a different code than one that doesn't earn miles.

I doubt a phone agent would have the information, so calling them may be a waste of time. If you really want to know what the codes mean, go to their web site and try to buy a ticket, limiting your search to a specific code. When they display the link to the rules governing that ticket (the link we all apparently ignore), click on the link and see what all the requirements for that code are; then do it again and again until you have seen all the codes. Be aware, of course, that their displaying the information is dependent upon ticket availability (if they are sold out of that type of ticket for your date, or if you are looking for a ticket that cannot be sold because some date has passed), you will not get that information unless you do more searches for that fare code.

Then you will have the information for one airline, unless they amend it, but since each airline has their own coding, you would have to do it for each airline you are considering. I personally don't think the detailed information is worth the effort of getting it.

They're not secretive; they just use market segmentation like any other big business. Why does GM produce umpteen brands of cars and umpteen models within each marque?

The fare codes will all be different with respect to advance purchase restrictions, refund or change fees, upgradeable or not, routing restrictions, seasonality, frequent flyer mileage yields, and so on. The more restrictive the rules, the cheaper the ticket. The cheapest tickets also sell first, so the longer you wait the higher the cost will likely be. It's all part of a complex process called yield or revenue management, a system devised years ago by some Spawn of Satan who couldn't make it in the exciting world of actuarial science. Oh, sorry - that was an editorial comment.

gardyloo, oh that's great! and dead on about the spawn of satan! i spent 6 years in 2 different airline corporate sales, so i get it somewhat. wanderlust, don't concern yourself too much with the fare classes. the bottom line is "Y" is the most expensive, and the least restrictive. "T" would be the least expensive, and the most restrictive. and yes, those two economy seats are right next to each other. just try to get the best price. good luck!

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all the feedback.

And yes, I agree with the Spawn of Satan comment. Well put.

"It's all part of a complex process called yield or revenue management, a system devised years ago by some Spawn of Satan who couldn't make it in the exciting world of actuarial science."

And on another thread there will be posters complaining about getting offloaded and how to get compensation and another thread encouraging posters to not show up for their flights and throw away return parts of tickets.