OT: Expertflyer.com
Jan 22, 2007, 11:26 am
#31
Join Date: Mar 2002
Programs: QF Platinum (OW Emerald); QF Lifestime Silver; BD Diamond Club Gold (*A Gold)
Posts: 4,786
Expressed most simply, a YY fare allows you to change carrier and routing (within maximum permitted mileage) at whim, subject to the fare rules governing the class you paid for and availability. YY fares are based on the full-fare (or as your research may have indicated 
otherwise) from point to point.
So, for example:
A simple point-to-point on the most discounted fare offered by BA LON-JFK offers a fare of GBP 73 (after taxes and other questionable charges, the fare level we're more accustomed to, just north of GBP 200).
Jump up to fully flexible Y on a specific carrier and the cheapest for the random dates I put in is DL, offering the fare for GBP for GBP 888 + taxes. That would buy me a simple LON-JFK ticket.
Jumping up further still, should I elect to buy the YY fare (determined by the airline pricing cartel otherwise known as IATA) I would be relieved of GBP 1,958. More than enough than is needed to comfortably buy a J seat on the same routing with many carriers.
However, the fringe benefit is that I get my point-to-point (around 3,450 miles each way) plus an allowance to use on any carrier, any routing up to the MPM , in this example, of 4,149 miles. I can still exceed this, up to 25% over the original MPM, but for each 5% band that I do, each way, I will be liable for 5/10/15/20/25% of the equivalent one-way fare.
So if you're on a mileage run, have wits about you enough to understand the rule construction of these fares and have some 'creative' routing ideas, it's worth considering.
Incidentally, this is usually more worthwhile the higher the fare class you go. In the example given, the YY fare for C/J leaps up to GBP 4,641 + taxes (which would comfortably buy you a fully flexible F ticket on many carrier-specific point-to-point fares).
At the end of the day, it's roughly equivalent to buying a premium branded product from an own store (think Prada mainline from an own-branded store) or going to a discounted retailer which may offer exactly the same item for a fraction of the price.
The internet offers many wonderful possibilities, the 'cheap' fare search engines that are so heavily marketed are not usually among them.
I've probably already disclosed far too much and will likely get a roasting from better-informed board sages.
otherwise) from point to point.So, for example:
A simple point-to-point on the most discounted fare offered by BA LON-JFK offers a fare of GBP 73 (after taxes and other questionable charges, the fare level we're more accustomed to, just north of GBP 200).
Jump up to fully flexible Y on a specific carrier and the cheapest for the random dates I put in is DL, offering the fare for GBP for GBP 888 + taxes. That would buy me a simple LON-JFK ticket.
Jumping up further still, should I elect to buy the YY fare (determined by the airline pricing cartel otherwise known as IATA) I would be relieved of GBP 1,958. More than enough than is needed to comfortably buy a J seat on the same routing with many carriers.
However, the fringe benefit is that I get my point-to-point (around 3,450 miles each way) plus an allowance to use on any carrier, any routing up to the MPM , in this example, of 4,149 miles. I can still exceed this, up to 25% over the original MPM, but for each 5% band that I do, each way, I will be liable for 5/10/15/20/25% of the equivalent one-way fare.
So if you're on a mileage run, have wits about you enough to understand the rule construction of these fares and have some 'creative' routing ideas, it's worth considering.
Incidentally, this is usually more worthwhile the higher the fare class you go. In the example given, the YY fare for C/J leaps up to GBP 4,641 + taxes (which would comfortably buy you a fully flexible F ticket on many carrier-specific point-to-point fares).
At the end of the day, it's roughly equivalent to buying a premium branded product from an own store (think Prada mainline from an own-branded store) or going to a discounted retailer which may offer exactly the same item for a fraction of the price.
The internet offers many wonderful possibilities, the 'cheap' fare search engines that are so heavily marketed are not usually among them.
I've probably already disclosed far too much and will likely get a roasting from better-informed board sages.
