Originally Posted by
IAHtraveler
For the actual travel, you'll get the same service. However, a few differences in the fares would be:
-Fare options (maybe refundable, or the fees are different to make changes)
-Different cost to upgrade using copay/miles (as you noted)
-You'll get 150% of the mileage toward elite status for Y/B fares and get 2 elite points. With other non-BusinessFirst fare classes, you'll get a maximum of 100% elite mileage and 1 elite point (to count toward your elite status)
Someone else mentioned that the last seat on a flight will likely be available only at the Y fare. Other reasons for buying a Y fare might include:
- Advance purchase requirement. Sometimes if you must travel on very short notice, Y is the only coach fare that has no advance purchase requirement, even if seats in M or B are still available.
- Minimum stay requirement. Sometimes, your visit may be so short that you don't meet any of the minimum-stay requirements of discount fares.
In short, there are a great many reasons why passengers book Y fares, but rarely would they do so unless one of the above reasons came into play.