Ever wanted to decipher those tricky American fare codes efficiently without having to read through the fair rules? Help me make a guide to figuring out American fare codes!
Does anyone know what the 26 means in the Y26 fare basis code (or F26, Y26UP, etc.)? I've been told it means you can only use the fare on AA, but why use "26" for this?
Here's my understanding so far. Parts may be inaccurate or not apply to all fares.
first letter:
booking class (except for UP fares)
first number (other than 26): domestic: advance purchase requirement. if it is 0, same day ticketing is allowed, but waitlisting is not.
second number: minimum stay requirement
third number: maximum stay requirement
A: one-way
R: round-trip
AP: advance purchase
BIZ/BZN: instant purchase non-refundable fares for business travelers--no Saturday night stay requirement, 30-day maximum stay
FS: flight-specific
J/JFK: JFK only
N/NR: non-refundable
Z: restricted, which may mean confirmation required (possibly refundable though)
AA: Web-only fare
UP: instant upgrade into different booking class
GB: originate in GB, following number is year of fare applicability
US: originate in US
E: minimum stay requirement (Saturday unless overridden by second number)
M: Saturday stay requirement (second number becomes maximum stay)
C: next number is change fee
second position:
P: peak season
H: high season
K: shoulder season
L: low season
M: other seasonal restriction
third position:
W: Sun 12:01a-Mon 11:59a, Thu noon-Sat 11:59a
X: not on Fri or Sun
B: weekend (Thu/Fri-Mon, no Sun with X)
S: midweek (Tue-Thu or Tue-Wed, also Mon with X)
F: specific times (e.g. daily 8:45a-9:45a)
O: specific times and dates (e.g. Tue/Wed 8:45a-9:45a)
A: advance ticketing required
R: reservation confirmation required
D: ??? (appears on shorter flights)
last position:
S: fuel surcharge
G: restricted day of first travel
X: restricted day of first travel
Yes, I am a geek. I will edit this message to include your submissions/corrections. For all I know there is an official source of this information, for which I would be eternally grateful.