Originally Posted by
hydrogen
Sorry for this very newbie question...
I was looking at fare information on EF and the system gives a list of fares. The price on these fares is often lower than what I get when I go directly on the operating carrier's website. Does this mean that the fares EF displays are bookable? If so, how do I book them, since the operating carrier's website does not show these fares. Would I have to call the airline directly?
Thanks!
There are two components that go into how much you'll pay for an airline ticket: fares and availability. You need both.
Airlines publish a lot of fares, all of which have certain requirements. Cheaper fares tend to have more requirements and restrictions than more expensive fares, including advance purchase requirements, Saturday night stay requirements, day of travel restrictions, that sort of thing. So just because you see a low fare published doesn't necessarily mean you qualify for it based on your travel plans.
Each fare has specific classes it will let you book into. Usually, this is determined by the first letter of the fare basis code. For example, TA14A0NA usually books you into T class. (There are exceptions where it gets a bit more complicated, but I won't muddy the waters with them just yet.)
Once you have determined which fares you are eligible for, you must search the flight's inventory to see if there is availability in that fare class. Airlines have a hierarchy. For example, Delta's fare class hierarchy is F P A for First Class and Y B M H Q K L U T E for Economy, in decreasing order. You'll see inventory displays like:
Code:
F8 P7 A5 Y5 B3 M3 H2 Q1 K0 L0 U0 T0 E0
In order for you to book a ticket, there must be (1) a fare you qualify for
and (2) availability in the relevant fare class. So in this example, even if your itinerary qualified for the TA14A0NA fare, there is no T inventory. Delta is only willing to sell seats on this plane at a higher fare: Q and up.
Sometimes the opposite happens. There might be lots of inventory even in the lowly T and E fare classes like this:
Code:
F9 P9 A9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 K9 L9 U9 T9 E9
but with no T or E fares published. You wouldn't be able to book a ticket in T or E class, because you need both a fare that you qualify for as well as inventory to book into.
When you find a fare for which you meet the requirements, and you also find inventory in that fare class on your desired flight, then the price of that particular fare is what you will pay. It's important to note that the published fares are excusive of taxes and fees, so you will always end up with a higher all-in price than you see in a fare search on EF.