Originally Posted by
BoeingBoy
Actually even the government (DOT's BTS division) uses the definition I gave - paying full Y/B fare. Now in reality anyone traveling on business is by definition traveling for business purposes but it's not the standard definition.
This "standard" is about as useful as DOT's definition of "low cost carrier" as "any carrier offering interstate service after deregulation." It's based in a reality that is long gone.
A B fare BOS-LAX (on AA) is $2,422 r/t; the lowest Y fare is $2,812, and full Y is $15,324 (!).
However, AA will sell me a fully refundable M fare for $1,314 r/t, for departure today.
I know many corporate contracts book into Y/B -- but those are almost certainly at a much lower price. Booking directly, why would anyone sane book Y or B fares, in regular practice?
If that is the "standard" for business travelers, we might as well only count people taking trains.