Originally Posted by
tomvancouver
So do I have this right?
AC publishes a list of fare codes, which we can view through EF etc., and then the prices don't deviate from that list i.e. prices only move according to those rules (days to departure, booking class).
Fares don't actually change for each booking code, but their availability affects what the price is?
(And AC can withdraw - zero out - any booking class they want, like is their habit when they have seat sales)
Or do prices for a particular fare code vary by day/hour according to their marketing dept?
Sort of. The prices don't 'deviate from the list' unless the list is changed, which can happen at any time.
And the lists that are available in EF, GDS etc. represent the fares that AC is distributing to non-AC booking channels. However, they can have additional fares that are only available via an AC booking channel (i.e. AC.com, AC reservations) that will not appear.
To your comment about prices varying according to day or hour, they can publish fares in the same booking class which have different rules on day/time (i.e. flights must/must not be on certain days and/or must/must not be during certain hours of the day), seasonality (i.e. flights must/must not be on specific dates or ranges of dates), and specific flight application (i.e. the fare must/must not include travel on specific flight numbers, or operated by specific carriers, which can further be restricted by city pairs or international areas etc.)