Originally Posted by
jc94
Right thanks. Please could someone point me at the appropriate place to read up on R vs Z? I've tried to find information but it's hard to search for "R" and "Z" and most of what I've found is unhelpful AC pages talking about it without explaining what the differences are!
I guess one advantage, is Lat. being fully refundable along with all tickets within 24 hours means I can always book, try to upgrade then cancel and re-book with flex/tango if nothing is available.
Z fare is just a discounted business class fare. R or R space is a term used to indicate whether there is a reward fare or upgradeable fare available. For international fares you are actually looking for P space to eupgrade a Lat fare (but not transborder is my understanding).
Maybe a more simple approach for you would be to look for the Lat fare you want on the aircanada.com webpage select "fares available to eupgrade". If there is R space available on your flight, that is upgrade space, it will show you that your Lat fare can be immediately eupgraded to a business class ticket with 2 eupgrades for one leg. If there is no R space then you will be waitlisted if you choose to eupgrade - with the potential for eupgrade space to become available later but not guaranteed.
You can also purchase something like Expertflyer or KVS which can tell you which flights have R space available on them.