Originally Posted by jkfb1
1 - Did you ever find out what 26 means?
It means that the ticket is not endorsable to another airline like a straight Y fare would be. As to why 26, someone told me that it is a remnant of some ancient AA fare simplification scheme of their own. I'm really more curious about this than anything else.
2- What do the other first numbers after the A or R mean. In the above examples ther is a NA14. What does the 1 mean, from your description the 4 means minimum stay. Correct?
My best guest is that NA14C50N means:
N: fare basis code
A: round trip fare (maybe)
14: 14-day advance purchase requirement
C50: USD50 change fee
N: non-refundable
3- What does Z at the end mean?
Presumably that it is a "restricted" fare? The K26Z listed is a refundable restricted fare. The difference between its rules and those of Y26 (other than the booking class) is that for the K26Z you have to have a confirmed reservation and open returns are not allowed.
4- I thought with the AA new fare codes that there are no more Saturday night stay requirements and that one day is just like another - Sunday is no different than Tuesday. Yet again your examples from EF for the future lists M - Saturday stay required.
Well it must mean something else here!
I notice there are seasonal and flight applicability restrictions on that YUPMZ. That's probably what the M denotes.
This is not an exact science. You still have to read the fare rules to figure out the fare rules. But if you can partially figure out what the rules are just by looking at the basis code, it is a big help.
5- Also what about the maximum Y class and F fares. I thought the Max Y for one way was $499. In the first example EF lists 946.
AA said that their max Y OW fare systemwide would be $499? When? Anyway, the Y26 is as good as Y *except* that you cannot use it to fly on an airline other than AA. No carrier has ever said that there will be a maximum charge to buy a ticket from them after which they will pay another carrier to fly you.
6 - Now for what will seem like a really dumb question - If I find all this info on EF what do I do with it? Let's use your first example so I see that there is a one way fare to MCO for 96.00 how do I find it and book it on line?
Find an itinerary that meets the rules of the fares and has appropriate availability and book it on aa.com or wherever.