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-   -   Dual Inventory Fares - Is there an idiot's guide anywhere? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1904278-dual-inventory-fares-there-idiots-guide-anywhere.html)

Tiger_lily Apr 16, 2018 3:44 pm

Dual Inventory Fares - Is there an idiot's guide anywhere?
 
Apologies if this has been posted before, is there and idiots guide to dual inventory fares and how they work anywhere?

Thanks

KARFA Apr 17, 2018 2:33 am

The best I found was a few threads discussing it, this is from the section in the TP thread on DIFs:


Dual Inventory Fares
These relatively new DIF fares have appeared from around mid-2016. They are a new type of fare to BA which effectively is almost like a POUG except the cost of the upgrade is included in the booking. They seem to be appearing mostly when purchasing WTP seats, and need inventory in both an economy and premium economy booking class. There have been difficulties with the fare mostly around attempting to upgrade in to CW using a GUF or by UuA.

When DIFs first appeared there were some comments that they could only be booked direct with BA and could not be booked with a TA. However, this seems to have changed and TAs can access DIFs now.

There is more discussion in the linked posts:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...ta-matrix.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ount-code.html

Tiger_lily Apr 17, 2018 2:45 am

Thanks KARFA. I was wondering why I could see a shed load of cheap I class fares on EF but they’re all DIF, this probably explains it.

Globaliser Apr 17, 2018 2:51 am


Originally Posted by Tiger_lily (Post 29647889)
Apologies if this has been posted before, is there and idiots guide to dual inventory fares and how they work anywhere?

I don't recall seeing one specifically about DIFs.

The concept is really quite straightforward. Take a number of hypothetical flights on which the WT+ and WT availability looks like this (the reason for the bolding will be obvious later):-
  1. W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O9
  2. W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S8 N6 Q1 O0
  3. W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L6 V3 S0 N0 Q0 O0
  4. W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M6 L3 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0
  5. W9 E9 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M6 L3 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0
The cheapest WT+ fares book into T class.

Consequently, a standard WT+ fare (ie one that is not a DIF) can be booked onto any of those flights except flight 5, for the straightforward reason that there is no T class on that flight.

However, BA may also file a number of T class DIFs. Each of them will require availability in T class, in the normal way. But in addition, there must be inventory in a specified WT class. So (hypothetically) there might be DIFs for this route that require availability in:-
  1. [*]
  2. [*]
  3. [*]
As you go down that list, the fare will go up.

If you try to book on flight 1, the cheapest DIF (fare A) will be valid, because there is both T class availability and O class availability.

If you book on flight 2, fare A will not be valid because there is no O class on that flight. However, fare B will be valid because there is N class.

Similarly, on flight 3, neither fare A nor fare B will be valid, but you may be offered fare C because there is V class.

And on flight 4, the only DIF that is valid is fare D because L class is available but nothing lower.

It goes without saying that none of the DIFs is valid on flight 5 - not even fare D - because although there is L class in WT, there is no T class in WT+. Fare D, just like the standard non-DIF fare, requires there to be T class availability as well as availability in the specified WT+ class.

One of the frustrations with BA's current implementation of DIFs is that if you look at the EF fare ladder, it is impossible to tell which underlying WT booking class is required for that fare. You can sometimes work it out by trial and error by looking at different flights with different WT availability and matching the fares on the fare ladder to the fare quotes for each flight. But I have since decided that life is too short and gone for rather more empirical ways of checking that I'm getting the fare that I expect to get.

Prospero Apr 17, 2018 2:55 am

2 Attachment(s)
As found on google, I hope this document (geared towards the Malaysia trade) provides some insight...

Cerebrito Apr 17, 2018 3:32 am

This reminds me of "If airlines sold paint..."
http://www.travelweekly.com/Agent-Li...nes-sold-paint

flatlander Apr 17, 2018 4:07 am

DIF fares all appear something like TEUX35R/DIF4 in ExpertFlyer, eg here for LHR-MCT WT+ fares with dual inventory required in WT:
Code:

Fare Basis Airline Booking Class Trip Type Fare Cabin Effective Date Expiration Date Min / Max Stay Adv Purchase Req

TLXZ90S7F/DIF4 BA T Round-Trip 158.00(GBP) PE 01/02/2018 30/11/2018 -- / 12M 7
NNXC00S7 BA N Round-Trip 166.00(GBP) E -- / 12M
TLWZ90S7F/DIF4 BA T Round-Trip 188.00(GBP) PE 01/02/2018 30/11/2018 -- / 12M 7
NNWC00S7 BA N Round-Trip 196.00(GBP) E -- / 12M
SNXC00S7 BA S Round-Trip 216.00(GBP) E -- / 12M
TNXC00S7F/DIF4 BA T Round-Trip 226.00(GBP) PE -- / 12M 7

But if you are using ITA Matrix only the part before the / is shown when it tells you which fare covers each part of the journey. However I have yet to see a DIF fare with the prefix part before the / that was shared with another fare, so you can still work out which fare it is.

BA's website or callcenter or airport staff are the only places to buy these fares and there they simply show up as very cheap WT+ fares.

Expertflyer is bad at showing the fare rules for these fares, for example it will not show fare rules for most of the WT+ DIF fares, nor will it show the booking classes required.

Swanhunter Apr 17, 2018 5:37 am

If you do book one and happen upon Club award inventory...enjoy the long call to process the upgrade!

teledude Apr 17, 2018 5:40 am


Originally Posted by Swanhunter (Post 29650349)
If you do book one and happen upon Club award inventory...enjoy the long call to process the upgrade!

​​​​​​
i have upgraded DIFs using avios and GUFs and both were simple as normal :)

Tiger_lily Apr 17, 2018 6:27 am

Thanks everyone for unravelling this. It’s very interesting.

MADPhil Apr 17, 2018 9:53 am

I should have looked up the term but this is also the explanation for why my discounted transatlantic F/A is combined with a domestic Y/K. It seemed quite illogical when I was given that explanation by an agent as the web site explanation was that I was booked into the nearest equivalent class in the absence of F.

Globaliser Apr 17, 2018 10:23 am


Originally Posted by MADPhil (Post 29651397)
I should have looked up the term but this is also the explanation for why my discounted transatlantic F/A is combined with a domestic Y/K. It seemed quite illogical when I was given that explanation by an agent as the web site explanation was that I was booked into the nearest equivalent class in the absence of F.

I rather suspect something different must have happened in your case.

In BA's implementation, I haven't seen different booking classes used simply because a DIF is valid and used to fare the ticket. If you book a standard (non-DIF) T class WT+ ticket on an itinerary like that, the short-hauls book into K and the long-hauls into T. If you buy a DIF, the same booking classes are used.

I've just tested this on an EDI-LHR-JFK-LHR-EDI using an A class DIF. That uses J class on the short-hauls and A class on the long-hauls, in the same way as if you book a non-DIF A class fare.

So if your short-hauls have booked into K class, I tend to think something else must have happened. I can't get ITA to combine any A class fare on the long-hauls with a K class fare on the short-hauls.

Swanhunter Apr 17, 2018 11:53 am


Originally Posted by teledude (Post 29650359)
​​​​​​
i have upgraded DIFs using avios and GUFs and both were simple as normal :)

lucky you - both of mine required a long (10mins + call) with holding and a supervisor intervention.

MADPhil Apr 17, 2018 12:47 pm


Originally Posted by Globaliser (Post 29651513)
So if your short-hauls have booked into K class, I tend to think something else must have happened. I can't get ITA to combine any A class fare on the long-hauls with a K class fare on the short-hauls.

Dual inventory fare was the phrase used by an agent who checked with the fares desk and it seemed odd but I was not offered a further explanation. She did not seem to think that it was improbable. AA was offering the same flights as codeshares at the same fare but booking the UK domestic into J/I, however the CC discount trumped that option! Not that CE is worth anything but the extra TP would have been.

flatlander Apr 17, 2018 1:51 pm

A Dual Inventory Fare is not the same as a fare that allows booking different segments of the itinerary into different booking classes. That is quite common and almost all long-haul fares allow it for short-haul connections. On BA, often visible as an I class business long haul fare booking into J class business for a connection on a short-haul flight. For example EDI-LHR-JFK-LHR-EDI. Also things like a business class short haul flight connecting to a first class long haul flight requires the use of a different, business class, selling code for the short haul flight.

When selling a ticket with a DIF fare, Dual Inventory is only required at sale time. So at the time you buy the ticket, there must be both availability in the cabin you will travel in the appropriate booking class (for example booking class T to get you into the WT+ cabin) and availability in some WT (economy) booking class, for example N. No N availability is taken away and unless you inspect the fare you will not know that N inventory was ever involved. The booking class remains T and you are booked into booking class T for all travel purposes.

If the availability on the flight was T3 and N1 you could book three such tickets.. But if the availability was T3 and N0 you could not book any of them. You would have to find some other, likely higher, fare.


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