J9 C7 D4 R9 - interesting inventory pattern
Jul 11, 2018, 8:48 am
#1
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Original Poster
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,046
J9 C7 D4 R9 - interesting inventory pattern
I have noticed an interesting inventory pattern on many of my recent shorthaul flights, appearing quite consistently:
J9 C7 D4 R9
Examples from flights where I hold tickets:
20 JUL BA1338 2055 LHR NCL 2205
03 AUG BA475 1450 BCN LHR 1610
24 AUG BA975 1705 HAM LHR 1745
21 OCT BA486 1640 LHR BCN 1950
The flights are clearly not constrained as BA is accepting local passengers and connecting passengers at the R fare (subject to inventory availability and fare combinability on any onward sectors). So far so good. But why would BA constrain D availability so heavily when R is wide open on such a consistent basis (which suggests a deliberate decision)?
My guess is something to do with corporate traffic (corporate discounts booking into D produce lower yields than non-corporates booking into R) and/or dual inventory (ET to CE upgrades subject to availability of D class, which could also but will not necessarily be a feature of some corporate contracts).
What do you think?
J9 C7 D4 R9
Examples from flights where I hold tickets:
20 JUL BA1338 2055 LHR NCL 2205
03 AUG BA475 1450 BCN LHR 1610
24 AUG BA975 1705 HAM LHR 1745
21 OCT BA486 1640 LHR BCN 1950
The flights are clearly not constrained as BA is accepting local passengers and connecting passengers at the R fare (subject to inventory availability and fare combinability on any onward sectors). So far so good. But why would BA constrain D availability so heavily when R is wide open on such a consistent basis (which suggests a deliberate decision)?
My guess is something to do with corporate traffic (corporate discounts booking into D produce lower yields than non-corporates booking into R) and/or dual inventory (ET to CE upgrades subject to availability of D class, which could also but will not necessarily be a feature of some corporate contracts).
What do you think?
Jul 11, 2018, 9:51 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire
Posts: 1,242
I guess R class is not always "visible" on partner sales channels so like BA.com can sell R class but let say TA can't so if TA wants a connecting passenger on that flight it has to book it under D or C class.
Jul 11, 2018, 11:05 am
#5
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, A3*Gold, AA Plat, HH Gold, IHG Plat Amb, Marriott Plat
Posts: 4,163
R class is used for booking OnBusiness redemptions and upgrades if that might have something to do with it. Also, R class is often only available on round-trip fares whilst D is almost always also available on a one-way fare. But then of course, this could all have nothing to do with it at all.