Benefits of fully flexible tickets? - Y, W, J & F
 

What are the benefits of having a ticket booked in Y, W, J or F? This would be compared to a ticket in the same class with a discounted fare code.

benefits depend on specific fare, not on bucket. So two W fares may not have the same benefits. Most fully flex will be just that though: usually refundable, changeable with no fee (but difference in fare if applicable), etc.

flexible changes, potentially multiple times, at no cost, fully refundable

Hence 'fully flexible'

Free seat selection for those without OW status

Thank you, so a Y, W, J or F fare with BA should not be taken for granted as a fully flexible ticket as those letters just denote the bucket, the passenger would have to check the fare conditions at purchase?

Y W J & F aleo earn more tier points and avios than the lower fare buckets in the respective cabins. They also allow for preassigned seating at time of booking at no extra charge (handy if you're low on or with no status)

Yes, or indeed don‘t take for granted that other buckets are non-flexible. I used to regularly buy semi-flexible tickets in i or A class which were changeable for a nominal, sometimes small, fee. As you go „up“ the chain though, availability changes, and a flexible ticket in a class that‘s not available on a particular flight you want will not help you.

Not all true. Only in economy does the tier points differ according to the fare bucket.

The unwritten benefit of course being that a customer in these classes would find themselves right at the end of the list for downgrade or offload, and pretty close to the top of it for DUT. You’ll never see that published, but it’s definitely there.

(For the pedants, yes I know, strictly speaking it’s taken from the FBC not the RBD, to avoid conflict with the generous policy on allowing connections in full-fare classes on a discounted fare, but the principle applies.)

Free changes arent guaranteed but there is no change fee. Its unlikely you would pay anything most of the time changing Y to Y, W to W or J to J however the fare available against the Y, W or J could be different when changing so you may sometimes pay some fare difference.

Benefits? Around these parts it usually means someone else is paying for your ticket. ;)

I've never had an employer that ever paid for anything but a discounted, non-refundable ticket for me.

I guess it depends on your line of work, but we always book flex since more often than not things change on short notice. It would cost more in the long run to have to buy new tickets or to pay high change fees in addition to the fare difference. Of course, if your travel plans are more or less set in stone, flex can be a waste of money.

One trap that some people here fall in to is on ex-EU bookings. An I class fare will book in to I class on the long-hauls, but may book in to J class on the short-hauls. But it's a through fare, and the I class conditions apply throughout the trip. We've had some people here who were disappointed when they discovered that the short-haul flights are not fully flexible.

This applies to domestic connections too.