Hi all,

I travel on Cathay Pacific quite a number of times. I do chase flyer status so I try to accumulate as much status points and Asia miles as possible.

During a round trip flight from JFK to HKG, I booked economy flex but unfortunately did not earn 100% status points for the booking. I found out later that booking class was the main reason why Cathay did not award 100% status points! But my family and I all booked economy flex! It wasn�t economy light.

With all that in mind, I would like to ask you all:

1. Which flying classes are considered full economy? Which are considered discount economy?
   
2. What determines the flying class code?? Since economy flex is the most expensive of the three economy classes, why was my ticket still considered discount economy??
   
3. Are consumers able to view which flying class code is assigned to them before ticket purchase?? Is there any way to select the flying class code online?
   

Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

CX shows booking class just before you confirm your booking. When on the payment webpage, choose all your flights, then it should prompt you with all the status points etc. Click "show more" (or similar i forgot the exact wording) then it should show Class x under the equipment listed to operate the flight.

For Econ Light, Essential, Flex etc, they do not affect the fare class. They only affect the fare basis (the 8 digit code that most people don't know what it means). For example, Econ Light shows as xx21xxxx and Econ Flex shows as xx41xxxx. You could buy Fare Class Q with Econ Flex and that would still be considered discount economy. HOWEVER, Econ Flex does affect the amount of status points you earn, which can be seen either during purchase or from the status point calculator on the CX webpage.

On the topic of fare classes, I'm not 100% sure but I think its as follows:
S,N,Q,O: Discount Economy
M,L,V: Economy
Y,B,H,K: Full Economy

Let me know if any of this doesn't make sense or if anyone more experienced can provide a better explanation.

thank you for your reply. So there�s no way to select the specific class code during booking? It�s assigned randomly by the system?

You can, but you cannot do it on the web. You will need to call ticketing and request for specifically ticketing into the applicable subclass when flying Econ.

You've got two unrelated questions in there (the second one is flat inorrect).

To the first question, you can't really "select" it online, although you can try and force it to different fare classes by selecting different types of fares (Flex, etc.). Still, you will only find out what subfareclass it is when you click all the way through as CXFlyerBoy says. If you must insist on a certain sub fareclass, then you have to do it via the call center. I am less familiar with Y, but I know in J you can realistically get enough optionality via the options (Flex is always J or C, and the few below it generally bucket into D, P or I). I understand from here economy has more and is a bit more complex but there may be some logic to the wording.

The second question, no it's definitely not random.

Economy fare class doesn't change by the type of ticket. It just removes the restriction(s).

Econ Fare class Q can be in the following fare basis:
QR21WCAR: Economy Light
QR31WCAR: Economy Essential
QR41WCAR: Economy Flex

The above doesn't apply for business class (as you just said) because J Flex is always in the fare class J,C and Essential in D,P,I.

And I'm pretty sure you cannot force a specific fare class code online. Must be done via online CSEconomy fare class doesn't change by the type of ticket. It just removes the restriction(s).

Econ Fare class Q can be in the following fare basis:
QR21WCAR: Economy Light
QR31WCAR: Economy Essential
QR41WCAR: Economy Flex

The above doesn't apply for business class (as you just said) because J Flex is always in the fare class J,C and Essential in D,P,I.

And I'm pretty sure you cannot force a specific fare class code online. Must be done via CS

https://www.reddit.com/r/CathayPacific/s/2TrENG9LwC

https://www.reddit.com/r/CathayPacific/s/EpFDurbOud

Econ in theory has 3 times the same bucket ie S lite, essential and flex. The complexity is that all three bins must sell out in the same subclass before they move up to the next subclass

In terms of pricing, will the cost differ? If yes, how much? I assume that that the subclasses sell at different prices given the different SP given(?)

for some reason, I can�t read some of your text because it�s highlighted I believe(?). I�m on a black background right now. Can�t read parts of your message.

that�s bad.. not a simple and convenient process then

sorry. None of us here work for RevOps

For what? Business exist for the sole purpose of maximising revenue

That�s true but I�m a consumer, a traveler and not a Cathay shareholder. I�ve been traveling with Cathay for 20 years and I think me and many travelers deserve more transparency. This is not displayed upright during checkout and definitely an inconvenience for most people.

it is indeed displayed at checkout!

I agree it is annoying that you have to click all the way through to see it. Fully aligned here.

but the idea it�s not displayed just isnt right. The subfare class is visible if you click on the fare terms and conditions at checkout.

I think many posters here for the purposes of checking fares and booking tickets etc wish it was visible early in the process not at the very end. Thats all

and if you want to target a specific subfare, then you might need to call ticketing instead of online . That isn�t that hard. Annoying, yes agree (although not that relevant for most people honestly). but this isn�t some conspiracy against consumers