Hi all,

I'm a relative newbie to the frequent flyer game. I've come to realize that i'm lacking some of the basic terminology. For instance, what exactly is a "Y Class" ticket? I'm currently a OnePass member, but continental doesnt seem to define this for me. Is there any place i can check out that gives me all the in's and out's as far as terminology goes?

Thanks in advance for you help.

PS - MCI managed to really anger me, so far, they've given me 30,000 miles as consolation (keep 'em comin'..i'm still a little angry )

Y class refers to the fare class. Some airlines are different, but here is how CO breaks down the Fare Classes:

A: Paid First Class
D: Paid BusinessFirst
F: Upgrade/Reward First Class
Y: Unrestricted Coach
H: Coach (Usually unrestricted)
K, B V Q & T are all restricted discount coach , in order of cost (K Highest, T Lowest).

Y is sometimes a generic shorthand term for coach.

I hope this answers one of your questions. The BEST way to learn, is to continue to read FT. You will find that the community here is very friendly and helpful.

Happy Flying!

What is "C" class on CO? It shows up on a flights to/from Houston/Cancun.

No "A"s shows, so this this business class?

Continental's terminology gets a little complicated.
Basically, on international flights that do not offer BusinessFirst service (such on 737's, some 757's, etc) CO offers Business Class in most cases. Plain Business Class is designated by 'C", "D", and "Z". These are all the same "business class" seats. If one wants to buy a business class seat from IAH to CUN, it comes out of the "C" bucket. If one wants to upgrade, it comes out of the "Z" bucket. Thus, if you see C6 D6 ZO, there are 6 seats avaialble in business class but none available, at that time, for upgrade. "D" appears to be the bucket from which the seat comes from that someone buying a businsess class ticket from London to Cancun through IAH. Whenever a "D" of "Z" ticket is issued, "C" will decrease by one.( A complication is that for domestic flights, CO will frequently have "A"(first class) and "D", in addition to "F", from which upgrades come. The theory is the same, that someone buying an international business class ticket should get a first class seat on the US domestic portion of a trip on CO).
On international flights that have BusinessFirst service, then the designations for this service are "J", "D", and "Z". What I said above applies to these.
I think I am at least 99% right on this, but welcome any comments.

C is invariably a business class fare. I would hazard a guess that it is discount/upgraded business on CO--since D is their paid fare.

On most carriers, J is always paid business. Some carriers (like UA) use C for full fare biz. Many carriers who use J for full fare use C for discount/upgrade. D is most frequently award in biz, but clearly not so on CO.

Thanks Valcan:

You actually answered the other question that I had but did not asked "What is the Z class".

I am now Silver Elite with CO and can upgrade (at midnight day of travel) to Business and/or First Class but not to BusinessFirst. At the moment, the upgrades look good (still a long time to June). It is C9 D9 and Z0 but there is only about 15 people in coach as of now.

Wish me luck.

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