Hello everybody -

I am new to Flyertalk (both the site, and literally "flyer talk" and I have done extensive searches but still haven't been able to find a source to answer my question.

I am trying to gain a DEEP understanding of how airline upgrades work both in pricing and allocation practices. You guys use a ton of acronyms that I'm struggling to define, but I am primarily trying to understand what the following terms denote in terms of cabin seating:

F, A, C, D, Z, Y, B, etc.

Terms like NF1 (1 available upgrade to First class), NC9, etc.

And generally anything else I may need to know in order to understand how airlines allocate seat upgrades, both for cash and/or points.

Thanks so much in advance, and you guys have an AWESOME community of experts here. I'm working on a product that hopefully will someday make all of your flying experiences way, way better!!

Thanks again!
- Mr. H

Mr. Hughes, welcome to FT! ^

To be honest, you just asked for FT to simplified into 1 post. Probably not doable. Sorry!

Every airline works a little differently. As you've hopefully seen, there are different forums devoted to the various airlines around the world. I see you're an AA AAdvantage member--you could check out the AA forum. Often, each forum has a sticky thread (at the very top of the list of threads) that explains unique acronyms and abbreviations for that program.

Happy travels!

Hi Mr. Hughes and welcome to FlyerTalk! We're glad you're here.

And as cmn.jcs mentioned, you are probably asking for more information than is possible without a great deal of research.

But we're going to move this thread to our TravelBuzz! forum and perhaps some of the experts there can point you in the right direction for your own research.

Happy travels.

______________

Cholula
CommunityBuzz! Co-Moderator

Perhaps not extensive enough? I learned a lot about the airline business by reading FT. It is a body of knowledge that takes a while to acquire and certainly can't be summed in one post. Start with the FT wiki, keep reading and little by little you will know more. It takes a while and there is no faster approach.
Are you sure you're not looking for a way to get FREE upgrades? I'm not trying to imply anything, but we do get one-hit wonders with posts like "how do I get free upgrades?". If you're one of those, you're wasting your time. If you truly want to get a DEEP understanding, it might take a while, but you'll get there.

I should point out that airlines don't disclose all the information, so some of the data points here are wrong. Some data we get by comparing various instances and trying to identify patterns (and that's not exactly scientific). Also, these things do change over time, so keeping up with it all does take persistence.

Thanks Florin! I'm an avid user of a Mercedes forum, so I know how annoying newbies can be. I must say, though, you guys are WAY more technical in your terminology so the learning curve for FlyerTalk will surely be much steeper.

That being said, I have been putting a lot of time and effort into understanding the terminology used here. My goal is to understand HOW flight upgrades in general work, both free (ie. 500 Mile Upgrades) and paid. I am working on developing a platform that helps flyers access upgrades (primarily PAID upgrades) right up until take-off.

I therefore need to fully understand how travelers currently access such upgrades and what types of them exist. I am simultaneously doing serious research into airline Yield Management practices and systems, as well as GDS integration.

At any rate, thanks for your input! You guys rock!

Airlines handle upgrades differently. You mention 500 mile UGs, so I'm assuming you're talking about AA. Are you looking for info on AA UGs or other airlines as well?

Because I intend to serve flyers of as many airlines as possible, I am more interested in understanding how airlines (in general) utilize yield management to determine when and to whom to distribute upgrades. For instance, I understand it is possible to ask a flight counter agent if there are any upgrades available when a flight begins boarding, but what system does that agent use to determine if there are any available upgrades and, if so, how much to charge the passenger for one?

This was primarily why I was interested in codes like NF(#) or NC(#) and how those codes can be found. I realize this is a very technical question, but you guys are clearly the experts when it comes to stuff like this.

florin already answered--each airline does it differently. You need to go read each of the airlines' forums and get more specific information there.

I can tell you a bit about DL. I don't know if I'm right, but it's what *we* (on FT) think happens.

First of all, let's separate flights that qualify for free UGs from those that do not. Domestic flights with the exception of Hawai`i, as well as a few others (Mexico, Caribbean) do qualify for unlimited free upgrades (UDUs). These are flights that have a 2 class configuration: Y and F. Barbie jets are excluded from all this. Then you have int'l flights with Y and biz class. Hawai`i is an exception... it's sort of domestic but not really.

Domestic UGs: you have several ways to UG: y-up fares, miles, PMUs, upsells, free UGs. For int'l UGs: you only have PMUs and miles (sometimes there may be a mysterious upsell).

Basically, rev mgt is the key here. All of these are tied to fare classes and how the seats get released into the appropriate classes.

Awesome! Thanks Florin. Thats actually really helpful input.

Sorry, but does PMU stand for "Paid Mile Upgrades?"

PMU = platinum medallion UGs; electronic certificates that Plats and Diamonds get for free. They can be used to UG domestic and int'l flights (I think for domestic it needs to be a K fare or above and for int'l it definitely needs to be a M, B or Y fare). In order for the UG to be processed a certain biz fare needs to be available. For int'l you need Z availability. If you bought an M fare and there is Z for that flight, you can use a PMU. (If you're looking for an UG, it's unwise to purchase an expensive M fare unless there is Z available, as there is no guarantee that Z will open up.)

Welcome to FT!
F = first class
C/J = biz class (J is usually used, C is used by some airlines
Z = generally discounted biz class
Y = full fare economy class
B = one or two steps below Y as far as payment
A, D = no idea.


UA (United) terms for confirmable upgrade seats.

While each airline is different, in the US, for flyers with status, upgrades are dealt out in one of two ways: confirmable in advance (each airline has different rules, amount of $, certificates or miles required for this) or those dealt out as a part of complimentary upgrades. The second type is usually determined on the status of a FFer, price of the ticket, etc. Some airlines don't have complementary upgrades for their FFers.
For the first type (confirmable in advance) it varies a lot by airline. For confirmed upgrades, it's usually a combination of miles cash and/or certs, for some it's only from certain fare classes, others give some FFers a certain amount of certificates to be used for upgrades.

For those without status, a number of US airlines have recently started allowing miles + cash upgrades.

For specifics you have to read each airline's subforum on FT or the airline's website.

Mr. Hughes, welcome to FlyerTalk. Some airlines may be simpler than others. I'm most familiar with UA's upgrade system which has to be among the most complex. I'll try to summarize in a few pars. just the gross highlights of what can take many, many weeks of non-stop study to learn, at a minimum. Add to that: periodically changing rules, changes in: charges for some upgrades, miles needed to upgrade and you have a challenge arguably more complex than building robust income tax preparation software. Note this is not a complete primer, but only an overview. There are unstated nuances and exceptions involved; plus the huge factor of inventory management protocols which are all behind the scenes, proprietary and based on complex algorithms.

On top of all of that, add changes which will come because of the merger of UA and CO. Some of those changes have already started with CO elites being allowed to have UDU (see below) privileges on UA-operated flights at a particular clearance-window based on their CO elite status. So you have a very dynamic challenge.

UA has 4 main types of upgrades.
1) Confirmable in advance. These are via tickets redeemed for mileage ("award travel"), use of award miles to upgrade, confirmable certificates earned by top-elite flyers or issued by UA to certain accounts of special significance (so-called "sales" upgrades).2. Unlimited domestic upgrades. ("UDU") Available on all UA-metal flights considered domestic by UA, which have a business class and/or first class cabin, including United Express; but excluding p.s. service (between JFK nonstop to LAX or SFO). These upgrades will clear to the next higher cabin (F on a 2-class and C on a 3-class) as early as the clearance window for the status of the flight record holder, i.e., 120 hours before scheduled flt. departure for GS, 100 hours for 1K, 72 hours for 1P, 24 hours for 2P. But to clear, there must be NF/NC availability. If not, the requested upgrades will go from "pending" to "waitlisted" status when the UDU clearance window is reached. (See above as to a companion in the record if the upgrade remains uncleared when the flight goes to the gate for upgrade release.)

3. Upgrades for cash. At any time in the booking process from purchase to boarding gate, UA may offer upgrades to elite or non-elite psgrs. for cash. These are supposed to be offered at a set price based on mileage of the flight, starting lately with a $75 charge for <500 mile flights. IIRC, NF/NC availability is required.

4. Operational upgrades. These upgrades to business or first are given without charge or required instruments, as their purpose is to resolve an oversale of a lower-class cabin when there are unclaimed seats available in a premium cabin and to do so without delaying flight departure. For those reasons, op-ups (as they're called in slang) may be given to any passenger; but most reports in FT indicate that the higher status passengers not already upgraded otherwise would be operationally upgraded before lower status psgrs.

UA also has a long-standing protocol against "double-upgrades". That is, if a psgr. is already upgraded to business (C) via a mileage ticket, use of miles to upgrade, or a certificate, that passenger would not be upgraded further to F, operationally or otherwise (say if the aircraft is changed last-minute from a 2-class to a 3-class.)

Let me reiterate, this is only a rough overview and there are many nuances needed to master to develop a reliable platform.

I found this blog mentioned in a post somewhere in Flyertalk and bookmarked it. I found it to be very helpful. It's from the point of view of an actual reservations agent.

You guys ROCK