Jul 1, 2013, 9:03 am
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Revenue buckets
J - Full Fare Business
C - Discount Business
D - Discount Business
Z - Deep Discount Business
P - Deep Discount Business
O - Full Fare PremiumPlus (Premium Economy)
A - Discount PremiumPlus (Premium Economy)
R - Deep Discount PremiumPlus (Premium Economy)
Y - Full Fare Coach
B - Full Fare Coach
M - Discount Coach
E - Discount Coach
U - Discount Coach
H - Discount Coach
Q - Discount Coach
V - Discount Coach
W - Deep Discount Coach
S - Deep Discount Coach
T - Deep Discount Coach
L - Deep Discount Coach
K - Deep Discount Coach
G - Deep Discount Coach
N - Basic Economy
Saver Award Inventory
IN - Elite (Plat/1K/GS) Saver Business or 2-cabin First Award
I - Non-Elite and Low Elite Saver Business or 2-cabin First Award
XN - Elite Saver Coach Award. Also available to Chase Gateway, Explorer, Quest, and United Club Visa cardholders as an undocumented benefit
X - Non-Elite Saver Coach Award
"Everyday" Award Inventory
JN - Elite/CC Everyday Business or 2-cabin First Award (may be open to all MP members )
ZN - Non-Elite Everyday Business or 2-cabin First Award (tracks to the Z bucket) (not clear if still used for award travel). Also used for buy-up upgrade offered at check-in. May be a factor in Skip-the-Waitliist availability
ON - Everyday PremiumPlus (Premium Economy) Award
YN - Elite/CC Everyday Coach Award (may be open to all MP members)
HN - Non-Elite Everyday Coach Award (tracks to the H bucket) (not clear this is still used)
Upgrade Inventory
PN - Y/B/M 1K Instant Upgrades (CPU eligible routes only); All GS sponsored upgrades Y->J (CPU, PlusPoints, miles)
PZ - Upgrades to Polaris Business, United Business, or United First (excepting GS sponsored upgrades and 1K Instant Upgrades)
RN - Upgrades to Premium Plus
Points earning for all upgrades is based on the originally purchased fare. Also see below.
Upgrades Note that upgraded flights will post to your MileagePlus statement as Z(X) where the second letter (X) is the original booking class. The parenthetical letter defines the earning rate for the flight as points are earned based on the original booking class.
How to read inventory numbers:
Why does J8C5D3Z0P0 mean?
The zero inventory is easy to explain, UA is presently unwilling to sell tickets using inventory in that fare class.
Does J8C5D3 mean there are 16 seats for sale? No -- there are just 8 available seats.
Inventory in a fare class is not additive but the lower fare classes are subsets of the higher fare classes
If UA sells / upgrades 1 seat in the premium fare class, the Inventory will like change to J7C4D2.
The J inventory is the total number of seats for sale in business/first. While C,D,Z, P ... are the number of seats UA is willing to sell in those lower fare classes
Going back to J8C5D3Z0P0, if you want 4 seats on a single PNR, you will have to purchase C fare, as there isn't enough inventory for D fare for everyone on the PNR and everyone on a common PNR must have the same fare class / fare basis.
In some cases, if a lower cabin is oversold, UA will then block, remove from inventory in the higher cabin to protect against the oversale.
Note the largest number for a UA fare class in public displays is 9 (some airlines limit to just 4), this prevents revealing too much information to the competitors or the public.
Award and upgrade inventory are also subsets on their respective cabin inventory
Management of inventory and maximizing revenue is the role of Revenue Management (RM), a highly secretive, proprietary operation of the airlines -- So inventory changes (within the physical limitations of the aircraft) will be dynamic and can change without notice as determine by RM
Archive thread: Decoding the alphabet soup - fare buckets for UA {Archive}
E - Discount Coach
U - Discount Coach
H - Discount Coach
Q - Discount Coach
V - Discount Coach
W - Deep Discount Coach
S - Deep Discount Coach
T - Deep Discount Coach
L - Deep Discount Coach
K - Deep Discount Coach
G - Deep Discount Coach
N - Basic Economy
Saver Award Inventory
IN - Elite (Plat/1K/GS) Saver Business or 2-cabin First Award
I - Non-Elite and Low Elite Saver Business or 2-cabin First Award
XN - Elite Saver Coach Award. Also available to Chase Gateway, Explorer, Quest, and United Club Visa cardholders as an undocumented benefit
X - Non-Elite Saver Coach Award
"Everyday" Award Inventory
JN - Elite/CC Everyday Business or 2-cabin First Award (may be open to all MP members )
ZN - Non-Elite Everyday Business or 2-cabin First Award (tracks to the Z bucket) (not clear if still used for award travel). Also used for buy-up upgrade offered at check-in. May be a factor in Skip-the-Waitliist availability
ON - Everyday PremiumPlus (Premium Economy) Award
YN - Elite/CC Everyday Coach Award (may be open to all MP members)
HN - Non-Elite Everyday Coach Award (tracks to the H bucket) (not clear this is still used)
Upgrade Inventory
PN - Y/B/M 1K Instant Upgrades (CPU eligible routes only); All GS sponsored upgrades Y->J (CPU, PlusPoints, miles)
PZ - Upgrades to Polaris Business, United Business, or United First (excepting GS sponsored upgrades and 1K Instant Upgrades)
RN - Upgrades to Premium Plus
Points earning for all upgrades is based on the originally purchased fare. Also see below.
Upgrades Note that upgraded flights will post to your MileagePlus statement as Z(X) where the second letter (X) is the original booking class. The parenthetical letter defines the earning rate for the flight as points are earned based on the original booking class.
How to read inventory numbers:
Why does J8C5D3Z0P0 mean?
The zero inventory is easy to explain, UA is presently unwilling to sell tickets using inventory in that fare class.
Does J8C5D3 mean there are 16 seats for sale? No -- there are just 8 available seats.
Inventory in a fare class is not additive but the lower fare classes are subsets of the higher fare classes
If UA sells / upgrades 1 seat in the premium fare class, the Inventory will like change to J7C4D2.
The J inventory is the total number of seats for sale in business/first. While C,D,Z, P ... are the number of seats UA is willing to sell in those lower fare classes
Going back to J8C5D3Z0P0, if you want 4 seats on a single PNR, you will have to purchase C fare, as there isn't enough inventory for D fare for everyone on the PNR and everyone on a common PNR must have the same fare class / fare basis.
In some cases, if a lower cabin is oversold, UA will then block, remove from inventory in the higher cabin to protect against the oversale.
Note the largest number for a UA fare class in public displays is 9 (some airlines limit to just 4), this prevents revealing too much information to the competitors or the public.
Award and upgrade inventory are also subsets on their respective cabin inventory
Management of inventory and maximizing revenue is the role of Revenue Management (RM), a highly secretive, proprietary operation of the airlines -- So inventory changes (within the physical limitations of the aircraft) will be dynamic and can change without notice as determine by RM
Archive thread: Decoding the alphabet soup - fare buckets for UA {Archive}
Decoding the alphabet soup - fare buckets for UA
Oct 4, 2022, 7:00 pm
#106
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: CHS
Programs: UA GS, Bonvoy Amabassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 2,589
I wonder if they would ever change O,A,R to be more consistent with E, G, N like almost the rest of *A?
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Oct 4, 2022 at 7:13 pm Reason: split post; moved to subject thread
Oct 4, 2022, 7:17 pm
#107
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,859
N is UA domestic basic economy
would reshuffle the economy fare classes
The GEN system was in place when UA did OAR, that would have been the time to do that alignment. Why did not UA do it than, ????
Oct 5, 2022, 4:47 am
#108
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: CHS
Programs: UA GS, Bonvoy Amabassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 2,589
Yeah, drugs R bad, but it doesn't mean that can't come to their senses one day and fix it....just hoping
This seems like a bit more than maintenance if it is scheduled for 28 days - maybe we get some "Improvements" and not the kind that suck
Oct 5, 2022, 9:18 am
#109
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,423
Oct 15, 2022, 4:30 pm
#110
Join Date: Oct 2022
Programs: United
Posts: 2
How does expert mode has more inventory than shown in the seat map?
What does it mean when United's expert mode shows more inventory than the seat map shows?
I'm United Platinum and looking at a flight where Premium Plus shows only 4 open seats, but expert mode shows "O/ON 3 A 2" and there are only 11 Polaris seats open on the seat map, but expert mode shows "J8, C7, D3, Z2". Both of those cabins' don't have enough open seats in the seat map for those inventory numbers?
I'm United Platinum and looking at a flight where Premium Plus shows only 4 open seats, but expert mode shows "O/ON 3 A 2" and there are only 11 Polaris seats open on the seat map, but expert mode shows "J8, C7, D3, Z2". Both of those cabins' don't have enough open seats in the seat map for those inventory numbers?
Oct 15, 2022, 4:51 pm
#111
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Honolulu Harbor
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 15,026
What does it mean when United's expert mode shows more inventory than the seat map shows?
I'm United Platinum and looking at a flight where Premium Plus shows only 4 open seats, but expert mode shows "O/ON 3 A 2" and there are only 11 Polaris seats open on the seat map, but expert mode shows "J8, C7, D3, Z2". Both of those cabins' don't have enough open seats in the seat map for those inventory numbers?
I'm United Platinum and looking at a flight where Premium Plus shows only 4 open seats, but expert mode shows "O/ON 3 A 2" and there are only 11 Polaris seats open on the seat map, but expert mode shows "J8, C7, D3, Z2". Both of those cabins' don't have enough open seats in the seat map for those inventory numbers?
8 seats are for sale in Polaris, 2 for which UA is willing to sell at Z fare, 3 at D fare, etc
3 seats for sale in PP, 2 of which can be bought in A class
If (using the O3/A2 numbers you mentioned) someone buys an A fare, the numbers go to O2/A1, unless UA decides they have a good chance of getting full price for the remaining seats, then it might go O2/A0.
If you tried a booking for 3 in PP, you'd get 3 O fares because fare classes can't be mixed for on the same record for the same segment. If you booked for one or two in PP, you'd get the A fare (if any restrictions are met). This is why it is sometimes useful to look at fare class distribution if you're booking tickets for multiple people - decent money might be saved with separate reservations vs a single reservation if the number of passengers exceeds seat availability at the lowest fare level in the cabin. With the example you've posted, someone booking PremPlus for three people would want to look at buying tickets for two people on one reservation, and a separate one for the third person. Result would be 2 A fares and one O fare vs 3 O fares if all on one record..
Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Oct 16, 2022 at 12:56 am
Oct 15, 2022, 7:32 pm
#112
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,515
Additionally, you can't reconcile seat map and fare bucket availability is usually due to not all passenger have selected seats. For example, in PE, with 4 open seat and O3/A2, there is likely 1 passenger not yet selectes his/her seat.
In short, seat map alone does not tell the entire story.
In short, seat map alone does not tell the entire story.
Oct 20, 2022, 12:38 pm
#114
Join Date: Oct 2022
Posts: 3
Has anyone seen United lower the price of tickets you looked at in your cart? I checked everywhere and I cannot duplicate the price in my cart for first class tickets from PWM-SFO..I was just curious if I book these if it's the price it says it is..
Edit- I did get a message saying The price of a flight from PWM-SFO has decreased recently but it appears this is a specific offer for my cart
Edit- I did get a message saying The price of a flight from PWM-SFO has decreased recently but it appears this is a specific offer for my cart
Last edited by grooverider; Oct 20, 2022 at 12:40 pm Reason: more info
Nov 26, 2022, 6:20 pm
#115
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Saipan, MP 96950 USA (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands = the CNMI)
Programs: UA Silver, Hilton Silver. Life: UA .57 MM, United & Admirals Clubs (spousal), Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,058
I updated the Wikipost to add the Chase Gateway Visa and Quest Visa to the list of cards entitling non-elites to Elite Saver Coach Award (XN) redemption.
Last edited by SPN Lifer; Nov 26, 2022 at 10:29 pm
Feb 17, 2023, 10:55 pm
#116
Join Date: May 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: UA GS 2MM
Posts: 30
Wanting to learn
A big thank you to everyone who puts all this together for us. I am writing because I would like to learn more about how to take advantage of knowing about all these fare classes. First a confession and request for forgiveness... I am GS seven years in a row now, just going over 2MM lifetime on United but I am pretty ignorant about these fare classes. I know there are different fare classes for for different classes of service and inside each of those different prices for different fare classes inside of each class of service. I am aware there are different classes for revenue and non revenue tickets. But how do we really uses these in a practical way when we book our tickets? Most of my flying is for business and I own my own firm and I try to minimize the cost to the clients. Here are some situations I can think of that knowing all these fare classes and either being on expert mode or calling an agent can help me: 1) Wanting to ensure I get upgraded on a particular flight rather than hoping for a GS upgrade. Toward that end, does one fare class or another increase my ability to get an guaranteed upgrade on PP or Miles (would rather use PP)? I suppose the other way it will come in handy is when using your miles to book personal overseas travel (vacations) and you want to perhaps spend some money for coach and use miles for or PP for the upgrade. Is there a wiki or prior posts that offers strategies for leveraging all this knowledge? Thank you very much for any pointers you can give.
This data will eventually be included in the new FAQ but while waiting for that to be guilt I figured I'd share the details. These are all the fares in the new scheme:
Revenue buckets (RDM/PQM earnings)
F - Full Fare First (250%/150% or 175%/150% for 3/2 cabin)
A - Discount First (250%/150% or 175%/150% for 3/2 cabin)
J - Full Fare Business (175%/150%)
C - Full Fare Business (175%/150%)
D - Full Fare Business (175%/150%)
Z - Deep Discount Business (150%/150%)
P - Deep Discount Business (150%/150%)
Y - Full Fare Coach (125%/150%)
B - Full Fare Coach (125%/150%)
M - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
E - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
U - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
H - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
Q - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
V - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
W - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
S - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
T - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
L - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
K - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
G - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
N - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
Saver Award Seats
O - Saver 3-cabin First Award
IN - Elite (Plat/1K/GS) Saver Business or 2-cabin First Award
I - Non-Elite and Low Elite Saver Business or 2-cabin First Award
XN - Elite Saver Coach Award
X - Non-Elite Saver Coach Award
Standard Award Seats
FN - Standard 3-cabin First Award
JN - Elite/CC Standard Business or 2-cabin First Award
ZN - Non-Elite Standard Business or 2-cabin First Award (tracks to the Z bucket)
YN - Elite/CC Standard Coach Award
HN - Non-Elite Standard Coach Award (tracks to the H bucket)
Upgrade Awards
ON - C->F on 3-cabin aircraft
JN - Y-Up for Elites (tracks to the J bucket, i.e. last seat availability)
PN - B/M-Up for Elites (tracks to the P bucket); All GS upgrades Y->C (CPU, RPU, GPU, miles)
R - Upgrade to Business/Domestic F (except GS)
RN - Had not been used but appears now to be the Instant Upgrade (Y/B fares) inventory for Silver, Gold and maybe Plats
Revenue buckets (RDM/PQM earnings)
F - Full Fare First (250%/150% or 175%/150% for 3/2 cabin)
A - Discount First (250%/150% or 175%/150% for 3/2 cabin)
J - Full Fare Business (175%/150%)
C - Full Fare Business (175%/150%)
D - Full Fare Business (175%/150%)
Z - Deep Discount Business (150%/150%)
P - Deep Discount Business (150%/150%)
Y - Full Fare Coach (125%/150%)
B - Full Fare Coach (125%/150%)
M - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
E - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
U - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
H - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
Q - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
V - Discount Coach (100%/100%)
W - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
S - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
T - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
L - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
K - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
G - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
N - Deep Discount Coach (100%/100%)
Saver Award Seats
O - Saver 3-cabin First Award
IN - Elite (Plat/1K/GS) Saver Business or 2-cabin First Award
I - Non-Elite and Low Elite Saver Business or 2-cabin First Award
XN - Elite Saver Coach Award
X - Non-Elite Saver Coach Award
Standard Award Seats
FN - Standard 3-cabin First Award
JN - Elite/CC Standard Business or 2-cabin First Award
ZN - Non-Elite Standard Business or 2-cabin First Award (tracks to the Z bucket)
YN - Elite/CC Standard Coach Award
HN - Non-Elite Standard Coach Award (tracks to the H bucket)
Upgrade Awards
ON - C->F on 3-cabin aircraft
JN - Y-Up for Elites (tracks to the J bucket, i.e. last seat availability)
PN - B/M-Up for Elites (tracks to the P bucket); All GS upgrades Y->C (CPU, RPU, GPU, miles)
R - Upgrade to Business/Domestic F (except GS)
RN - Had not been used but appears now to be the Instant Upgrade (Y/B fares) inventory for Silver, Gold and maybe Plats
Feb 18, 2023, 12:58 am
#117
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,417
A big thank you to everyone who puts all this together for us. I am writing because I would like to learn more about how to take advantage of knowing about all these fare classes. First a confession and request for forgiveness... I am GS seven years in a row now, just going over 2MM lifetime on United but I am pretty ignorant about these fare classes. I know there are different fare classes for for different classes of service and inside each of those different prices for different fare classes inside of each class of service. I am aware there are different classes for revenue and non revenue tickets. But how do we really uses these in a practical way when we book our tickets? Most of my flying is for business and I own my own firm and I try to minimize the cost to the clients. Here are some situations I can think of that knowing all these fare classes and either being on expert mode or calling an agent can help me: 1) Wanting to ensure I get upgraded on a particular flight rather than hoping for a GS upgrade. Toward that end, does one fare class or another increase my ability to get an guaranteed upgrade on PP or Miles (would rather use PP)? I suppose the other way it will come in handy is when using your miles to book personal overseas travel (vacations) and you want to perhaps spend some money for coach and use miles for or PP for the upgrade. Is there a wiki or prior posts that offers strategies for leveraging all this knowledge? Thank you very much for any pointers you can give.
The biggest value you can get from knowing what fare classes are available is that as a GS, you have access to PN inventory, which is an upgrade class that you have access to with PlusPoints or miles. (They’re equivalent). That is, if you book a flight and you see PNx, you can upgrade up to x people immediately with your PlusPoints. (Non-GS members need PZ inventory, and PN opens before PZ, so there’s a meaningful advantage). There are also some additional GS-only benefits, although they’ve apparently been watered down in the past few years. I believe there’s a board thread on those.
Mar 27, 2023, 12:34 pm
#120
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Pasadena, California
Programs: UA 1K, 1MM
Posts: 10,412
PN > P?
I'm looking at itineraries for an East Coast trip later this spring. For one of the flights I'm likely to select, I'm seeing the following fare bucket availability: J9 JN9 C9 D4 Z0 ZN0 P0 PN6 PZ0 IN0 Y9 ...
I don't think I've ever seen a situation in which PN > P ... nor does it make sense to me. Am I missing something, or is this a united.combug feature? 
I'm looking at itineraries for an East Coast trip later this spring. For one of the flights I'm likely to select, I'm seeing the following fare bucket availability: J9 JN9 C9 D4 Z0 ZN0 P0 PN6 PZ0 IN0 Y9 ...
I don't think I've ever seen a situation in which PN > P ... nor does it make sense to me. Am I missing something, or is this a united.com