Fare code basis for UA
 

Trying to understand the fare code basis that UA uses. How does a HA, UA, EA, BUA, BA3 or a MUA code differ from each other? I think the BA3 reflects a three day advance purchase. All others are no advance purchase - pending availability.

Seems that trying to find the most inexpensive ticket - to fit your needs - is almost smoke and mirrors.

Thanks.

Welcome to FT, trucker38!

For individual fare bases, you need to read the specific fare rules. You can generally tell very little based on the actual acronym.

For most people, the only axes that matter are price, changeability, and refundablity, all of which are easy to isolate. The details of the fare rules very rarely matter for 99% of travelers, as long as you reduce it down to those items.

Differing quantities of inventory and different corporate volume discount percentages. (other than the 3 day AP).

Beyond that, they are all the same (refundable, no advanced purchase, one way.)

The difference between them is the fare bucket they are in. The fares carry similar restrictions but the booking codes at the beginning of the fare bases indicate their position in the hierarchy, thus, the amount of seats available for sale at that fare. B fares are higher than M and H fares, which are higher than E and U fares. These can be adjusted, of course, and United can opt to sell as many seats at a U fare than they do at a B fare, and do, in some lower yield markets, but in markets that have shown higher inelasticity in pricing for last minute travel or have a scarcity of service, the higher B and Y fares may apply to the very last seats available for sale.

The "official" order of those buckets is actually B M E H U.

Good catch. I was going from memory. Too lazy to click over to Apollo I guess =P