"A" and "D" class fares
 

Dear fellow travellers, happy new year and best wishes for 1999. I find this a very informative and interesting site and thank you all for your efforts to make it so successful.
One question- looking at my CRS screen, UA seems to have two new fare classes - A and D. Is anyone aware of their signifigance?

I'm not sure about D class, but A class is being used by many airlines for discount first class, typically at the same price as a full fare coach ticket.

D is what UA gives me as "special" business-class with my StarAlliance round the world ticket.

United uses A & D for Round the World and discounted First and Business Class fares

As others have pointed out the A class is a first class seat, in exchange for a full-fare coach ticket. The ticket is actually confirmed first class, not standby. Naturally, there are a limited number, so advance purchase helps.

You can shop around to find the flight and carrier with this fare available. Generally not available on wide-body planes. UA, US, NW, and DL have this fare in many markets. Perhaps others do as well.

It is my understanding that D ticket is a business class upgrade for full fare coach, but I have not seen any available. Perhaps those who have can share their experience with me, since I have been looking for a discounted business class fare.

John

thank you, I'll have to get my agent to look for 'D' class fares next I want to fly in United business . On the ITN website, I've noticed the CRS only shows 'D' fares on widebodies on UAL.
another thought, if you fly on a 'D'class fare, do you get a 25% class of service bonus?

Jerry ~ well, of course you will only find a D fare in a wide body, since that is [only] where you find business class.

Curious, where did you find the D fare, and for what route ?

And, yes, you get the bonus (25% or 50%) for A and D tickets.

John

On my StarAliance round the world trips in paid BUSINESS-CLASS UA names the class "D".

On transatlantic - transpacific - South American UA-flights (and on all three-class-aircrafts systemwide) I sit in comfirmed business and I am credited the 25%-business-class-bonus. On UA-two-class-flights I sit in comfirmed first with a 50%-class-mileage-bonus (not only for flights in continental USA and Canada, also to Mexico and Puerto Rico).

(one exception which will hit me on my Hawaii-party-flight in Nov-99: for the West Coast - Hawaii-segment the UA-rules do downgrade "B"-class to eco: my UA-people in Frankfurt tell me, that this is the only segment systemwide, where "B"-class is automatically downgraded).

in Europe I can buy year-round discounted business-class-transatlantic-tickets (even from UA directly). Only rules are minimum stay 8 nights.

Most of the time you can find this "D"-business-class-tarifs on the german-UA-homepage http://www.ual.de

I have noticed D class fares on numerous flights between SFO and ORD. I'm flying that route on March 10 and I've noted them on a 747, a DC10 and surprise, on an A 320 ???

maybe the A320 connnects to international flights either at SFO or ORD?

I am still looking for those D fares in the ORD - IAD market...