- Flight Citizen
- Posts
- ✈️ What's a Fare Class?
Together with
In today’s issue ⤵
Fare Classes: What Are They and Why Do They Matter?
Deals of the Week - Air Canada, British Airways, IndiGo, Saudia & more
Airline Industry Roundup
Free Tool of the Week - Track Flights With Ease
Video Spotlight
✈️ What’s a Fare Class?
via aircanada.com
Basic, Standard, Flex, Comfort… What’s the difference?
These are known as fare classes, and they define the pricing, flexibility, and perks associated with your airline ticket.
Fare classes help airlines manage seat inventory, with higher classes offering more perks like flexible changes and refunds, and lower classes being cheaper and more restrictive.
🔐 Key Distinction
Fare class is not the same as cabin class.
Cabin class refers to the cabin and level of service you're ticketed in - economy, business or first class are cabin classes.
Fare class refers to the specific conditions associated with your booking - like Economy Standard, Business Flex, etc. The fare classes available for a ticket vary from airline to airline.
Why Do Fare Classes Matter?
Fare classes impact several key aspects of your flight experience:
Pricing: Fare classes are spread across varying price points, with more restrictive classes typically costing less, and flexible, premium fare classes costing more.
Flexibility: Higher fare classes allow for changes or cancellations with little to no penalty, while lower classes may be non-refundable or come with strict change fees.
Service Level: Your fare class can dictate what extra services or amenities you receive, such as seat selection, extra baggage allowance, or even lounge access (typically for premium fares on premium cabin classes).
Frequent Flyer Miles: Fare classes influence how many points or miles you earn, with higher classes often earning more.
Based on these factors, you should be able to determine which fare class is right for you.
If you’re on a budget, the lowest fare class is typically the best (and cheapest option); however, you will have to compromise on flexibility and potentially added benefits.
If you require flexibility, extra benefits or want to earn a higher number of points, opting for a higher fare class is likely the better option.
This issue is sponsored by Betterment ⭐️
Ease into investing
“Ease” being the key word. With automated tools like portfolio rebalancing and dividend reinvestment, Betterment makes investing easy for you, and a total grind for your money.
⚡️ Aviation Industry Roundup
Bidding for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Set to Take Place on October 1
Bidding for Pakistan’s flag carrier is set to occur on October 1, with the government willing to sell a 60% stake in the airline. This marks a significant milestone in the airline’s much anticipated privatization process.
Southwest Airlines to Scale Back Atlanta Operations
Southwest Airlines plans to reduce its presence in Atlanta by cutting underperforming flights in an effort to reduce operational costs. More than 300 pilots and flight attendants will be affected and may need to relocate to other cities as part of the changes.
📱 Free Tool of the Week
FlightRadar24 is a tool every traveller should have in their arsenal. It’s especially useful for tracking your aircraft before a flight to see if its previous flight was delayed/when it’ll arrive at your departure airport.
🎧 What I’m Watching Today
(Video) 8 Hours on the NEW Lufthansa Allegris Suite
Video Credit: Ricky Zhang
Thanks for reading today’s issue ✔️
DISCLAIMER: All prices quoted in this newsletter are in United States Dollars (USD) unless stated otherwise. The guides presented in this newsletter are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be personal financial advice. This publication may contain curated content with links to source materials. Recommendations and opinions are those of the original authors, and Flight Citizen assumes no liability.
Reply