Read Online Fired Airline Ticket Agent Reveals Airline Secrets by Nicholas Depinto - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nicholas Depinto
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makes it VERY easy to locate the lowest published fares between any two cities. Once you find the low fare, you can print out the fare rules associated with it. The fare code equals POWER. If you have a fare code, you have some power over the airline reservation agents. That’s all I wanted to say for now about fare codes. Let me explain now how to use them:
Let’s say you decide to fly from Phoenix to Cleveland on a Thursday three weeks from now and return the following Thursday. You call your travel agent and you ask for the lowest fare, and what do you get? $238 for roundtrip flight. If you look up the flight on the internet first, you’ll find the fare between these two cities is $198, and it’s offered by 8 different airlines. Why didn’t your travel agent find that low fare? Because to get the lower fare, you would have to fly in both directions, on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. To fly back to Phoenix on a Wed instead of Thurs, you save $40. So, learn to alert your travel agent when you can be flexible on dates!
It’s not always that simple of course. But, that’s why you’ll love your new-found FARE CODE power. I was once trying to book a flight from New York to Albuquerque New Mexico on American. I tried booking online and the best fare I could get was $482 with a connection in Houston (a HUB airport). But, I had the FARE CODE for the lowest fare and had the fare rules for the $178 fare. I called up the airline’s toll-free reservation number and with the airline reservation agent, I was able to get the fare. Of course, I had to make a connection in Phoenix, but I saved hundreds of dollars!
The point I’m trying to make here is that with the fare code, you have some power. Of course, not with the internet booking engines, because they don’t know what the fare code is. But, with the fare code, you can use travel agents and airline reservation agents to make your arrangements. When you call up the airline reservations line, the agent will not always immediately be able to recognize a fare as valid between two cities on given dates. The computer they have defaults to getting you from Point A to Point B, but not the cheapest way. So, if you give them the fare code, the will be able to keep looking for you. Some might insist that they found you the lowest fare, but when you give them the fare code, they change their minds.
A tip to keep in mind, if two cities are connected by a low-fare airline whose fares are not listed in the computerized reservations system used by your internet source, it is possible that the low-fare carrier might have a fare even lower than the LOWEST fare you find online.
Some more tips on fare codes:
X: usually appears in the 2 nd position, indicating travel MUST occur Monday thru Thursday, usually in both directions.
Y: if this appears in the 2 nd position, then it usually indicates that travel must take place Friday through Sunday.
N: if this appears in the 2 nd position, it indicates the fare is available only on a night flight.
IP: indicates instant purchase, meaning “non-refundable”
AS, CS, COM: indicates a companion fare (where one passenger flies free) paying only taxes and other charges
25, 50, 75: shown at the end of a fare code indicates the percentage penalty you will have to pay if you cancel your flight. For example, if the code is 75, you get back 25% of the fare if you cancel.
Secret # 7: Pick the right airport
Things to keep in mind:
• Fare differentials to various airports fluctuate up and down as rapidly as airfares themselves.
• Figure in the cost of annoyance of driving when you make your decision.
• Sometimes, a different airport will end up saving you money only when combined with a split ticket.
• Keep this secret in mind when you need tickets to a destination which is scarce (such as to the Superbowl, or to the Olympics). Of course you may not save in this case, but at least you’ll get a
Let’s say you decide to fly from Phoenix to Cleveland on a Thursday three weeks from now and return the following Thursday. You call your travel agent and you ask for the lowest fare, and what do you get? $238 for roundtrip flight. If you look up the flight on the internet first, you’ll find the fare between these two cities is $198, and it’s offered by 8 different airlines. Why didn’t your travel agent find that low fare? Because to get the lower fare, you would have to fly in both directions, on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. To fly back to Phoenix on a Wed instead of Thurs, you save $40. So, learn to alert your travel agent when you can be flexible on dates!
It’s not always that simple of course. But, that’s why you’ll love your new-found FARE CODE power. I was once trying to book a flight from New York to Albuquerque New Mexico on American. I tried booking online and the best fare I could get was $482 with a connection in Houston (a HUB airport). But, I had the FARE CODE for the lowest fare and had the fare rules for the $178 fare. I called up the airline’s toll-free reservation number and with the airline reservation agent, I was able to get the fare. Of course, I had to make a connection in Phoenix, but I saved hundreds of dollars!
The point I’m trying to make here is that with the fare code, you have some power. Of course, not with the internet booking engines, because they don’t know what the fare code is. But, with the fare code, you can use travel agents and airline reservation agents to make your arrangements. When you call up the airline reservations line, the agent will not always immediately be able to recognize a fare as valid between two cities on given dates. The computer they have defaults to getting you from Point A to Point B, but not the cheapest way. So, if you give them the fare code, the will be able to keep looking for you. Some might insist that they found you the lowest fare, but when you give them the fare code, they change their minds.
A tip to keep in mind, if two cities are connected by a low-fare airline whose fares are not listed in the computerized reservations system used by your internet source, it is possible that the low-fare carrier might have a fare even lower than the LOWEST fare you find online.
Some more tips on fare codes:
X: usually appears in the 2 nd position, indicating travel MUST occur Monday thru Thursday, usually in both directions.
Y: if this appears in the 2 nd position, then it usually indicates that travel must take place Friday through Sunday.
N: if this appears in the 2 nd position, it indicates the fare is available only on a night flight.
IP: indicates instant purchase, meaning “non-refundable”
AS, CS, COM: indicates a companion fare (where one passenger flies free) paying only taxes and other charges
25, 50, 75: shown at the end of a fare code indicates the percentage penalty you will have to pay if you cancel your flight. For example, if the code is 75, you get back 25% of the fare if you cancel.
Secret # 7: Pick the right airport
Things to keep in mind:
• Fare differentials to various airports fluctuate up and down as rapidly as airfares themselves.
• Figure in the cost of annoyance of driving when you make your decision.
• Sometimes, a different airport will end up saving you money only when combined with a split ticket.
• Keep this secret in mind when you need tickets to a destination which is scarce (such as to the Superbowl, or to the Olympics). Of course you may not save in this case, but at least you’ll get a
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