Fare Rules

This topic provides information about fare rules relevant to an TMC agent audience.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Fare Rules
  • How to look up fare rules in Sabre
  • Fare Rules listed and explained

How to look up fare rules in Sabre

Login to Sabre.

Locate and display the PNR.

Click on the briefcase icon. The trips summary page will be displayed. 

Click on the PNR. The PNR will be expanded and show details.

Click Quotes. 

Then, click the price (PQ).

Click thebutton (in the bottom right hand side). This will display the Fare Rules Categories window.

You can click Copy Fare Rules to copy the fare rules into a Notepad app. This lets you avoid toggling back and forth while performing exchanges.

Each category is listed. If you select a rule from the list on the left side, the rules details will display on the right side.

There may be times you would prefer to look up the fare rules manually using the format entry if it involves multiple fares or airlines for instance).

Next we will look at how to look up the rule from within the record or refer to the quick rules under Quotes.

When in the PNR, you can use variations of the RD (Rule Display) formats to look up fare rules. 

• The basic entry uses the following formula: RD (Rule Display)(Ticketing Date)(City Pair)(Travel Date)(Fare Basis Code) - (Two letter airline code)
• For example: RD31MAR22LHRSFO07MAY22ZNCU5-UA

You can scroll through the rules or go directly to the rule you want by using the formula.

The formula is Rule Display*Category Number. For example: RD*16.

The reason you can use RD*16 as well as the standard RD format (e.g., RD31MAR22LHRSFO07MAY22ZNCU5-UA), is that both will retrieve the same necessary details. However, using the first entry can be useful when you have multiple fares or airlines included in the PNR.

Listed below are some other formats that can be used as qualifiers. These can help you locate details in case the general format does not obtain the information you need. Experiment with a few of them to learn what information they can be used to retrieve.

You can also use the Fare Quote screen to look up Fare Basis Codes and find the rules associated with them. Although this may not be a common task, it’s good to know how to do it in case you need it.

For example, if you used this fare code FQLHRSFO07MAY22-UA, you will retrieve the list for the fare basis associated with the ticket (as show in the screen shots below).

In this example, the options have been filtered to only include the airlines ticketed (in this case United Airlines). UA has been used as a qualifier in the format. 

In this example, you can identify the fare basis that is mentioned in your ticket. As you scroll, you will see a list of fare basis associated with UA. You can then match the fare basis to you ticket.

Direction of fares 

When looking for tariffs on the Fare Quote screen, remember that fares are directional. This means that fares cannot be located when they are not searched in the country of origin. To illustrate this, let’s use the itinerary we previously used as an example:  

• Itinerary: LHR-SFO-LHR
• The return fare basis code is CNCGWB

If we use FQLHRSFO07MAY22-UA¥BC, we will find the FB code. 

If we use FQSFOLHR07MAY22-UA¥BC, we will not succeed in locating the FB code. 

Successful:

Unsuccessful:

Fare Rules listed and explained

You will eventually learn to trust your eyes and yourself when interpreting the fare rules. Although some are more challenging than others to understand, they are more simplified now than they were previously. 

You are responsible to determine what fare rules apply to the transactions. You must review the rules prior to running the exchange.

Tips: 

• Always review the rules for each Fare Basis code and follow and apply the most restrictive terms.
• If there are multiple carriers, apply the highest change fee.
• Most fare rules will only need to be referenced for return and en-route exchanges. Outbound exchanges are subject to repricing. Always check Cat 16.

Category 01 | Eligibility

This includes the dates when travel can begin and end (usually for promotional or sale fares) as well as the booking code needed for the fare.

• The eligibility dates for the fare code CNCB2WR used above are 08APR - 30APR. However the maximum and minimum fares have their own criteria requirements and these override the dates listed.
• This category can indicate the last travel day, also known as travel complete (the date on which all travel must be complete to use this fare code).
• In some cases, this category does NOT state ANY requirements for eligibility. However, in this example (above), to use the fare code CNCB2WR, the dates of travel must be between 08APR and 30APR. 

Category 02 | Day/Time

This Indicates which the days of the week for which the fare is valid.

• May include specific days of the week or a range of days. May even include specific times of the day.
• Can be a directional rule. 
• Often there will be no restrictions listed.

Category 03 | Seasonality

Indicates the travel that in peak seasons or peak months may cost significantly higher. 

Many international fares have seasonality restrictions.

Category 4 | Flight Application

• May include flight numbers and carriers that are valid and not valid for the fare.
• May describe conditions under which (due to code share agreements) the fare is valid. For example, when the airline publishing the fare is also the operating carrier.
• This category may also include routing restrictions, restrictions to non-stop flights or connecting flights. 

Category 5 | Advance Purchase/Ticketing

Indicates restrictions when a reservation must be booked and ticketed.

This applies when the itinerary is initially created, but may also apply when processing a return or en route exchanges.

Category 6 & 7 | Minimum & Maximum Stay

These rules can determine the price of the traveler’s ticket in the event of exchanges.

This example indicates that if a change is made, if the min/max stay window's not met, the ticket no longer qualifies for the original fare.

Category 10| Combinations

This rule indicates whether carriers align their fares within alliances and if combinations of carriers are permitted.

Category 12 | Surcharges

This rule indicates whether surcharges are added to fares for travel to and from certain countries or for travel during certain peak travel dates or times. It can also indicate that surcharges may be collected for various reasons including:

• Cost of Fuel
• Use of certain airport facilities 
• Traveling in certain cabins of service

Category 16 | Penalties

This category contains the information required for cancellations and changes. 

This will indicate the cancellation rules and will detail how much if any money a customer might be refunded if the itinerary is cancelled. 

The Change rule section usually follows the CANCELLATIONS rule section. The Change section indicates the change fee that must be charged when exchanging a ticket. The ORIGINATING country information is also very important since the rules can vary.

Next, let’s dissect another rule as it will be a common rule to interpret. 

The sample reservation used is again LHR-SFO-LHR.

We see this rule (which came first in the list) is Originating in the US. 

It states if the ticket is issued on UA stock, then it may be cancelled minus a penalty fee of $400 as long as travel has not commenced.

It also states that changes are permitted and at no cost.

We have now found Rules associated with Area 2. Europe is located in Iata Area 2. It shows the ticket is non-refundable, but changes are permitted without a charge.

As a result, if traveler wants to cancel, then they will receive a credit to use without penalty, but it does not qualify for a refund back to the form of payment. 

You will also see rules that relate to guaranteed airfare. So if you were changing the outbound ticket, these rules state you must reprice using today’s fares.

The change penalty rule also indicates that when exchanging a ticket, the new fare must be equal to or of a higher value. If the new ticket cost is lower than the original fare booked, the residual value will be lost (depending on the airline). The residual will also not be applied to any applicable change fee.

This section explains what exclusions apply when exchanging a ticket. For example, in this case, the new itinerary does not qualify for the originally ticketed fare using the same booking code. In addition, fare restrictions could apply if there are seasonal fare restrictions in force at the time of an exchange. 

Category 31 | Voluntary Changes

This category is somewhat of a catch-all. Many automated exchange functions actually only refer to this rule when they run through an exchange. Penalties and surcharges are listed here as well. Information in this category tends to supersede all other categories (if different from those other categories). However, most of the time it will match the other categories.

You can use this format to read the run for voluntary changes on Sabre.

Below is an example of the information that could be retrieved.