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#962393 by Treedy
17 Sep 2023, 06:27
I booked four upper class roundtrips from DFW to LHR. My wife became ill the week before and we had to change our plans. I called to get a refund only to learn that they were not refundable, but I could change the dates for a fee. I was told that the fee would be around $2000 per passenger, so I told them I would change them online, thinking I could find a lower ticket price. I opened a private browser window and found some tickets for the dates I had given that were considerably cheaper. I then called back and told them which flights I wanted, and the person I talked to said there were no seats available. I told them I had a browser window open with open seats, and they went ahead and made the change for a bit over $1000, thinking I could change them again if needed.

So later on we decide to go a month later. I again look online before calling, but the person said the change would cost even more, around $4000 per passenger. I asked the reason why and they said that I had "I" fares, and for the ticket prices to be the same they would have to be the same "I" fares, but there were none available for the flights I wanted. I then declined and decided I needed to educate myself on airline fares.

I have since learned that even less expensive upper class fares are available on different days, and I started searching for a method whereby I could change my tickets with a minimum service charge.

So here's my question: Are there any methods to tell which fare level is being priced when I look online? Where can I educate myself about fare levels and how to save myself from paying unnecessary fees? I apologize if this is a duh-level topic, but until now I honestly thought there were only 3 fare levels: 1st class, business class, and economy. I would really appreciate any help anyone can give me. I've just now joined this board and none of my searches have produced a comprehensive answer.
#962394 by Nottingham Nick
17 Sep 2023, 09:38
Welcome to the site.

When V-Flyer was a more active site, we used to maintain a link to the nuances of the various fare codes.
A page like that very quickly becomes outdated as various goal posts are moved, and need someone to keep it up to date - this didn't happen, so it became obsolete.

This is a link to a VERY OLD VERSION of the page - I cannot guarantee its accuracy today, but it gives a flavour of how the system works (or at least used to) -
toolbox_fare_codes.php

To get a more up to date version, you would probably need access to a trade site.

Nick
#962395 by mitchja
17 Sep 2023, 10:24
It will be the difference in fare that you are getting stung by. If you decide to change your itinerary; as well and the change fee, you have to always pay any difference in the new fare.

Also because you originally booked an I fare, when changing; you have to be rebooked into another I fare as VS don't allow you to be rebooked into a lower fare. They can only rebook you into the same or higher fare code. The fares you see on the website will be the lowest Z fares.

(If VS change your itinerary for any reason though i.e. cancel your original flight for any reason then no change fee or difference in fare will apply. You are also entitled to a full 100% refund if VS re-schedule your flight's arrival time by more than 3 hours. This applies to any fare in any cabin. The original fare class also does not need to be available in this case. The have to re-book you in the lowest available fare).

VS see the following Upper Class fares on all routes :

Z - the least flexible, requires Sat night stay, £250 charge fee, zero refund if canceled apart from the tax element. Must be booked at least 28 days in advance.

I - As above, but comes with a 50 days advance purchase rule. Slightly less restrictive than a Z fare. Needs clarification as I'm not 100% sure any other difference between a Z and an I fare?

D - more flexible, £250 change fee, £350 cancelation fee, has to be booked at least 3 days in advance, no sat night stay required.

C - even more flexible but still comes with a £250 change fee, £350 cancelation fee, no advance purchase rule, no Sat night stay required.

J - fully flexible, no change fee, 100% refund in canceled , no Sat night required.

G - Reward fare, £30 change fee (waived for Flying Club Gold card holders).

There are other restrictions with different fare types (such as stop over rules etc ) but the ones above are main rules.

In terms of Flying Club. An I fare upwards earns double the normal tier points, D upwards earns double tier points + double the Virgin Points.

One thing to keep in mind is if you end up with a mix of fares on a return flight, i.e Z outbound and D return, the lowest fare always overrides the higher one and so the lowest fare applies to the entire journey meaning the more flexible D fare rules do not apply.

Airport transfers are no longer included in any Upper Class fare now (even fully flexible J fares).

Premium and Economy are similar with a whole load of different fares based on flexibility as well as tier point + virgin points earrings.

Just to slightly confuse matters, all VS fares in all cabins do now come with an an option to upgrade them to 'Flex'. For Upper Class it's an extra £240 per person per flight leg to upgrade any fare to Flex.

This upgrades them to be fully flexible in terms of cancelation and change fess. ie. you will get a 100% refund if you cancel and there will be no change fee.
#962419 by Treedy
19 Sep 2023, 16:49
mitchja wrote:Just to slightly confuse matters, all VS fares in all cabins do now come with an an option to upgrade them to 'Flex'. For Upper Class it's an extra £240 per person per flight leg to upgrade any fare to Flex.

This upgrades them to be fully flexible in terms of cancelation and change fess. ie. you will get a 100% refund if you cancel and there will be no change fee.


Hold on! So does that mean if I upgrade all of the tickets to "flex" for £240 per person per leg, I can then cancel and get a 100% refund? Does that include the upgrade fee?
#962424 by mitchja
19 Sep 2023, 19:58
The flex ‘upgrade’ can only be done at the point of purchase though.

You cannot upgrade any existing fare already purchased to flex.

Flex fares are bookable either directly with VS or via a travel agent. When booking direct this is the option you get during the purchase:

IMG_0051.jpeg
IMG_0051.jpeg (345.41 KiB) Viewed 1557 times
#962426 by Treedy
20 Sep 2023, 20:17
mitchja wrote:The flex ‘upgrade’ can only be done at the point of purchase though.

You cannot upgrade any existing fare already purchased to flex.


Ah! Thanks much for the reply. It appears that this experience will end up being an expensive education for me. When I was younger I was a lot sharper about traveling hacks.
#962431 by petercooper
21 Sep 2023, 23:24
That Flex stuff has proper caught me out. I haven't travelled for business since pre-pandemic, but, as usual, booked what I assumed were the most flexible/cancellable UC flights and paid full price for them (company pays). I noticed some time later they were only I and Z class flights but with the "flex" added! I'm guessing this is some sort of tactic to still book £4K revenue for a UC return but not have to offer some of the benefits of the higher tiers?
#962432 by CommanderB
22 Sep 2023, 11:34
petercooper wrote:That Flex stuff has proper caught me out. I haven't travelled for business since pre-pandemic, but, as usual, booked what I assumed were the most flexible/cancellable UC flights and paid full price for them (company pays). I noticed some time later they were only I and Z class flights but with the "flex" added! I'm guessing this is some sort of tactic to still book £4K revenue for a UC return but not have to offer some of the benefits of the higher tiers?


I think the flex option is one of the best innovations virgin has ever introduced. You can totally walk away with a refund for £240… bargain.

Previously, to get a fully refundable ticket, you’d be paying many thousands of pounds.

The way the fare buckets work now, as James layer out, is a stepped approach of rules. The easiest way to think about it is “as I get closer to the flight date, the prices get more expensive”. It’s as simple as that really.

Whenever you book tickets, if you need something specific (like the ability to refund it) you need to ask the ticketing agent very specifically for that.

On the website however I do think it’s a lot clearer now than in the past.
#962472 by petercooper
28 Sep 2023, 23:03
To be fair, my flight did still cost that.. Roughly £4500 LHR-SFO to end up with an I and a Z rather than the J I used to get for that price :-) It was booked months in advance as well..

However, I do think it's probably a better approach in general as it's clear what you're paying for up front, especially as few people really care about the fare codes.
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