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Special Fares
How to Calculate Special IATA Fares?
Magiel Venema
Revised 2017 Edition

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What are Special Fares?
• Reduced Fares, but with:
• Certain Travel Restrictions
– Stopovers
– Minimum Stay Requirement
– Maximum Stay
• Why: to fill up empty spaces
• Why Restrictions:
– To make them unattractive for full fare paying
passengers, like business travelers

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Types of Special Fares
• Excursion Fares (EE)
– Highest, least restrictions
• Purchase Excursion Fares (PX)
– Intermediate
• Advance Purchase Fares (AP)
– Lowest, most restrictions
• Late Booking Fares
– Last minute, internet fares

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To recognize them
• Fare Basis Code:
• Format:
• Class – Season – Fare Type – Max. Validity
– YLEE3M: Y L EE 3M
– YHPX1M: Y H PX 1M
– YKAP60: Y K AP 60

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Restrictions
• Number of Stopovers
• Maximum Duration of Journey
• Minimum Stay at Destination
• Moment of Booking
• Cancellation Penalties
• Only in Economy Class and only for Returns

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How to deal with them?
• See (Air Tariff or GDS) if there are any Special Fares
between origin and destination
• Note all the fares and their Rule number
• Analyze the trip in this order on these points:
– Number of stopovers
– Duration of Minimum Stay
– Duration of Total Journey
• Why in the above order: Stopover Restriction is in
most cases the strongest restriction

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How to count the number of
stopovers?
• Stopover is a scheduled interruption of the
journey of more than 24 hours
• It does not matter if it is on the demand of
the traveler or not
• Do not include in the count the point of
turnaround!
• Count outbound and inbound journey
seperately

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How to analyze the maximum
duration of the journey?
• Count from the day after departure to the
day of departure for the (last leg) of the
return journey
• Validity in months: to the same day of the
last month
– 3 months: November 30 -> February 28!

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How to analyze the Minimum
Stay?
• At what date is the departure from last
stopover point (including for this matter, also
the point of Turnaround)?
• Start counting from the day after departure
from Point of Origin to that date
• Compare number of days with the minimum
stay requirement
• Easy?

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Example 1: AMS – MAD – CAS –
LIS - AMS
• Departure AMS: July 16
• Arrival CAS: July 19, Departure July 24
• Departure LIS: July 25
• What is the last stopoverpoint:
• LIS
• How many days:
• 9 Days (Start counting day after departure
AMS until departure from LIS)

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Example 2: AMS – MAD – CAS –
X/LIS - AMS
• Departure AMS: July 16
• Arrival CAS: July 19, Departure July 24
• Departure LIS: July 25
• What is the last stopoverpoint:
• CAS (Point of Turnaround)
• How many days:
• 8 Days (Start counting day after departure AMS
until departure from last stopoverpoint = CAS)

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Structure of the Rules
• Each Special Fare has its own Rule
• Each Rule has 30 paragraphs (0 – 29)
• With the rules, only the paragraphs that are
different from the Standard Paragraph SC100
are mentioned
• Mentioned Paragraphs have precedence over
Standard Paragraphs

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How to go ahead
• Analyze the itinerary of the trip
• Go to the rule of the lowest Special Fare
• Check paragraphs 8 – 6 – 7
• If paragraph is not mentioned, then consult
Standard Rule SC 100
• Compare checks with itinerary
• If it matches, then use that fare
• If not, go to the next lower Special Fare and repeat
your checks
• Etc.

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Once you have found an
applicable Special Fare
• Check for the season (Paragraph 3):
• Day of departure decides which season is applicable
• Write down the correct Fare Basis
• Note date and city from which earliest return may
commence
• Note last date of validity
• Write down ‘Not Valid Before’ and ‘Not Valid After’
for the applicable segments of the journey

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Example Not Valid Before
Not Valid After
• Departure Date: 19JUN
• Fare Basis YHEE4M
• Minimum Stay Requirement: 6 Days:
– Earliest departure last stopover city is 25JUN
• Maximum Validity: 4 Months
– Latest day of validity is 19OCT

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Not Valid Before &
Not Valid After
NOT VALID
BEFORE
NOT VALID
AFTER
19OCT
19OCT
19OCT
25JUN 19OCT

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To sum it up:
• Look for the lowest Special Fare
• See which Rule is applicable (Y …)
• Check Rule against Trip Itinerary
• If a Paragraph is not mentioned, than SC 100
applies
• If you find something that does not comply,
abandon and
• Go to next lowest Special Fare
• See which Rule is applicable (Y…)
• Repeat check of Rule against Trip Itinerary
• When you have found a fare, note Fare Basis and
establish Season and Not Valid Before and Not
Valid After

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Finally
• Explain client the rules:
– Minimum Stay
– Maximum Stay
– Payment Pariculars
– Cancellation Rules
• Prepare and Issue Ticket