Miles & More: What is a booking class?

Question

I'm member of the frequent flyer program Miles & More. Now I wanted to request additional miles for a flight during summer 2011 when I wasn't yet a member. To fill out the online form, I have to enter the booking class. There are various possibilities, for example Economy B class, Economy C class, Economy D class, etc.

I don't know what this is. I flew economy class, but I didn't know that there are any subclasses. So how can I find the right booking class? The flight was from Zürich to Helsinki with blue1.

Answer 1

The booking class is the basis for the fare you paid.

Within the 'economy' ticket section, there are different fare "classes", A, B, C, D, etc, that have different price levels and a certain number of tickets allocated. Different fare classes can also affect what types of rights you have - like if it's refundable or changeable.

So you could have 20 tickets in class D at €100, 30 tickets in class C at €150, and so on. But perhaps also buying class C means that you're allowed to change the date of your ticket.

Additionally, some types of booking class are ineligible to earn miles, generally the very cheapest.

The pricing for tickets is not alphabetically ordered. For most airlines F means full-fare first class, Y means full-fare economy or economy plus/extra, and C or J can be full-fare business.

According to this list, the Blue1 booking classes: G/K/L/O/T/U/W are not eligible for miles.

If you order online you should have received an email confirmation with an invoice/receipt that states your booking class somewhere and the level of refunds/changes you can receive. I'd check your booking confirmation first.

Answer 2

The Lufthansa Miles and More site includes a page to help you find your booking class on your ticket, boarding pass etc. This boarding pass is in Business (C class) - whatever it says on yours where the 2 is, that's your booking class:

This boarding pass stub is for Y, one of the Economy booking classes:

If you have your itinerary, e-ticket, confirmation email, or receipt, you may also find your booking class on there, though the web site isn't clear about where. Some airlines call it Fare Class. Some use a multi-letter code where the first one is your booking class and the other letters include more detail like a web-only fare.

If you don't have your boarding pass or your itinerary, try finding a flight for the same cost today between those two points, and see what booking class you end up in. Then say that was the class you flew in.