---
title: "What is Base fare? | Benefit Systems"
description: "The base fare is the pure transport price of a ticket, before taxes, airport charges and airline surcharges are added."
source: "aus dem gebauten HTML abgeleitet"
---
# What is Base fare?

The base fare is the pure transport price of a ticket, before taxes, airport charges and airline surcharges are added.

Also called: Net fare.

## How it works #

A lot of downstream maths rests on it: revenue-based mileage earning, elite credit, commissions and, in some programmes, the refundable amount. Because taxes and charges vary sharply by airport pair, two identical final prices say little about the base fare, and therefore little about how much a flight is worth for status and miles.

## Not to be confused with #

The base fare is not the same as the total price, which additionally contains taxes, airport charges and surcharges.

## In German #

The German term is Nettotarif. [German version of this term](/de/glossar/nettotarif)

## Related terms #

- [Carrier-imposed surcharge](/en/glossary/carrier-imposed-surcharge): A carrier-imposed surcharge is a fee set by the airline itself and added to a ticket, payable in cash on award bookings on top of the miles.
- [Airport taxes and charges](/en/glossary/airport-taxes-and-charges): Airport taxes and charges are government and airport levies contained in the ticket price and passed on to third parties.
- [Fare basis code](/en/glossary/fare-basis-code): A fare basis code is the full tariff code on a ticket, encoding promotions, validity and restrictions on top of the fare class letter.

## Articles that use this term #

- [What’s in the fare rules, and why read them?](/en/knowledge/fare-rules)
- [What is a fare class and why does it decide everything?](/en/knowledge/fare-class)
- [When do you get money back for a flight you didn’t take?](/en/knowledge/refunds-for-unused-flights)
- [What is an error fare, and can the airline cancel it?](/en/knowledge/error-fares)