What are Fare rules?

Fare rules are the conditions attached to a specific airfare covering changes, refunds, validity, stopovers and mileage earning.

Also called: Fare conditions.

How it works#

They belong to the fare rather than to the airline as a whole, and they differ sharply between fares on the same flight. Reading them before booking reveals the price of a change of plan before it happens. With separately booked tickets several rule sets apply side by side, and in practice the most restrictive one decides what is possible.

Not to be confused with#

Fare rules are not the same as the conditions of carriage: fare rules govern the individual ticket, conditions of carriage govern the relationship with the airline overall.

In German#

The German term is Tarifbedingungen. German version of this term

Related terms#

• 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.
• Conditions of carriage: Conditions of carriage are an airline’s general contract terms, setting out the rights and duties of both sides for every ticket it sells.
• Free cancellation window: A free cancellation window is a short period after booking during which a flight ticket can be cancelled without fee and refunded in full.

Articles that use this term#

• What’s in the fare rules, and why read them?
• Can you cancel a booking for free?
• When do you get money back for a flight you didn’t take?
• How do cabin upgrades actually work?
• What do you do first when your flight is cancelled?
• Do you have to accept a voucher instead of cash?