---
title: "Booking and flight search | Benefit Systems"
description: "Booking and flight search: Every article and term on this topic, grouped by subtopic."
source: "aus dem gebauten HTML abgeleitet"
---
# Booking and flight search

Every article and term on this topic, grouped by subtopic. [Full glossary](/en/glossary).

## Fares

### Can I cancel a flight booking for free within 24 hours?

Why the 24-hour rule is a federal requirement rather than a courtesy, which bookings it covers, how hotels and rental cars differ, what a schedule change triggers and when paying for flexibility is not worth it.

### Does an airline have to honour an error fare?

How an error fare arises, what the US rule on mistaken fares actually says, which expenses have to be reimbursed

### Is basic economy worth it if I need to check a bag?

Why the cheapest fare is rarely the cheapest trip, which services are stripped out, how bags and seats add up, what changes during a disruption and when a basic fare is exactly right.

### Is paying a seat selection fee worth it?

Why seats are sold separately, how the free assignment works, what families need to know, which seats are worth paying for and when paying is unnecessary.

### What do airline fare rules actually control?

The six points every fare rule settles, why two equally priced tickets differ, where to find the rules before paying, and when the cheapest fare turns out to be the most expensive.

### What does the fare class letter on my ticket mean?

A fare class is the single letter in your ticket that an airline uses to manage seat inventory. The letter does not describe the cabin; it describes the fare inside that cabin, and it determines mileage accrual, upgrade eligibility, change rights and elite qualification. Two passengers sitting side by side in economy can hold very different rights.

## Risk

### What happens on separate tickets if my first flight is late?

Why two bookings can be cheaper, what risk that creates, how baggage and connection time change, and when the saving is still worth taking.

### When is a positioning flight worth it?

A positioning flight is a separately ticketed flight to the airport where a cheaper main booking starts.

## Baggage

### Will my bag be checked through to the final destination?

Why bags only travel through with an agreement, when they have to be reclaimed en route, how an immigration entry breaks the chain, what to ask at the counter and when through-checking makes no difference.

## Booking

### Which airline am I actually flying on a codeshare booking?

In a codeshare one airline sells seats on another airline's flight under its own flight number.

## Distribution

### Should I book flights direct or through a booking site?

Where the price difference comes from, who handles a disruption, what portals do to a rebooking, and when the detour is still the right choice.

## Planning

### How much connection time do I need between flights?

Why minimum connecting time is not a safety margin, which factors lengthen it, how terminal changes and screening work, what changes on separate tickets and when more buffer stops helping.

## Price

### When is the best time to book a flight?

Why there is no best weekday, how fare buckets create the price, which three factors actually decide the timing, and when waiting becomes expensive.

## Seating

### Is an exit row seat worth paying for?

Why the row has more legroom, which duties come with it, who may not sit there, why some of these seats are less comfortable than expected and when the fee is not worth paying.

## Special cases

### How do I fly with a dog or cat?

Which three routes exist, why the booking comes last, what breed and weather change, what the destination requires, how the costs add up and when taking the animal is the wrong decision.

## Tools

### How do I find the aircraft type for my flight?

Why the aircraft says more about a flight than the price, where the information reliably sits, why the same route is configured differently, how to spot a swap and when checking is pointless.

## Terms on this topic

- [Aircraft type](/en/glossary/aircraft-type): Aircraft type is the model operating a flight, and it determines seat layout, cabin fit and therefore what the journey is actually like.
- [Airport code](/en/glossary/airport-code): An airport code is the three-letter identifier used to designate airports in bookings, bag tags and schedules.
- [Ancillary revenue](/en/glossary/ancillary-revenue): Ancillary revenue is income from services stripped out of the ticket price and sold separately, such as bags, seats or changes.
- [Base fare](/en/glossary/base-fare): The base fare is the pure transport price of a ticket, before taxes, airport charges and airline surcharges are added.
- [Basic economy](/en/glossary/basic-economy): Basic economy is a network airline's cheapest fare, with baggage, seat selection and changes stripped out of the price.
- [Booking reference](/en/glossary/booking-reference): A booking reference is the six-character code identifying a reservation record for the airline, the agency and the airport.
- [Cabin class](/en/glossary/cabin-class): Cabin class is the physical section of an aircraft, economy, premium economy, business or first, each with its own seating and service.
- [Codeshare](/en/glossary/codeshare): A codeshare is a flight sold by one airline under its own flight number while a different airline actually operates it.
- [Direct flight](/en/glossary/direct-flight): A direct flight keeps one flight number and may still touch down on the way; a nonstop flight goes from origin to destination without landing.
- [Drip pricing](/en/glossary/drip-pricing): Drip pricing is a sales practice in which mandatory costs only become visible step by step during the booking process.
- [Electronic miscellaneous document](/en/glossary/electronic-miscellaneous-document): An electronic miscellaneous document is the separate receipt for paid extras such as bags, seats or change fees, issued apart from the flight ticket.
- [Error fare](/en/glossary/error-fare): An error fare is a fare published by mistake far below normal levels, typically through a keying error or a currency mix-up.
- [Exit row](/en/glossary/exit-row): An exit row is the seat row at an emergency exit, offering extra legroom and subject to legal requirements on who may sit there.
- [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.
- [Fare class](/en/glossary/fare-class): A fare class is the single letter on a ticket that identifies the fare and decides mileage earning, change rights and upgrade eligibility.
- [Fare rules](/en/glossary/fare-rules): Fare rules are the conditions attached to a specific airfare covering changes, refunds, validity, stopovers and mileage earning.
- [Fifth freedom route](/en/glossary/fifth-freedom-route): A fifth freedom route is a flight between two foreign countries operated by an airline from a third country as an extension of its own network.
- [Free cancellation window](/en/glossary/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.
- [Global distribution system](/en/glossary/global-distribution-system): A global distribution system is the technical platform travel agencies and booking sites use to search flights, price them and send bookings to airlines.
- [Hidden-city ticketing](/en/glossary/hidden-city-ticketing): Hidden-city ticketing means booking a flight beyond the intended destination and getting off at the connecting airport because the longer trip is cheaper.
- [Hub](/en/glossary/hub): A hub is an airport where an airline banks its flights in waves so that passengers from many origins can connect to many destinations.
- [In-flight entertainment](/en/glossary/in-flight-entertainment): In-flight entertainment is the onboard entertainment offer, delivered either through seatback screens or streamed to a passenger's own device.
- [Interline agreement](/en/glossary/interline-agreement): An interline agreement is a contract between two airlines to accept each other's tickets, transfer baggage and rebook passengers during disruption.
- [Layover](/en/glossary/layover): A layover is the wait between two flights on one journey, short enough to count as connecting rather than as a stay of its own.
- [Load factor](/en/glossary/load-factor): Load factor is the share of available seats that have been sold, measuring how full a flight or a network is.
- [Low-cost carrier](/en/glossary/low-cost-carrier): A low-cost carrier is an airline whose model rests on a low base fare, unbundled extras and high aircraft utilisation.
- [Maximum permitted mileage](/en/glossary/maximum-permitted-mileage): Maximum permitted mileage is the greatest distance a distance-based fare allows between origin and destination, detours included.
- [Metasearch](/en/glossary/metasearch): A metasearch site compares prices across providers and hands the traveller on to an airline or agency to complete the booking.
- [Minimum connection time](/en/glossary/minimum-connection-time): Minimum connection time is the shortest connection a reservation system will sell at a given airport between two flights.
- [New Distribution Capability](/en/glossary/new-distribution-capability): New Distribution Capability is a data standard letting airlines send offers directly to sellers rather than distributing them only through legacy systems.
- [Online travel agency](/en/glossary/online-travel-agency): An online travel agency is an intermediary that sells flights and hotels in its own name, sitting between the traveller and the airline or hotel.
- [Opaque rate](/en/glossary/opaque-rate): An opaque rate is an offer where the provider is revealed only after booking, such as an unnamed hotel of a given class in a given district.
- [PAX](/en/glossary/pax): PAX is the industry abbreviation for passengers, used both for passenger volumes and for individual travellers in booking systems.
- [Pet in cabin](/en/glossary/pet-in-cabin): Pet in cabin means carrying a small animal on board in a soft bag under the seat in front, booked in advance and charged as an extra.
- [Point-to-point network](/en/glossary/point-to-point-network): A point-to-point network is a model in which an airline links cities directly and does not plan connecting itineraries over a hub.
- [Premium economy](/en/glossary/premium-economy): Premium economy is a separate cabin between economy and business, with wider seats, more pitch and its own service.
- [Rack rate](/en/glossary/rack-rate): The rack rate is a hotel's official undiscounted room price, used as the reference point from which all other rates are derived.
- [Rate parity](/en/glossary/rate-parity): Rate parity is the agreement that a hotel offers the same room price across all distribution channels and does not undercut the agencies.
- [Revenue management](/en/glossary/revenue-management): Revenue management is the process by which an airline distributes seats across price levels in order to maximise total revenue on a flight.
- [Seat pitch](/en/glossary/seat-pitch): Seat pitch is the distance from one point on a seat to the same point on the seat in front, used as a proxy for legroom.
- [Seat selection fee](/en/glossary/seat-selection-fee): A seat selection fee is a charge for choosing a specific seat before departure instead of having one assigned at check-in.
- [Separate tickets](/en/glossary/separate-tickets): Separate tickets are two independent bookings covering one journey with a connection, where no airline is responsible for the transfer between them.
- [Split ticketing](/en/glossary/split-ticketing): Split ticketing means dividing a journey into several separate tickets because the sum of the parts costs less than the through booking.
- [Standby](/en/glossary/standby): Standby is being placed on a list for a flight without a confirmed seat, boarding only if space remains shortly before departure.
- [Through-checked baggage](/en/glossary/through-checked-baggage): Through-checked baggage is luggage tagged to the final destination at the first departure, so it does not need collecting at the connecting airport.
- [Ticket number](/en/glossary/ticket-number): A ticket number is the thirteen-digit identifier of an issued flight ticket and the proof that a booking has been paid for and ticketed.