Understanding Air France revenue fare classes should be simple. You buy a ticket, the airline assigns it a fare class, and that fare class determines things like price, flexibility, upgrades, and frequent flyer earnings.
Naturally, the airline industry has made this considerably more complicated.
Behind familiar cabin names like Economy, Premium Economy, and Business are individual fare classes, usually represented by a single letter. Two passengers sitting next to each other in the same cabin may have tickets booked into completely different fare classes, with different rules and different frequent flyer earnings.
This guide is designed to make Air France fare classes easier to understand, particularly for travelers who don’t spend their free time studying airline ticketing systems.
It’s based on years of frequent flying, researching airline pricing and loyalty programs, and tracking the changes airlines make to their fare structures and frequent flyer benefits. The goal is simple: explain what those booking-class letters mean, why they matter, and how they affect the miles or points you may earn from an Air France flight.
This is an independent guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Air France. Fare classes, earning rates, and airline policies change regularly, because apparently understanding them once would be too convenient.
If you find something that’s outdated or incorrect, send me a message and I’ll get it updated.
Air France Fare Classes
Learn what the fare class letters on your boarding pass mean
Like many SkyTeam airlines, Air France has spent the past several years expanding the number of products it sells between the cheapest Economy ticket and the most expensive seat on the aircraft. That includes greater emphasis on Premium Economy, creating another rung on the increasingly tall ladder between Economy, Premium Economy, Business, and La Première.
The easiest way to understand Air France fare classes is to think of them as pricing buckets within each cabin.
Each cabin has several fare classes available for sale. These fare classes are usually identified by a single letter and determine things such as the ticket price, change restrictions, cancellation rules, and frequent flyer earnings.
Under normal circumstances, Air France will sell the cheapest available fare class within the cabin you’ve selected. As more passengers buy tickets, those cheaper fare classes begin to disappear. Air France then sells the next available fare class at a higher price.
The seat didn’t necessarily get better. It just got more expensive because you waited.
This continues until all of the fare classes assigned to that cabin have been sold.
Importantly, fare class does not determine where you sit within the cabin. Two passengers sitting next to each other in Business Class could have completely different fare classes. One may have purchased a discounted Business fare months earlier, while the other bought an expensive ticket three days before departure.
The seats may be identical. The prices certainly don’t have to be.
Fare classes primarily tell the airline what type of ticket you purchased and how much flexibility comes with it. They can also affect frequent flyer earnings, upgrade eligibility, and where your ticket sits in the airline’s complicated hierarchy when upgrades are involved.
Once every available fare class within a cabin has been sold, that cabin is considered sold out. Once every fare class across Economy, Premium Economy, Business, and La Première has been sold, the entire flight is sold out.
At least until the airline decides to change the inventory again.
Revenue Fare Classes
Information about each Revenue Fare Class on Air France.
La Premiere
Below is a comprehensive list of known Air France La Première revenue and upgrade fare classes. Select a fare class to learn more about its ticket rules, upgrade eligibility, frequent flyer earnings, and other details that may affect your trip.
Business
Below is a comprehensive list of known Air France Business Class revenue and upgrade fare classes. Select a fare class to learn more about its ticket rules, upgrade eligibility, frequent flyer earnings, and other details that may affect your trip.
Premium Economy
Below is a comprehensive list of known Air France Premium Economy revenue and upgrade fare classes. Select a fare class to learn more about its ticket rules, upgrade eligibility, frequent flyer earnings, and other details that may affect your trip.
Economy
Below is a comprehensive list of known Air France Economy revenue and upgrade fare classes. Select a fare class to learn more about its ticket rules, upgrade eligibility, frequent flyer earnings, and other details that may affect your trip.