Understanding Delta fare classes is not straight forward or well understood by the casual flyer. This article was written by a very frequent Delta Air Lines flyer who has spent many years studying how the airline industry operates and documenting the changes as the full-service airlines continually devalue frequent flyer benefits.
This article is designed to help a Silver, Gold, Platinum or Diamond Medallion understand fare class restrictions and the associated pecking order for upgrades to premium cabins.
The information contained is not endorsed by Delta Air Lines. If you find something incorrect, please send me a message and I’ll get it updated.
Delta Fare Class Groups
Since the 2015 introduction of revenue requirements to the SkyMiles Medallion program, Delta has added TONS of fare classes and made it much more complex to keep track of each. This article addresses revenue fare classes only. Award fare classes and upgrade fare classes can be found in their respective articles.
Fare Class basics
The ultra-simplified way to understand Delta fare classes and how it associates to ticket price, restrictions and upgrade eligibility is this:
Delta One, Delta Premium Select, Comfort+ and Main Cabin all have multiple seats and fare classes available for for sale to customers. By default, you’ll always buy the cheapest fare class available in the cabin of service; however, the less seats available in a fare class causes the fare class (not cabin) to become full. Then the next (more expensive) fare class becomes available for sale (with an increase in ticket price) until the cabin is sold out.
If you don’t know, now you know…
Fare classes do not relate to where you sit within your cabin, they are just a placeholder for how much you paid. You can easily purchase a last minute Main Cabin ticket in the Y-fare bucket and sit a middle seat in the last row, while a basic economy ticket may be sitting right behind Comfort+ in a preferred seat – this is due to the economics of supply vs demand (i.e.: less seats in the cabin = higher fare classes, and thus prices).
Once all cabins have been sold out, the flight no longer has availability and is considered sold out.
Upgrades and important rules
The Delta Air Lines official upgrade order and rules are published here which does clearly outline the process that should be followed for upgrades; however there are some caveats that frequent flyers may not know:
Revenue Fare Class Upgrade Order
When you find your fare class, you can expand it and click through to get fare-specific information for your fare class.
Delta One (J) or First Class (J)
Fare class J is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Delta One. This fare class is marketed as full fare business class on domestic and international flights.
Also referred to as: Booking Class J, Booking Code J, Fare Class J, Ticket Code J, Class J, J Fare or Delta One (J)
Delta One (C) or First Class (C)
Fare class C is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Delta One. This fare class is considered a discount business class fare class on domestic and international flights.
Also referred to as: Booking Class C, Booking Code C, Fare Class C, Ticket Code C, Class C, C Fare or Delta One (C)
Delta One (D) or First Class (D)
Fare class D is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Delta One. This fare class is considered a discount business class fare class on domestic and international flights.
Also referred to as: Booking Class D, Booking Code D, Fare Class D, Ticket Code D, Class D, D Fare or Delta One (D)
Delta One (I) or First Class (I)
Fare class I is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Delta One. This fare class is considered a discount business class fare class on domestic and international flights.
Also referred to as: Booking Class I, Booking Code I, Fare Class I, Ticket Code I, Class I, I Fare or Delta One (I)
Delta Fare Class Z
Fare class Z is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Delta One. This fare class is considered a discount business class fare class on domestic and international flights.
Also referred to as: Booking Class Z, Booking Code Z, Fare Class Z, Ticket Code Z, Class Z, Z Fare or Delta One (Z)
Delta Fare Class F
Fare class F is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as full fare First Class or Delta Premium Select. This fare class is considered a First Class fare class on domestic and short-haul international flights and Delta Premium Select on long-haul international flights.
Also referred to as: Booking Class F, Booking Code F, Fare Class F, Ticket Code F, Class F, F Fare or First Class (F)
Delta Fare Class P
Fare class P is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Discount First Class or Delta Premium Select. This fare class is considered a First Class fare class on domestic and short-haul international flights and Delta Premium Select on long-haul international flights.
Also referred to as: Booking Class P, Booking Code P, Fare Class P, Ticket Code P, Class P, P Fare or First Class (P)
Delta Fare Class A
Fare class A is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Discount First Class or Delta Premium Select. This fare class is considered a First Class fare class on domestic and short-haul international flights and Delta Premium Select on long-haul international flights.
Also referred to as: Booking Class A, Booking Code A, Fare Class A, Ticket Code A, Class A, A Fare or First Class (A)
Delta Fare Class G
Fare class G is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Discount First Class or Delta Premium Select. This fare class is considered a First Class fare class on domestic and short-haul international flights and Delta Premium Select on long-haul international flights.
Also referred to as: Booking Class G, Booking Code G, Fare Class G, Ticket Code G, Class G, G Fare or First Class (G)
Delta Fare Class W
Fare class W is a revenue fare/booking class that is marketed as Delta Comfort+ on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. A ticket booked in the W fare class will be supported by a main cabin fare basis code to provide upgrade rankings for the ticket. This fare class is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class W, Booking Code W, Fare Class W, Ticket Code W, Class W, W Fare or Comfort (W)
Delta Fare Class Y
Fare class Y is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a full fare ticket that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class Y, Booking Code Y, Fare Class Y, Ticket Code Y, Class Y, Y Fare or Main Cabin (Y)
Delta Fare Class B
Fare class B is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a full fare ticket that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class B, Booking Code B, Fare Class B, Ticket Code B, Class B, B Fare or Main Cabin (B)
Delta Fare Class M
Fare class M is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a full fare ticket that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class M, Booking Code M, Fare Class M, Ticket Code M, Class M, M Fare or Main Cabin (M)
Delta Fare Class H
Fare class H is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a discounted main cabin fare class that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class H, Booking Code H, Fare Class H, Ticket Code H, Class H, H Fare or Main Cabin (H)
Delta Fare Class Q
Fare class Q is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a discounted main cabin fare class that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class Q, Booking Code Q, Fare Class Q, Ticket Code Q, Class Q, Q Fare or Main Cabin (Q)
Delta Fare Class K
Fare class K is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a discounted main cabin fare class that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class K, Booking Code K, Fare Class K, Ticket Code K, Class K, K Fare or Main Cabin (K)
Delta Fare Class L
Fare class L is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a discounted main cabin fare class that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class L, Booking Code L, Fare Class L, Ticket Code L, Class L, L Fare or Main Cabin (L)
Delta Fare Class U
Fare class U is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a deeply discounted main cabin fare class that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class U, Booking Code U, Fare Class U, Ticket Code U, Class U, U Fare or Main Cabin (U)
Delta Fare Class T
Fare class T is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a deeply discounted main cabin fare class that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class T, Booking Code T, Fare Class T, Ticket Code T, Class T, T Fare or Main Cabin (T)
Delta Fare Class X
Fare class X is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a deeply discounted main cabin fare class that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class X, Booking Code X, Fare Class X, Ticket Code X, Class X, X Fare or Main Cabin (X)
Delta Fare Class V
Fare class V is a revenue fare/booking class of service that is marketed as Main Cabin on Delta Air Lines mainline and code share flights. This fare class is considered a deeply discounted main cabin fare class that is eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Also referred to as: Booking Class V, Booking Code V, Fare Class V, Ticket Code V, Class V, V Fare or Main Cabin (V)
Delta Fare Class E
Fare class E is a revenue fare class that is marketed as Basic Economy on Delta Air Lines mainline and codeshare flights. This fare class is considered no-frills and the most restrictive fare class. There are limited numbers of seats available in this fare class.
Also referred to as: Booking Class E, Booking Code E, Fare Class E, Ticket Code E, Class E, E Fare or Basic Economy (E)
Amra says:
So essentially there is no differences between Class (U) or Class (T). So why this class system? What advantage it has for airline, travel agents or for people?
Jon says:
They’re mostly used internally but they do affect other things like companion certificates, multipliers, SkyBonus points, Mileage Upgrade Award eligibility, etc.
Noah says:
The Z class is not a Delta One fare class. I am booked in Z on a 738, which does not have a Delta One class.