Brex partners with TravelBank to provide customers with great deals on flights. You will find information below on the different types of bookings that are possible.
Flight Pricing:
Very dynamic due to sophisticated revenue management softwares used by airlines - it is constantly adjusted based on:
- Fare class
- Demand
- Time to flight
- Availability
On any given flight, even people sitting in the same row are likely to have paid very different prices - this is due to the different class fare prices.
Final pricing is never guaranteed until a ticket is issued.
Flight Economy Classes:
Basic Economy:
- The cheapest and most restrictive fare you can book with an airline
- Still seated in the economy class cabin
- Limited flexibility, no carry-on, no elite status accumulation
- Mainstream airlines rolled out basic economy fares to compete with LLCs but do not actually want to sell this
Economy:
- Seat selection at the time of booking, if available
- Enjoy other options for customizing your travel
Economy (flexible):
- Refundable fare, but cancellation and change fees may apply
- Seat selection at the time of booking, if available
- Enjoy other options for customizing your travel
Flight Voids and Cancellations:
The ticketing process consists of a 2-step process:
- Holding a spot/seat on the flight
- Ticketing: actual ticket on the itinerary
For US-flights only, airlines must give users at least 24 hours from the time of ticketing to cancel a ticket and get a full refund (no penalties) - within 24 hours, tickets can be voided and the seat can be cancelled.
After 24 hours, the seat can be cancelled, but the ticket will still retain some value - the amount of the value left on the ticket (called the residual value) depends on the cost of the ticket exchange fee.
Flight Ticket Exchanges:
Fees for ticket exchanges are very complex (depends on fare rules) and vary for each airline and fare class:
- Generally, domestic airlines usually charge a $150-$200 ticket exchange fee for making changes to a non-refundable airfare after 24 hours
- For international flights, the ticket exchange fee can be up to $400
- Southwest Airline does not charge a change fee for tickets, which makes it a popular choice among scrappy companies
- The actual cost of a ticket exchange is impossible to predict in advance and is based on two things:
- The ticket exchange fee (which is a fixed fee, written in the fare rules at the time of original ticket purchase)
- The cost of mark up between the old ticket vs the new ticket (which is constantly changing)
For more information, feel free to take a look at the following TravelBank blog articles:
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