Q&A with the Seat Expert

The numbers are the number of seats configured in a particular class, and the letters denote the actual class of service. By convention, most airlines use the letter “Y” to denote economy class, and “C” or “J” for Business class, and usually “F” for first class. There are some variances from airline to airline, but in general this is fairly consistent within the airline industry. Most of the time, the class letter is in Caps.

Looking at the two examples you mentioned: Y132 would mean that the aircraft is configured in one class of service, with 132 coach seats. C8 Y126 means that the aircraft is configured in two classes, with eight seats in Business class, and 126 seats in the economy cabin.

The “F”, “C”/”J” and “Y” notations only identify the class of services, and not the booking code of the ticket. There are many further codes used to identify the rules of the ticket and the relative cost of the ticket. For example, there are probably 10 or more coach fare codes, with Y usually indicating full fare coach, and the remaining 10 or more codes are usually in decending cost of the ticket with correspondingly more restrictive limitations. There are fewer Business and First class fare codes, and the codes for all three classes often vary widely between airlines.