Airline Secrets Revealed: Affordable First-Class Faresby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 28 Jun 2006 12:43 PM A few months ago I had to make an "emergency" trip to Hawaii to attend a family function. I didn't have the luxury of booking my trip with the recommended two-week notice and therefore was left with few low-price options. After spending hours on the Internet searching for a decent price, I finally gave up and started calling individual airlines to see what they could offer me. Surprisingly, I was quoted a first-class seat on Delta for about $400 less than a coach seat on American (using the same dates and the same departure and arrival cities). Was it just a fluke? The answer: a resounding "NO." There is a little known airline secret regarding booking first-class seats that will allow you to fly in style by paying the same amount as someone in coach. The trick-when making your reservation, ask the agent about a YUPP fare (some airlines use the codes QUPP and Z). Most travelers don't realize these fares exist, so the airlines really don't lose a lot of money on the seats. According to FirstClassFlyer.com: "Leading airlines confirm they offer this kind of fare, describing it as either a coach seat with an automatic upgrade or deeply discounted first class." Whatever they want to call it, it can add up to big savings for you. FareCompare.com recently did a study on how much money can be saved with a YUPP fare: For a round-trip flight from Dallas to St. Louis on American Airlines, the YUPP fare is $278 -- that's nearly $1,500 cheaper than a regular seat in first class and more than a $1,000 less than the most expensive seat in coach. On a round trip Delta flight from Baltimore to Atlanta the QUPP fare was $638 -- that's $750 less than regular first class and nearly half the price of full-fare coach. Travel experts say that a lot of times the YUPPs are "matching some sort of low-cost carrier in a particular market." Personally, I would have never thought of even trying to fly first-class if it hadn't been for the fact that I stumbled upon this travel trick. I rarely find reasonably priced coach seats... so who would have thought I could sit in the front of the plane, in a comfortable seat, eating decent food, without going into debt doing so? What's more, in addition to sitting in the front of the plane, the YUPP seats offer other benefits as well. Experts say they're generally fully refundable seats, and you may get extra frequent flier miles for booking a first-class seat. Request a YUPP seat. It's easy. It's reliable. And who knows...your days flying coach may be over. Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanttravel tags User Comments  Catherine Ipcizade (5617) 28 Jun 2006 12:55 PMGreat article! So how do I know which fare to request? (Yupp, Qupp, Z) Also, is this for last minute fares only?  Michele Cheplic (37349) 28 Jun 2006 01:10 PMThanks Catherine--This is not for last minute fares only. The fares exist are there all the time, but it's first-come-first-serve so they may not be available if first-class is already booked. Also, YUPP, QUPP, Z are all the same, it's just a matter of which term the individual airlines refers to them as. Hope that helps. Also, if you visit the FirstClassFlyer.com site you can find out even more ways to save. Michele Cheplic (37349) 28 Jun 2006 01:19 PMThanks Valorie! When I asked the agent to help me find the cheapest fare to my destination she told me I could fly first class for cheaper than I could coach--she didn't give me all the details, but with a little research and the great sites that I linked to in the blog, I found that these savings really do exist. nbainton (8) 14 Sep 2006 06:42 AMDear Michele, Thanks for mentioning FareCompare. We've added some new features. Now you can track the best Y-Up and Q-Up fares from your home city at: http://www.farecompare.com/search/yupfares Community Tags airline deals, airlines, Airfare, first-class, flying, FareCompare, Travel, Y-Up Discuss this article
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