What YQ/YR means
A ticket price has three broad parts: the base fare, government and airport taxes, and carrier-imposed charges. YQ and YR belong to the third group. They sit in the tax box because they are added on top of the fare, but the airline decides their amount and keeps the money.
Government taxes are different. Authorities require airlines to collect them on their behalf, and IATA maintains a reference database of these ticket taxes, fees and charges. YQ and YR, by contrast, are filed by the airline through ATPCO. Travelport explains that the fuel and insurance surcharge record (S1) is filed by the marketing carrier, while a concurrence record (S2) filed by the validating carrier decides whether it will collect another carrier's YQ/YR.
The codes were originally labelled fuel surcharges. Business Travel News Europe reports that they grew as oil prices rose in the 2000s and that many airlines later relabelled them as carrier-imposed surcharges. ATPCO notes that the amounts can vary by route, cabin, fare family and booking class, and that on some leisure sales they can exceed half the ticket revenue.
For agencies this matters because commission and corporate discounts are normally applied to the base fare, not to YQ/YR, so a large surcharge reduces both.
How YQ/YR works
Carrier-imposed charges are filed separately from fares and added at pricing.
- Airline files the chargeThe marketing carrier files YQ/YR amounts in ATPCO with conditions such as route, cabin, booking class or passenger type.
- ConcurrenceThe validating carrier files a concurrence record stating whether it collects YQ/YR for the other carriers on the ticket.
- PricingWhen the itinerary is priced, the GDS or airline engine matches the filed records and adds the charges to the taxes section.
- TicketingThe ticket shows YQ and YR as separate tax box entries next to government taxes.
- Refund or exchangeRefund and change rules decide whether the surcharge is returned or recalculated, which can differ from treatment of government taxes.
YQ/YR in practice
Illustrative ticket breakdown.
| Element | Amount | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Base fare | USD 220 | Airline |
| YQ carrier-imposed surcharge | USD 180 | Airline |
| YR carrier-imposed charge | USD 15 | Airline |
| Airport and government taxes | USD 95 | Governments and airports |
Here the traveller pays USD 510. A 5 percent commission on the base fare would be USD 11, not USD 25.50 on the full amount, because YQ/YR and taxes are excluded. If the same customer held a corporate discount of 10 percent, it would also apply only to the USD 220 base fare. On a refund of an unused non-refundable ticket, the government taxes are often returned, while the treatment of the YQ and YR amounts depends on the airline's own rules.
Who uses it
Advantages and limitations
Advantages
- Airlines can change surcharge levels quickly across many fares at once.
- Separating the charge from the base fare makes cost-related pricing adjustments simpler to manage.
- Clear codes let systems tell carrier charges apart from government taxes.
Limitations
- Placing airline charges in the tax box can confuse customers about what is a real tax.
- Commission and corporate discounts usually exclude YQ/YR, which shrinks agency and buyer savings.
- Filing errors or missing concurrence can cause wrong prices or ticket rejections in shopping.
Frequently asked questions about YQ/YR
Is YQ a government tax?
No. YQ is a charge set and kept by the airline, even though it appears in the tax section of the ticket. Government taxes are collected by the airline on behalf of authorities and passed on to them.
What is the difference between YQ and YR?
Both are carrier-imposed charges and are filed the same way. Airlines decide how they use each code; YQ has traditionally been associated with fuel-related surcharges, while YR is used by some carriers for other charges. The split varies by airline.
Is YQ refundable if I cancel my ticket?
It depends on the fare rules and airline policy. Unused government taxes are generally refundable, but treatment of carrier-imposed surcharges on non-refundable fares varies, so check the airline's refund rules before advising a customer.
Do travel agents earn commission on YQ and YR?
Usually not. Commission is normally calculated on the base fare, excluding government taxes and carrier-imposed charges such as YQ and YR. Some airline agreements differ, so agencies should check each carrier's commission terms and the ticketing instructions for the market.
Run your agency on one booking platform
ReservationHub's Subscription Cloud Edition gives agencies GDS, NDC and low-cost content, B2B and B2C sales, and back office in one hosted platform.
See the SaaS platform