AbstractIn this article we define a class of distributions called bilateral phase type (BPH), and study its closure and computational properties. The class of BPH distributions is closed under convolution, negative convolution, and mixtures. The one‐sided version of BPH, called generalized phase type (GPH), is also defined. The class of GPH distributions is strictly larger than the class of phase‐type distributions introduced by Neuts, and is closed under convolution, negative convolution with nonnegativity condition, mixtures, and formation of coherent systems. We give computational schemes to compute the resulting distributions from the above operations and extend them to analyze queueing processes. In particular, we present efficient algorithms to compute the steady‐state and transient waiting times in GPH/GPH/1 queues and a simple algorithm to compute the steady‐state waiting time in M/GPH/1 queues.