informs or offers the reception about the available accommodations based on the reservation policies and procedures. 5.4.3 Role of Internet in Reservation The Internet has brought a momentum in the hospitality business as well. It facilitates seamless management of a hotel’s offices located at various places and their various departments. The hotel industry is active on the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Internet has made a complicated reservation system easier to understand. It enables Online Hotel Management Systems (OHMS) like Hotelogix to assist guests in quickly and easily reserving the accommodations of their choice. Rate charts, lodging availability, and check-in and check-out times are all available to hotel visitors. 5.4.4 Sources of Reservations People travel for various reasons such as personal as well as for MICE. There are various sources from whom the requests of reservation pour in − Direct Request from Guests − the prospective guests can approach individually to the hotel for reservation of accommodation mostly when they are single travellers or family travellers. Request from Travel Agent − they can approach the hotel for booking accommodations for group travellers. Request from Corporate Agent − an organization can request a hotel to reserve accommodations for their employees, clients, or visitors. Request from Airlines − the airlines can reserve accommodations for their working staff for routine stay as well as in case of flight cancellations. Request from Institutions − Various SMERF or NGO institutions request to reserve hotels for sports people, delegations of embassies, or performing-art program groups, workshop groups, and alike who travel to different location. Managing Reservations The first step in reserving a room is to determine whether the requested type of room is available for sale for a specific length of time. It is accomplished through the use of forecast boards or automated systems. Accepting Reservation of Accommodation If the specified type of accommodation is available for sale in the hotel, the reservation will be accepted. If it is not available during peak season or if the guest needs immediate assistance, the staff member recommends a nearly identical alternative lodging by describing its amenities and services. 101 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Reservation is accepted in the following cases in conjunction with the availability of the accommodation − Is the guest new to the hotel? Does the guest have good credentials with the hotel regarding payment and behaviour? Is the guest a VIP? Denying Reservation of Accommodation Denial of reservation directly means loss of revenue. But there are certain situations when the reservation staff turns down the reservation for the guests or agents. The potential causes of denying reservation are − All accommodations in hotel booked − in such case, the reservation staff refuses the reservation politely and suggests an alternative hotel in the same area or different property of the same owner in a nearby area. Requested type of accommodation not available − in such case, the reservation staff suggests an alternate accommodation. Guest/Agent blacklisted − some guests or agents are blacklisted due to their history of payment dues against the hotel. In such case, the reservation clerk seeks for reservation manager’s advice. Finally, the front office's reservation section compiles a list of the day's reservations and sends it to the front desk. The list also includes important details such as whether the guest is a first-time visitor or a return visitor, as well as preferences for room location and décor. Housekeeping prepares the rooms after that. Cancelling a Reservation of Accommodation This is another instance in which the hotel loses a customer. Despite the fact that there is a clear loss of money, the front desk employees must respond pleasantly and gracefully. When cancelling a reservation, the staff person must also inform the guest of any cancellation fees that must be paid. The steps for cancelling a reservation are as follows: Finding out details of the guest and respective reserved accommodation. Verifying charges of cancellation, if any. Notifying the guest about cancellation charges. Cancelling the reservation in the system. Updating the system for accommodation availability. Confirming the guest about the cancellation. Generating Reservation Report 102 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Reservation reports are generated for the sake of helping the management find trends and making forecast about business. The reports typically are of the following types − Occupancy report Special arrival report Revenue forecast report Turn away report Many manual processes that have to be done by pen and paper has been replaced by documents in Computer. An online hotel reservation system must have for hotels these days. Today on the internet so many hotel booking apps are available like Oyo, trivago, GoIbibo many more. Hotel booking process must be flawless and user-friendly to attract more customers and increase sales. Every hotel’s goal is to increase their business and to earn the profit. They can keep track of each reservation and all the related details. Such systems come with various analytic tools. You will have to all the information to better understand the guest, what they favoured and what updating you have to need in your business. You need to focus on the week part of your business. To grow up your business. In today's digital age, the vast majority of clients use the internet to find out all they need to know. If your company does not appear online, you may be missing out on a huge opportunity. You must integrate your business's online reservation platform with your product and service pages if you want to take advantage of this current booking method. You can build a successful business from the ground up. Computerised networks and electronic distribution lead the dramatic structural changes within the tourism industry and become central to the distribution mix and strategy. Computer Reservation Systems (CRS) are clearly regarded as the most important facilitators of these changes as they formulate a new travel marketing and distribution system. In its simplest form, a CRS is a database which enables a tourism organisation, to manage its inventory and makes it accessible to its distribution channel partners. The rapid growth of both tourism demand and supply in the last decades, demonstrated that the tourism industry could only be managed by powerful computerised systems. Airlines were the pioneers of this technology, although international hotel chains and tour operators realised the potentials and followed by developing centralised reservation systems. The need for CRSs arises from both the demand and supply, as well as from the expansion of the tourism industry in the last decades. 103 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
5.5 SUMMARY Computer Reservation System (CRS) is one of the most widely used tools in the Travel and Tourism Industry. In fact, it has revolutionized the whole industry. A computer reservation system or a central reservation system (CRS) is a web-based software used by travel agencies and travel management companies to retrieve and conduct transactions related to air travel, hotels, car rental, or other activities. The main objective of CRS was to make a one-stop service shop and eliminate physical and geographical distances between mediators and consumers. Under the Central Reservations system any property may receive the booking for the other chain of hotels/properties located at the same places or different places Non affiliate system refers to that kind of system which is generally used by the independent or non-chain properties. This enables to the independent accommodation operators to utilize many benefits as the other chains of hotels do. The main benefit of the Central Reservation System is that the hotels properties are connected to many travel agents not within any country but also across the globe, who facilitates the reservations and booking to the customers located at the different places The main advantage to have central reservations system is it connects the respective hotel with the GDS (Global Distribution System) and also makes the hotels visible among the many travel agents spread and located at the different parts of the world The traditional reservation system which was followed in 1930 has now been evolved as Computerized Reservation system. The Modern Reservation System performs the functions in a systematic and effective way of booking and issuing of the tickets to the customers. Reservation of the hotel accommodation is one of the important responsibilities of the front office department. The Internet has brought a momentum in the hospitality business as well. It facilitates seamless management of a hotel’s offices located at various places and their various departments. 5.6 KEY WORDS A Computer Reservation System or a central reservation system (CRS) is web- based software used by travel agencies and travel management companies to retrieve and conduct transactions related to air travel, hotels, car rental, or other activities. 104 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Global Distribution System global distribution system (GDS) is a computerised network system owned or operated by a company that enables transactions between travel industry service providers, mainly airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and travel agencies SABRE (Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment) Sabre Corporation is a travel technology company based in Southlake, Texas. It is the largest global distribution systems provider for air bookings in North America. Programmed Airline Reservations System (PARS) is an IBM proprietary large scale airline reservation application, a computer reservations system, executing under the control of IBM Airline Control Program (ACP) (and later its successor, Transaction Processing Facility (TPF)). Its international version was known as IPARS Departure Control System (DCS) automates processing an airline's airport management operation, which includes managing the information required for airport check-in, printing boarding cards, baggage acceptance, boarding, load control and aircraft checks. 5.7 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Talk to a Travel Agent in a Travel Agency and ask what CRS he uses and how long it takes to book airline tickets? 105 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Educate few elders in your family on what additional details can be given like food/ seat preferences before booking an Airline Ticket? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Read news about how Air India has left SABRE and Amadeus in the recent years? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Collect used Flight Tickets and Boarding Passes from other travellers and paste them in your scrapbook? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Make a Survey on travelling and flight ticket habits of frequent travellers in your town? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5.8 UNIT END QUESTIONS A.Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. What is Central Reservation System? 2. Outline the types of Reservation Reports? 3. Write in order the steps involved in cancelling the Reservation of Accommodation? 4. What are the Benefits/Advantages of using Computerised Reservation System? 5. Describe the process of managing reservations? Long Questions 1. Define CRS and state the objective and basic functions of CRS? 2. Mention few major Airline CRS systems and benefits of using CRS in Aviation system? 3. Discuss the history and evolution of Computerised Reservation System? 4. Describe the benefits of access of CRS to travel agents? 5. Distinguish affiliate and non-affiliate systems in Computerised Reservation System? 106 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
6. What are the advantages of using Computerised Reservation System in hotel industry? 7. What are the types of Reservation system in hotel industry? 8. Describe the role of internet in Reservation? 9. What are the sources of reservation in a hotel? 10. What is Reservation Service Manual in Airline Reservation System? B.Multiple Choice Questions 1. The online Hotel Reservation Systems having database capabilities is a good example of. a. Database Management System b. Marketing Information System c. Manual Information System d. Managerial Information System 2. Computer based Traffic Control Systems are implemented at which level of Government a. Local b. Top c. Bottom d. Top to Bottom 3. All of the following are functions performed by a reservation module of a computer- based hotel property management system except a. Determination Of Room Availability b. Creation of a Reservation Record c. Confirmation of Room Status Report d. Generation of Room Status Report 4. Letters confirming Reservations are normally printed by hotel’s property management system. a. Immediately after creating a reservation Record b. While determining Room Availability Information 107 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
c. During the daily system update d. After each shift 5. The Reservations module creates a reservation record a. Reservations Enquiry b. Determining Availability c. Creating reservation records d. Confirming the Reservation Answers 1-d, 2-a, 3-d, 4-c, 5-a 5.9 REFERENCES Reference Books • https://books.google.com/books?id=jCfkJUL8oV0C&printsec=frontcover • https://independent.academia.edu/DavidWardell/Papers/478957/Airline_Reservation_ System • https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airline-reservations-systems-can-it- deliver-221610 Websites • https://www.tourismbeast.com/computerized-reservation-system-crs/ • https://www.tourismbeast.com/airline-reservation-system-ars/ • https://colorwhistle.com/computer-reservation-system/ • http://www.cbi.umn.edu/oh/display.phtml?id=9 108 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
UNIT 6DIFFERENT COMPUTERISED RESERVATION SYSTEM OPERATING WORLDWIDE STRUCTURE 6.0 Learning Objectives 6.1 Amadeus 6.1.1 History 6.1.2 Operations of Amadeus 6.2 Galileo GDS 6.2.1 History 6.2.2 Developments 6.3 Worldspan 6.3.1 History 6.3.2 Recent Events 6.4 SABRE 6.4.1 Early History 6.4.2 Operations 6.5 Summary 6.6 Key Words 6.7 Learning Activity 6.8 Unit End Questions 6.9 References 6.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, students will be able to • Outline and get familiarised with different CRS systems in Aviation • Describe about Amadeus and Galileo • Explain how Worldspan and SABRE works 109 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
6.1 AMADEUS Bird Group, one of India's leading travel conglomerates, owns Amadeus India Private Limited, which has been a pioneer in offering a worldwide platform to the Indian travel sector by enabling access to cutting-edge travel automation technologies. Amadeus India Private Limited was founded in 1994 with the goal of providing IT and software services as well as generating software products and automated tools, for the travel trade industry including customized software products for travel agents and travel service providers. 6.1.1 History Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa, and SAS founded Amadeus in 1987 as a neutral global distribution system (GDS) to connect providers' content with travel agencies and consumers in real time. Amadeus was created in order to provide a European alternative to Sabre, an American GDS. The first Amadeus system was constructed using System On's core reservation system code, an American GDS that competed with Sabre but went bankrupt, and a copy of the Air France pricing engine. These systems were running on IBM TPF and Unisys, respectively. The Amadeus systems were first functionally focused to airline reservation and cantered on the PNR (Passenger Name Record), the passenger's trip dossier, at the start of Amadeus. The PNR has been expanded to include more travel industry throughout time (hotels, rail, cars, cruises, ferries, insurance, etc.). Although established initially as a private partnership, Amadeus went public in October 1999, becoming listed on the Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid stock exchanges. Progressively and in line with industry evolution, Amadeus diversified its operations by focusing on information technologies (IT) to deliver services spanning beyond sales and reservation functionalities, centred on streamlining the operational and distribution requirements of its customer base. Since 2004, the company has invested €1 billion in R&Dand Amadeus's technology has increasingly embraced open systems which provide clients with more flexibility and features, as well as other benefits. As of 2010, 85% of its software portfolio was open system based and it expects by the end of 2016 to have fully migrated away from mainframe based TPF software. In 2005, Amadeus was delisted from the Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid stock exchanges when BC Partners and Cinven bought their stake from three of the four founding airlines and the rest of the capital floated from institutional and minority shareholders. The transition from distribution system to technology provider was reflected by the change in its corporate name in 2006, when the company name was changed to Amadeus IT Group. In 2009, Amadeus invested about €257 million in R&D. Amadeus was listed on the Spanish Stock Exchanges on 29 April 2010 The Companies Act of 1956 is where Amadeus India is registered. Amadeus India Private Limited has introduced the Indian travel sector to the most up-to-date and technologically 110 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
advanced automated products available on the worldwide market over the years. Amadeus India provides complete IT enabled services for the travel and tourism industry, with systems and software solutions to simplify travel management. Amadeus India has its head office in New Delhi and a wide network of 40 branch offices providing software connectivity to travel agents in the Indian sub-continent to access over 95% of scheduled airline seats as well as hotel rooms, insurance packages, car hire and other travel services worldwide. Amadeus GDS usage has expanded to 200+ cities across India, with over 45000+ terminal installations and 5200+ travel agencies online. Of the total GDS usage in the subcontinent, Amadeus GDS is the clear market leader. The company is structured around two areas: its global distribution system and its Information Technology business. Amadeus provides search, pricing, booking, ticketing and other processing services in real-time to travel providers and travel agencies through its Amadeus CRS distribution business area. It also offers computer software that automates processes such as reservations, inventory management software and departure control systems. It services customers including airlines, hotels, tour operators, insurers, car rental and railway companies, ferry and cruise lines, travel agencies and individual travellers directly. Amadeus processed 945 million billable travel transactions in 2011. The parent company of Amadeus IT Group, holding over 99.7% of the firm, is Amadeus IT Holding S.A. It was listed on the Spanish stock exchanges on 29 April 2010. Amadeus has headquarters and marketing offices in Madrid, Spain; product development offices in Sophia Antipolis, France; development offices in London, UK; development offices in Breda, Netherlands; data centre offices in Erding, Germany; and product development offices in Bangalore, India. Amadeus also has regional offices in Boston, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Miami, Istanbul, Singapore, and Sydney. At market level, Amadeus maintains customer operations through 173 local Amadeus Commercial Organisations (ACOs) covering 195 countries. The Amadeus group employs 14,200 employees worldwide, and listed in Forbes' list of \"The World's Largest Public Companies\" as No. 98 Wide Range of Technology Solutions Amadeus India has been introducing new and flexible business solutions based on the technology of the future in an increasingly complicated market, a highly competitive and ever-changing business environment. We provide services that are far ahead of their time and, as a result, unrivalled in the field of technology. Amadeus GDS is chosen time and again over its competition because of a comprehensive offering of customized tools across the board in the travel industry. Its powerful and user- friendly software tools manage sales processes and agency networks while corporate travel management solutions allow business travellers to book arrangements from their desktop. 111 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Amadeus's e-commerce solutions range from a single connection to the most sophisticated travel e-commerce platform available in the world today. Cutting-edge Technology for Business Efficiency Leading travel providers may use Amadeus GDS to manage their businesses more efficiently and successfully. From international travel companies to independent hotels, from global network airlines to low-cost carriers Amadeus technology is used to develop successful commercial settings in a variety of industries. For travel providers, Amadeus solutions streamline and improve the value of business processes. Some major achievements for Amadeus India in the last 15 months include: Airline Distribution and IT AirAsia flights became available for booking via Amadeus travel agencies in India, offering Indian travellers an alternative offline way to book AirAsia flights. This was made possible via the Amadeus Ticketless Access solution, integrating AirAsia flight content into the GDS Amadeus has secured full content agreements with Air France, Austrian airlines, British Airways, TAM and Lufthansa. Amadeus travel agents worldwide can access to the entire range of fares, schedules and inventory. This also helps them to offer best fares for their customers Some 15 out of the 26 members of the Star Alliance are users of the Amadeus Altea system. Travel Agency IT Amadeus has announced the debut of Amadeus Ticket Changer in India, which is a first for any GDS. When customers need to make adjustments to their tickets, this service helps travel agents save time. Amadeus announced agreements with MakeMyTrip and Yatra.com, bolstering Amadeus' leadership position in online travel agency bookings and assisting these online travel agencies in providing a more complete and engaging experience to their customers. Data centre Amadeus has its own data centre in Erding, Germany. In 2010, the Erding complex processed ½ billion transactions per day, and handled, on average, 9,000 user data queries per second, with a system response time of less than 3 milliseconds and an average system uptime of 99.99%. Amadeus' global operations also include two strategic operation centres in Miami and Sydney and local competency centresin Germany, Thailand, India, Poland, Colombia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. Vulnerability discovered While booking a flight with Israeli national carrier El Al on January 15, 2019, hacker and activist Noam Rotem discovered a major vulnerability that affects nearly half of all airlines 112 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
worldwide. While booking a flight with El Al, he discovered a significant security breach that allows anyone to access and change private information on flight bookings. The same issue was later determined to affect 44 percent of the global carrier market. 6.1.2 Operations of Amadeus Distribution With a market share of 37 percent in 2009, Amadeus CRS is the leading GDS provider in the global travel and tourist business. The Amadeus system is used by approximately 90,000 travel firms worldwide, and 58,000 airline sales offices utilise it as their internal sales and reservations system as of December 2010.435 airlines (including 60 low-cost carriers), 29 car rental companies (representing 36,000 car rental locations), 51 cruise lines and ferry operators, 280 hotel chains and 87,000 hotels, 200 tour operators, 103 rail operators, and 116 travel insurance companies offer bookable content through Amadeus. Information Technology The Amadeus Altéa Customer Management System (CMS) is a software suite that helps airlines manage their sales and reservations, inventory, and departure control systems. The Altéa platform is built on the same technical infrastructure and software as other platforms. Airlines outsource their IT operations to Altéa, a community platform that allows them to exchange data with airline alliances and codes. The Altéa suite consists of four main modules: Altéa Reservation, providing booking, pricing and ticketing management through a single interface; Altéa Inventory, providing schedule and seat capacity management on a flight-by-flight basis; Altéa Departure Control, a departure control system software package; and Altéa e-commerce, a software suite for airline e- commerce sales and support. Airlines using Amadeus Altéa boarded 238 million passengers in 2009. With the continued development of similar systems for train companies, hotel chains, airport operators, and aviation ground handling businesses, Amadeus is expanding its Information Technology business. Contribution to open-source projects According to a May 2015 investigation, Amadeus has contributed to the Docker open-source software project. Business model and other business lines The business model of Amadeus is booking fee or transaction based, which means that a fee is taken for each confirmed net booking made in the Amadeus CRS. In late 1990s, a business division specialized in e-commerce was created. 113 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
The development of two new operational applications for British Airways and Qantas was granted to Amadeus in 2000: inventory management and departure control systems. These products were developed outside of Amadeus' primary competence domain and with the help of airline experts. Amadeus announced in March 2015 that Blacklane, a Berlin-based professional driver service with a global reach, has joined the company. 6.2 GALILEO GDS Galileo is a computer reservations system (CRS) owned by Travelport. As of 2000, it had a 26.4% share of worldwide CRS airline bookings. In addition to airline reservations, the Galileo CRS is also used to book train travel, cruises, car rental, and hotel rooms. Following the merger of Travelport and Worldspan in 2007, the Galileo system was transferred from Denver, Colorado, to the Worldspan datacentre in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 28, 2008. (Although they now share the same datacentre, they continue to be run as separate systems). For the selection of passengers with a risk profile, Galileo is subject to the Capps II and its successor Secure Flight programmes. Galileo is a member of the International Air Transport Association, of the Open Travel Alliance and of SITA. 6.2.1 History Galileo dates back to 1971, when United Airlines launched Apollo, the world's first computerised central reservation system. Travel agencies sold a major chunk of airline tickets during the 1980s and early 1990s. Flights operated by the airline that owned the reservation system were given priority on the computer screen. Due to the high market penetration of the Sabre and Apollo systems, owned by American Airlines and United Airlines, respectively, Worldspan and Galileo were created by other airline groups in an attempt to gain market share in the computer reservation system market and, by inference, the commercial airline market. Galileo was formed in 1987 by nine European carriers -- British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Alitalia, Swissair, Austrian Airlines, Olympic, Sabena, Air Portugal and Aer Lingus. In response and to prevent possible government intervention, United Airlines spun off its Apollo reservation system, which was then controlled by Covia. Galileo International was born when Covia acquired Europe's Galileo and merged it with the Apollo system in 1992. United Airlines utilised the Apollo reservation system until March 3, 2012, when it converted to SHARES, a system used by its former Continental Airlines affiliate. Customers of Galileo 114 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
International (now Travelport GDS) travel agencies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan continue to use Apollo. Galileo UK was originally created from Travicom which was the world's first multi-access reservations system using the technology developed by Videcom. Travicom was a company launched by Videcom, British Airways, British Caledonian and CCL in 1976 which in 1988 became Galileo UK. 6.2.2 Developments Travel Agents now also book Amtrak Rail on the system and issue the tickets directly. Southwest Airlines has signed a marketing deal with Apollo/Galileo, allowing travel brokers to book Southwest bookings. These direct connections allow you to market extra services and set yourself out from the competitors. Travelport's development team has created ASK Travelport, an online search tool where registered users can look for FAQ and seek help for the problems they faced. 6.3 WORLDSPAN World span is a provider of travel technology and content and a part of the Travelport GDS business. It offers worldwide electronic distribution of travel information, Internet products and connectivity, and e-commerce capabilities for travel agencies, travel service providers and corporations. Its primary system is commonly known as a Global Distribution System (GDS), which is used by travel agents and travel related websites to book airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, tour packages and associated products. Worldspan also hosts IT services and product solutions for major airlines 6.3.1 History Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and TWA founded Worldspan in early 1990 to run and offer GDS services to travel agencies around the world. Worldspan was incredibly efficient and profitable, and it was able to extend its operations into new areas in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. As a result, Worldspan was sold to Citigroup Venture Capital in mid-2003 by its owner airlines. Worldspan was formed in 1990 by combining the PARS partnerships companies (owned by TWA and Northwest Airlines, Inc.) and DATAS II, a division of Delta Air Lines, Inc. One of World span’s predecessors – TWA PARS – became the first GDS to be installed in travel agencies in 1976. Worldspan was owned by ABACUS, an Asian firm controlled by a number of Asian airlines, and Abacus was owned by Worldspan. Abacus and Worldspan formed a number of business and technology partnerships. After Abacus engaged in fraudulent and misleading conduct for which Worldspan earned a large judgement in an arbitration in London, these agreements were terminated. 6.3.2 Recent events 115 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
In December, 2006, Travelport, owner of the Galileo GDS, Gulliver’s Travel Associates (GTA) and a controlling share in Orbitz, agreed to acquire Worldspan. However, at the time, management of Travelport did not commit to the eventual merging of the two GDS systems, saying that they were considering all options, including running both systems in parallel. Worldspan was acquired for $1.4 billion on August 21, 2007, and became part of Travelport GDS, which also includes Galileo and other similar businesses. The Galileo and Apollo GDS were moved from the Travelport datacentre in Denver, Colorado to the World spandatacentre in Atlanta, Georgia on September 28, 2008 (although they remain independent systems from the Worldspan GDS). In 2012, Worldspan customers were migrated from the TPF-based Fare Source pricing engine to Travelport's Linux-based 360 Fares pricing engine already used by Galileo and Apollo. Although the three systems share a common pricing platform, they continue to operate as separate GDS. 6.4 SABRE Sabre Corporation, based in Southlake, Texas, is a travel technology firm. It is North America's largest provider of global distribution platforms for airline reservations. The company was created in 1960 by American Airlines and was spun off in 2000. Sabre Holdings was acquired by Texas Pacific Group and Silver Lake Partners in 2007. In 2014, Sabre began trading on the NASDAQ. 6.4.1 Early history In 1953, C.R. Smith, the president of American Airlines, met Blair Smith, an IBM salesman, on a flight and developed the Sabre (the Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment) concept. The system was based on SAGE, the first major system to use interactive real-time computing, which IBM had developed for military use. Sabre Corporation was founded in 1960 by Airlines. Sabre Corporation installed the first Sabre reservation system in Briarcliff Manor, New York that year. The system consisted of two IBM 7090 mainframe computers and processed 84,000 calls per day. In 1964, Sabre's nationwide network was completed and became the largest commercial real- time data-processing system in the world. Sabre Corporation handled 7500 passenger reservations per hour in 1965.The Sabre system upgraded to IBM System/360 and moved to a new centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1972. For the first time in 1976, the Sabre system was installed in a travel agency. Travel agencies were able to have immediate access to flights as a result of this. The Sabre system had been installed in 130 places by the end of the year. In 1984, Sabre launched Bargain Finder, the industry's first automated low-fare search tool. Easy Sabre was released the following year. It provided access to consumers with personal computers to book on their own. 116 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
In 1989 The New York Times reported Sabre having \"about 38 percent of the reservations market.\" In 1996, the company launched Travelocity, an online travel agency. Sabre formed a joint venture with Abacus International in 1998 to create the Sabre Sonic passenger solution, a customized version of Sabre's reservations system to Abacus subscribers in Asia. In 2000, American Airlines' parent firm, AMR Corporation, sold off its controlling stake in Sabre Corporation to establish an independent corporation. Sabre Holdings' airline hardware and communications division was purchased by Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 2001, and Sabre began converting its ageing mainframe for air travel shopping and pricing to HP Nonstop and Linux servers. In 2005, the company acquired lastminute.com, an online travel and leisure retailer. Texas Pacific Group and Silver Lake Partners acquired Sabre Corporation in March 2007.In March 2010, the company acquired Calidris, a revenue integrity and business intelligence solutions company. Sabre Corporation acquired Soft Hotel, a web-based property management solutions provider, in June 2011.The Company launched Sabre Red App Centre in March 2012.In April 2014, Sabre Corporation went public on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol SABR. The IPO sold for $16 per share and valued Sabre at $3.93 billion. The company acquired Genares, a hospitality technology company, that September. Bravofly Rumbo Group purchased Sabre European Online Travel Agency, lastminute.com, in December 2014. Sabre sold its Travelocity brand to Expedia, Inc. for $280 million in January 2015. Sabre purchased Abacus International, a global distribution system located in the Asia-Pacific area, in July 2015. Sabre and 11 Asian airlines signed long-term distribution agreements as part of the deal. In June 2016, Sabre announced Tom Klein would resign as CEO by the end of 2016 6.4.2 Operations The headquarters of the corporation are in Southlake, Texas, with offices in London, Kraków, Bangalore, Montevideo, and Singapore. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the firm handled over 85,000 data transactions per second for consumers in December 2013. The corporation had business with 70 airlines and 100,000 hotels at the time. It operates under the platforms Sabre Travel Network, Airline and Hospitality Solutions. Sabre Global Distribution System, owned by Sabre Corporation, is used by travel agents and companies around the world to search, price, book, and ticket travel services provided by airlines, hotels, car rental companies, rail providers and tour operators. Sabre aggregates airlines, hotels, online and offline travel agents and travel buyers. 117 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
The company's history starts with SABRE (Semi automated Business Research Environment), a computer reservation system which was developed to automate the way American Airlines booked reservations. In the 1950s, American Airlines was facing a serious challenge in its ability to quickly handle airline reservations in an era that witnessed high growth in passenger volumes in the airline industry. Before the introduction of SABRE, the airline's system for booking flights was entirely manual, having developed from the techniques originally developed at its Little Rock, Arkansas, reservations centre in the 1920s. In this manual system, a team of eight operators would sort through a rotating file with cards for every flight. When a seat was booked, the operators would place a mark on the side of the card and knew visually whether it was full. This part of the process was not all that slow, at least when there were not that many planes, but the entire end-to-end task of looking for a flight, reserving a seat, and then writing up the ticket could take up to three hours in some cases, and 90 minutes on average. The system also had limited room to scale. It was limited to about eight operators because that was the maximum that could fit around the file, so in order to handle more queries the only solution was to add more layers of hierarchy to filter down requests into batches American Airlines had already begun to address the issue, and in 1952, they were preparing to launch their new Magnetronic Reservisor, an electromechanical computer, to replace the card files. This computer was made out of a single magnetic drum with each memory location storing the number of seats available on a specific trip. A vast number of operators could use this system to look up information. On the downside, a staff member was still needed at each end of the phone line, and actually handling the ticket still took considerable effort and filing. Something much more highly automated was needed if American Airlines was going to enter the jet age, booking many times more seats. It was during the testing phase of the Reservoir that a high-ranking IBM salesman, Blair Smith, was flying on an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles back to IBM in New York City in 1953.He found himself sitting next to American Airlines president Smith. Noting that they shared a family name, they began talking. Prior to this accidental meeting, IBM had been working on the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) project with the US Air Force. SAGE employed a network of huge computers to coordinate the flow of messages from radar stations to interceptors, cutting the time it took to direct an attack on an oncoming bomber in half. The system used teleprinter machines located all around the world to feed information into the system, which then sent orders back out to teleprinters located at the fighter bases. It was one of the first online systems. It was not lost on either man that the basic idea of the SAGE system was perfectly suited to American Airlines' booking needs. Teleprinters would be placed at American Airlines' ticketing offices to send in requests and receive responses directly, without the need for 118 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
anyone on the other end of the phone. The number of available seats on the aircraft could be tracked automatically, and if a seat was available the ticket agent could be notified instantly. Booking simply took one more command, updating the availability and, if desired, could be followed by printing out a ticket. Only 30 days later, IBM offered American Airlines a research proposal, recommending that they collaborate to investigate the problem. The Semi-Automated Business Research Environment, or SABRE, was formed by a group of IBM engineers led by John Siegfried and a significant number of American Airlines employees led by Malcolm Perry, drawn from booking, reservations, and ticket sales. A formal development arrangement was signed in 1957, and the first experimental system went online in 1960, based on two IBM 7090 mainframes in a new data centre located in Briarcliff Manor, New York. The system was a success. Up until this point, it had cost the astonishing sum of $40 million to develop and install (about $350 million in 2000 dollars). The SABRE system by IBM in the 1960s was specified to process a very large number of transactions, such as handling 83,000 daily phone calls. The system took over all booking functions in 1964, at which point the name had changed to the more familiar SABRE. In 1972, SABRE was migrated to IBM System/360 systems in a new underground location in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Max Hopper joined American Airlines in 1972 as director of SABRE and pioneered its use. Originally used only by American Airlines, the system was expanded to travel agents in 1976. With SABRE up and running, IBM offered its expertise to other airlines, and soon developed Delta Matic for Delta Air Lines on the IBM 7074, and PANAMAC for Pan American World Airways using an IBM 7080. In 1968, they generalized their work into the PARS (Programmed Airline Reservation System), which ran on any member of the IBM System/360 family and thus could support any sized airline. The operating system component of PARS evolved into ACP (Airlines Control Program), and later to TPF (Transaction Processing Facility). Application programs were originally written in assembly language, later in Sabre Talk, a proprietary dialect of PL/I, and now in C and C++. By the 1980s, SABRE offered airline reservations through the CompuServe Information Service, and the Prodigy Internet Service Genie under the Easy SABRE brand. This service was extended to America Online (AOL) in the 1990s. On March 15, 2000, American and Sabre parted ways. Sabre Holdings, with the stock symbol TSG on the New York Stock Exchange, was a publicly traded company until March 2007, when it was taken private. When the new corporation was founded, it unveiled a new logo and switched from the all-caps acronym \"SABRE\" to the mixed-case \"Sabre Holdings. “Sabre Holdings controlled the Travelocity website, which was launched in 1996. Expedia purchased Travelocity in January 2015. Sabre Holdings’ three remaining business segments, Sabre 119 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Travel Network, Sabre Airline Solutions, and Sabre Hospitality have merged to form a global travel technology firm. No one GDS can be called the “best” travel service provider, since they all provide similar functionality and have their own unique differences. If you’re wondering how to choose a GDS, you’ll want to consider a few variables, including the system’s presence in the markets where your guests come from, the system’s functions and which travel websites that GDS connects into. Travelport, for example, supports more options for discounts for corporate travellers. In addition, you should ensure your existing property management system offers integration with the GDS that you choose. And you’ll also want to consider the price. Each system has a different fee structure that varies by property and market, so you’ll need to contact the company to find out which fees apply to your hotel. GDS fees can skyrocket quickly in the hotel management world and it's important to understand how rates and commissions are structured to ensure that your e-commerce channel on GDS networks can be profitable. In 2006 the volume of internet reservations exceeded GDS reservations for the first time, thanks to the growing popularity of online booking channels and the decline of brick-and- mortar travel agencies. Does the GDS still serve a purpose when travellers can easily book directly with the airline or hotel? In many cases, yes, the GDS still delivers value, especially for airlines and corporate travel companies. Airlines still distribute their inventory to OTAs via the GDS, and corporate travel planners continue to use the GDS to find corporate rates. However, with so much innovation happening in the travel space, the GDS’s legacy technology definitely faces competition from other booking systems. 6.5 SUMMARY Amadeus India Private Limited, wholly owned by Bird Group, one of India's largest travel conglomerates, has been a pioneer in providing a global platform to the Indian Travel industry by enabling access to state-of-the-art travel automation technology Amadeus was originally created as a neutral global distribution system (GDS) by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa and SAS in 1987 in order to connect providers' content with travel agencies and consumers in real time Amadeus India has its head office in New Delhi and a wide network of 40 branch offices providing software connectivity to travel agents in the Indian sub-continent to access over 95% of scheduled airline seats as well as hotel rooms, insurance packages, car hire and other travel services worldwide. Galileo is a computer reservations system (CRS) owned by Travelport. As of 2000, it had a 26.4% share of worldwide CRS airline bookings. 120 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Galileo is a member of the International Air Transport Association, of the Open Travel Alliance and of SITA. Worldspan is a provider of travel technology and content and a part of the Travelport GDS business Worldspan was formed in early 1990 by Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and TWA to operate and sell its GDS services to travel agencies worldwide. Sabre Corporation is a travel technology company based in Southlake, Texas. It is the largest global distribution systems provider for air bookings in North America The company is based in Southlake, Texas and has additional offices in London, Kraków, Bangalore, Montevideo and Singapore. In December 2013, the company handled approximately 85,000 data transactions every second for customers according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The company's history starts with SABRE (Semi-automated Business Research Environment), a computer reservation system which was developed to automate the way American Airlines booked reservations. 6.6 KEY WORDS Global Distribution System (GDS) is a computerised network system owned or operated by a company that enables transactions between travel industry service providers, mainly airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and travel agencies Amadeus is a computer reservation system (or global distribution system, since it sells tickets for multiple airlines) owned by the Amadeus IT Group with headquarters in Madrid, Spain. The central database is located at Erding, Germany. GalileoGDS is a computer reservations system (CRS) owned by Travelport. Worldspan is a provider of travel technology and content and a part of the Travelport GDS business. It offers worldwide electronic distribution of travel information, Internet products and connectivity, and e-commerce capabilities for travel agencies, travel service providers and corporations SABRE is a GDS System used by travel agents and companies around the world to search, price, book, and ticket travel services provided by airlines, hotels, car rental companies, rail providers and tour operators. 121 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
6.7 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Learn Amadeus or Galileo during internship in Travel Company. It will help a lot in finding a suitable job ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Attend Travel and Tourism Fairs and interact with any GDS service providers on current scenario and future prospectus ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Speak to Travel agent and discuss what type of GDS is he/she is using and try to observe live how he is booking ticket ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Search for online resources and courses about functioning of GDS ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Discuss the reasons about why Air India has opted out of SABRE and Amadeus in the recent years ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6.8 UNIT END QUESTIONS A.Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. What is the involvement of IBM in SABRE? 2. Explain few things about Amadeus, Galileo GDS, Worldspan, and SABRE? 3. Detail about how Worldspan has come into existence. 4. Where are the central sites of Amadeus located? 5. What is the story of airlines that led to creation of Galileo? Long Questions 1. How did Galileo GDS claim more than 26% of worldwide CRS airline bookings? 122 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
2. Describe the Early History and Operations of SABRE? 3. Explain about Altéa platform used by Amadeus? 4. What are recent events involved in Worldspan, one of the major CRS companies? 5. Explain the History and Development of Galileo GDS? 6. Describe the operations of Amadeus? 7. Explain how SABRE manages Travel Network, Airline Solutions and Hospitality Solutions? 8. What are the wide range of Technology Solutions available in Amadeus? B.Multiple Choice Questions 1. Which of the following is the only public GDS System in the World? a. Amadeus b. Galileo GDS c. Worldspan d. SABRE 2. Which of the following company owns Galileo GDS and Worldspan making it the third largest GDS Company in the world? a. Tarvix b. Travelocity c. Trivago d. Travel port 3. Abacus International, Lastminute.com, Flight Explorer, Gradient Solutions are all owned by which company? a. Amadeus b. Galileo GDS c. Worldspan 123 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
d. SABRE 4. Which among the following is the largest Aviation Alliance in the world? a. One World b. SkyTeam c. Sky Alliance d. Value Alliance 5. List the following companies in terms of Revenue – (i) Expedia Group, (ii) Booking, (iii) American Express, (iv) BCD Travel, (v) CWT a. i, iii, iv, v, ii b. iv, ii, iii, iv, v c. ii, i, iv, iii, v d. ii, i, iv, v, iii Answers 1-a, 2-d, 3-d, 4-c,5-b 6.9 REFERENCES Reference Books • https://books.google.com/books?id=jCfkJUL8oV0C&printsec=frontcover • https://independent.academia.edu/DavidWardell/Papers/478957/Airline_Reservation_ System • https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airline-reservations-systems-can-it- deliver-221610 Websites • https://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/07/sabre/?pid=134&viewall=true 124 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
• https://asianaviation.com/sabre-names-new-chairman/ • https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Technology/With-sale- Travelport-will-privately-go-about-its-business • https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-kuoni/kuoni-buys-gullivers-travel-to-boost-online- business-idUSLNE72601D20110307 • http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-03-04/business/1992064009_1_american- airlines-apollo-carriers • http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/19844 • http://www.btnmag.com/businesstravelnews/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_conten t_id=1003671960 125 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
UNIT 7AVIATION LINGOS 126 STRUCTURE 7.0 Learning Objectives 7.1 One Way and Return Trip 7.1.1 Round Trip Journey 7.2 Around the World Ticket 7.2.1 Circle Trip Journey 7.3 Concept of Open Jaw Fare 7.3.1 Open Jaw Normal Fare 7.3.2 The Circle 7.3.3 Exceptions and Rules 7.3.4 How to find Open Jaw and Circle fares 7.4 Mixed Class Journey 7.4.1 Lost Ticket Application (LTA) 7.4.2 Prepaid Ticket Advice (PTA) 7.5 Miscellaneous Charges Order 7.5.1 MCO guidelines 7.5.2 Paper Ticket Fare 7.5.3 Exceptions 7.5.4 MCO Issue 7.6 Universal Air Travel Plan 7.6.1 Mission of UATP 7.6.2 Products of UATP 7.7 Summary 7.8 Key Words CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
7.9 Learning Activity 7.10 Unit End Questions 7.11 References 7.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After Studying this unit, students will be able to • Outline and get familiarised with different words related to Aviation • Learn about Around the World fare, • Explain about Mixed class journey, Indirect Travel Limitations • Understand the concept of Open Fare Jaw • Know the Guidelines and Exceptions of MCO – Miscellaneous Charges Order • Concept of Universal Air Travel Plan 7.1 ONE WAY AND RETURN TRIP Introduction Tourism today is the most vibrant activity and a multi-billion industry in India. Traditionally known for its historical and cultural dimensions, tourism is being highlighted for its business opportunities. With its lucrative linkages with transport, hotel industry etc., the potential and performance of India’s tourism industry needs to be gauged in terms of its socio-economic magnitudes. Tourism has a direct bearing on air transport. 90% of the tourist’s arriving into India come by air; however, India’s share in the world tourist traffic is less than 1%. Further India’s share of total world international air passenger’s traffic has been quite low at 3%. The majority of business organizations such as travel agents, meeting planners, and other service providers including accommodation, transportation, attractions and entertainment are classified as travel and tourism business. In practice, these organizations are closely linked in the provision of services to the travellers. Tourism is so vast, so complex, and so multifaceted that the practitioners need to obtain a wide range of knowledge related to tourism One Way (OW): Any journey which, for fare calculation purposes, is not a complete round trip, circle trip, or other than round trip/circle trip. One-way travel is when a fare purchased for a seat on an aircraft travel without a return trip This is a type of ticket for one direction of travel only. It is ideal for travellers who do not require a return flight or for travellers who do not have an exact return date. Travellers whopurchase one-way tickets must purchase a second ticket for return travel. Round-trip tickets are tickets that allow the purchaser to travel to their destination and then back again. 127 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
This type of ticket is for travellers who have plans to travel on specific dates. When the journey is wholly domestic (all ticketed points on the journey are in the same country), a journey where the destination point is not the same point as the origin. When the journey is international (at least two ticketed points are in different countries), a journey where the destination point is not in the same country as the origin point. If you are just visiting, go round trip. When is a round trip not a round trip? When it’s a circle or open-jaw itinerary. Thanks to the airlines’ complicated and arcane fare structures, roundtrip flights almost always cost less than the sum cost of two one-way trips on the same route. (Discount airlines are a notable exception to this rule.) And most roundtrips go from Point A to Point B and back again. If you are just visiting, go round trip. When is a round trip not a round trip? When it’s a circle or open-jaw itinerary. Thanks to the airlines’ complicated and arcane fare structures, roundtrip flights almost always cost less than the sum cost of two one-way trips on the same route. (Discount airlines are a notable exception to this rule.) And most roundtrips go from Point A to Point B and back again 7.1.1 Round Trip Journey “Return Journey”, is defined as (a) travel from one point to another and return by the same air route used outbound whether or not the fares outbound and inbound be the same, or (b) travel from one point to another and return by an air route different from that used outbound for which the same normal, though, one way fare is established. A Round Trip (RT) is travel entirely by air from a point to another point and return to the original point, comprising two half round trip fare components only. ➢a round trip has only two fare components ➢the outbound fare needs to be equal to inbound fare ➢ The Unit Origin and unit Destination points are the same ➢for a journey with a single pricing unit, the COC is also the same as destination country Travel entirely by air from a point to another point and return to the original point comprising two half round trip fare components only, for which the applicable half round trip fare for each component, measured from the point of unit origin, is the same for the routing travelled; provided that this definition shall not apply to round the world travel. If the fares to be used differ through class of service/seasonality/day-of-week/carrier variations, the outbound fare shall be used also for the inbound fare component for the purpose of determining if the pricing unit is a round trip. A round the world ticket is a plane ticket allowing you to fly around the world, usually over a period of up to a year and with between three and twenty stops at different airports. A round-the-world ticket (also known as round-the-world fare or 128 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
RTW ticket in short) is a product that enables travellers to fly around the world for a relatively low price. TW tickets have existed for some time and in the past were generally offered through marketing agreements between airlines on several continents. Now, they are almost universally offered by airline alliances such as Sky Team, Star Alliance and One world, or else by specialist travel agencies that will spend time helping customize a trip to the consumer’s needs. An alternative for a round-the-world ticket is a continent pass. 7.2 AROUND/ROUND THE WORLD TICKET Round-the-world tickets are priced according to travel class, origin of travel, number of continents, mileage (usually between 30,000 and 60,000 km), and sometimes season of travel. The traveller benefits from the large and optimized network of the airline alliance and can often participate in the alliance’s frequent flyer programs, although Round-the-world tickets are usually subject to restrictions. The start and end of the journey almost always have to be located in the same country and exactly one crossing each of the Atlantic and Pacific must be included in the itinerary. The number of stops is usually restricted to5-16 and backtracking between continents (especially Europe/Asia) is often restricted. The dates and journey do not have to be pre-planned but may be changed enroute at a local office of any airline in the alliance (although a change of destinations often results in an additional fee, and if the next flight is left open-dated the booking can be dropped by the airlines’ computers). Around-the-world travel isn’t just for the young or the independently wealthy. Students, retirees and even working folks with a few weeks of vacation time can take advantage of the convenient pricing and flexibility of around-the-world tickets. You can travel around the world for nearly any length of time, from a few days to a few years. Your trip can involve a couple of brief stops or dozens of stopovers and side trips. And it needn’t cost as much as you might think. Economy-class fares for the most basic around-the-world itineraries start around $1,500.An around-the-world ticket is a special fare (or a series of point-to-point tickets) that allows you to fly to multiple cities and continents. These tickets are sold through airline alliances and agencies that specialize in around-the-world travel, and they can help you save money and organize your itinerary. Read on for a run-down on where to buy your tickets, how they work and what they cost. When to Consider an Around-the-World Ticket? Consider an around-the-world ticket if you’re travelling to multiple continents within the same trip. Plot out your preferred countries or cities, along with a rough idea of how long you’d like to spend in each place, and then turn to one of the travel agents for help in planning your itinerary. Who Offers Around-The-World Tickets? There are two main types of around-the-world ticket providers: airlines and specialist agencies. Airlines: The three global airline alliances allow you to link together the routes of 129 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
any member airlines to create one continuous global trip. Each alliance offers at least one around-the-world ticket option. Fares are calculated based on the total mileage of your trip or the number of continents you visit. You are permitted anywhere from 3 to 15stopovers in a period of 10 days to a year. You will typically need to reserve the first leg of your journey in advance, but after that you may leave your travel dates open. There may be restrictions on which direction you can travel (some fares require that you travel only in a single direction, either east to west or vice versa), or how many miles you can fly. One advantage of booking your around-the-world ticket through an airline alliance is that you’ll be eligible to earn frequent flier miles toward the airline loyalty program of your choice. Rather than buying separate flights from one destination to another, a flexible and sometimes cheaper way of international travel is via Round the world (RTW) tickets. Round the world tickets usually cost far less than the sum of the one-way tickets between each set of individual stops. These tickets are usually slightly more expensive thana return ticket between destinations on opposite sides of the world (London and Sydney for example), but if you were planning two or more stops then you may find that around the world ticket is the cheapest option and allows you at least a side trip. Many travellers plan entire holidays using a round the world itinerary. The following are the benefits of using round the world ticket. They are: 1. Creative Opportunities to Travel 2. Freedom and Flexibility 3. Miles and Elite Status 4. One Full Year 5. Tremendous Value Not Quite Round-the-World- Some Airline Service Offer If you want to do a long, circular itinerary that isn’t quite all the way around the world, there are a number of interesting alternative options also available ➢one world Circle Asia & South West Pacific- 13,000 to 17,000 miles around Asia and Australasia. ➢ One world Circle Atlantic- 17,000 to 25,000 miles around the Atlantic. Travel is between cities in USA, Canada, Mexico, South America and Europe/Middle East. ➢ One world Circle Pacific-22,000 to 29,000 miles around the Pacific Rim, covering Asia, Oceania, North America and South America. 130 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
➢ One world Circle Trip Explorer- A do-it-yourself kind of fare where you pay for the number of continents visited (minimum three, maximum four). Note that a stop in Africa is obligatory. ➢ Star Alliance Circle Asia- 15,000 or 18,000 miles all around Asia. Your journey must cover all three regions, defined as “South-West Pacific”, “North Asia” and “South-East Asia.” ➢ Star Alliance Circle Pacific- Allows you to loop around the Pacific Rim, for a total trip of 22,000-26,000 miles. Excellent coverage in Asia, but in North America you can only visit Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu and Vancouver. One can understand how it is classified i.e., based on region and topography it is fixed. The following table illustrates clearly different region for fare construction. Continents for the purpose of this fare are defines as: Europe Europe and the Middle East, including Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia Africa All countries of Africa excluding those listed above. Asia All countries in Asia, including the Indian subcontinent South Pacific Southwest Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea North America North America, including Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and Panama South America All South American countries south of Panama 7.2.1 Circle Trip Journey A Circle trip (CT) involves travel from a point and return thereto by a continues, circuitous air route, including journeys comprising two fare components but which do not meet the conditions of the round-trip definition 131 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Figure 7.1Circular Trip From Delhi To Delhi 7.3 CONCEPT OF OPEN JAW FARE Definition of Open Jaw “A flight itinerary where the departure city is different on the way out than the return. Or alternatively, the destination city that a passenger arrives in is different than the one that is departed from on the return portion of a flight itinerary”. An example would be a traveller starting at Chennai flying into New Delhi, and then returning to Bengaluru airport instead of Chennai. Open Jaw Journeys: Single Open Jaw (SOJ) - Which contains one surface sector A. Turnaround Single Open Jaw: The outward point of arrival and inward point of departure are different B. Origin Single Open Jaw: The outward point of departure and inward point of arrival are different ➢ An open-jaw ticket is a round-trip ticket in which the traveller does not arrive to the same city of departure and/or does not depart from the same city where he first landed. The path- lines between the airports form an open angle, rather than a closed loop, and the angle resembles an open Jawline. This is sometimes called an ARNK(arrival unknown). The 132 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
traveller will use some other transport to travel between the airports. It is sometimes also called multi-city, but that might also be a ticket with three flight legs forming a closed loop. ➢in some cases, this type of arrangement is needed for boat cruises that do not return to the departure city. In other cases, the traveller wishes to explore between two points and not have to worry about using time to return to the arrival city. For example, a traveller might fly from Bhubaneswar to Jaipur, travel around Rajasthanby public transport and fly back home to Bhubaneswar from Jodhpur. Another example would be a traveller flying from Visakhapatnam to Panaji but then returning to Hyderabad. Open-jaw tickets are a flexible and relatively inexpensive way of flying, as such tickets are almost always less expensive than purchasing two one-way flights between the destinations visited. ➢another market commonly travelled under an open-jaw itinerary is the one of local one-way tours. Take, for example, a tour to Delhi, rents a car or joins a bus tour at their arrival airport, and returns the car or ends the tour in the town from which they will be flying home. ➢an alternative to an open-jaw ticket is a continent pass, for travel within a continent. Travel comprising only two international fare components with a surface break(s)which, unless otherwise specified in a special fares resolution, may be between any two points/countries in the area(s) of unit origin and/or turnaround for which the special fare resolution applies and for which the fare is assessed as a single pricing unit using half roundtrip fares. In this context. 1. For ‘turnaround open jaw’ the outward point of arrival and the inward point of departure are different 2. For ‘origin open jaw’ the outward point of departure and the inward point of arrival are different, or 3. For ‘single open jaw’ either a) or b) applies, or 4. For ‘open jaw’ any combination of the above may apply 7.3.1 Open Jaw Normal Fare Travel from one country and return thereto, comprising two international fare components, only and where: a. Origin open jaw: the outward point of departure in the country of unit origin and the inward point of arrival in the country of unit origin are different. There is such a thing as a double open jaw b. Turnaround open jaw: the outward point of arrival and the inward point of departure are different. 133 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
c. Double open jaw: the outward point of departure in the country of unit origin and the inward point of arrival in the country of unit origin are different (origin jaw) AND the outward point of arrival and the inward point of departure are different (turnaround open jaw) 7.3.2 The Circle A circle itinerary typically begins and ends in the same city but includes at least three separate flights that take you to two or more different cities without the overland portion of the open jaw. Example: Fly from Bhopal to Jaipur, then Jaipur to Lucknow, thenLucknow to Bhopal. Circle itineraries usually permit a maximum of two stopovers and are priced as a series of one-way flights. (Circle fares may not save you as much as an open jaw.) Still, circle fares qualify you for discounted fares, and you may even find that the fares on the separate legs of your flight add up to less than a pure roundtrip fare. This is especially true on popular long-haul routes. 7.3.3 Exceptions and Rules Open Jaw: The most common restriction on an open-jaw itinerary is that the segmentof your trip that you don’t fly (the Seattle-Portland leg in our example) must be shorter than the shortest leg of the trip that you do fly. So, for example, if you flew from Prayagraj to Varanasi, then drove cross-country to Pratapgarh, then flew back to Prayagraj, you couldn’t qualify for the open-jaw discount, as the distance from Varanasi to Pratapgarh is much greater than the distance from Pratapgarh to Prayagraj. Circle Fares: Restrictions and rules on circle itineraries vary by airline, but usually take one of the two following forms, both a variation on the old “Saturday night stay” rules. The difference between the two is critical: in the first instance, the order in which you visit the cities is extremely important. In the latter instance, it is much less so. If your airline has different rules for different segments of your trip, the whole trip will generally be subject to the most restrictive ones. So, for example, if one fare requires a 14-day advance purchase and the other a 21-day advance purchase, you’ll need to book 21 days ahead in order to get the discounted circle fare. 7.3.4 How to Find Open Jaw and Circle Fares Most online booking engines and airline Web sites can recognize a circle or open-jaw itinerary, and price them; accordingly, just look for the multi-city search option. It might still be worth checking with travel agent. Open Jaw Travel TO one city, return from another; or travel FROM one city, return to another. For ‘turnaround open jaw’ the outward point of arrival and the inward point of departure are different. At least one segment must be half of a 134 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
round-trip fare. For ‘origin open jaw’ the outward point of departure and the inward point of arrival are different. At least one segment must be half of a round-trip fare. For ‘single open jaw’ either the outward point of arrival or the inward point of departure is different, or the outward point of departure and the inward point of arrival are different. At least one segment must be half of a round-trip fare. For ‘open jaw’ both the outward point of arrival and the inward point of departure are different, or the outward point of departure and the inward point of arrival are different. At least one segment must be half of a round–trip fare. For ‘double open jaw’ both the outward point of arrival and the inward point of departure are different, and the outward point of departure and the inward point of arrival are different. At least one segment must be half of a round-trip fare. 7.4 MIXED CLASS JOURNEY A mixed class fare is a fare whereby the client on a through fare travels part of the journey in one class, then changes to another class for the balance of the journey. This change of class cannot take place in mid-air, but rather must occur at some intermediate point. The mixed-class differential is calculated by: 1. Taking the lowest travelled class through fare from the point of origin to the final destination and adding to this fare 2. The difference between the higher fare and the lower-class fare over the sector travelled. General 1) Mixed class travel is when an itinerary involves travel in two or more classes of Service 2) In assessing the fare for the mixed class transportation, special fares must not be used 3) Any stopover/transfer restrictions applicable to the through fare must be observed 4) Differentials are assessed in the same direction as the fare used for the lowest class of service 5) When half RT fares are used, differentials are assessed using half RT fares; when Low fares are used, differentials are assessed using OW fares 6) Class differential calculation is only subject to the HIP check, no further minimum checks apply 7) When comparing normal fares of the” same class of service”, in order to determine the fares to be used in a class differential calculation, the following sequence shall apply If no sleeper seat fare, use first class fare. If no first-class fare, use intermediate/business class fare. 135 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
If no intermediate/business class fare, use economy class fare provided where more than one economy class fare is published, use the highest economy class fare These are different types of accountable documents that can be issued to a customer. That means that they are issued to a specific person and can only be used by that person, they hold a certain monetary value, and they have to be reported to ARC/BSP. 7.4.1 Lost Ticket Application (LTA) Passengers who lose their tickets and wish to obtain a refund must complete a Lost Ticket Application (LTA), which may be obtained at any Airport Ticket Counter, City Ticket Office or by calling the airline’s Passenger Refund Department. The LTA must be received by the airline within 12 months after the date of issuance of the lost ticket. To verify that the ticket has not been used, Lost Ticket Applications are subject to a holding period of upto 90 days before the refund is processed. 7.4.2 Prepaid Ticket Advice (PTA) PTA means that one person (Buyer) can prepay the travel of another person(Passenger) at one agency, and the Passenger can acquire the ticket at another agency. РТАcan be used as a means of pre-payment for carriage (tariffs and charges). At an agency operating PTA payment, Buyer must produce an ID, fill and sign a PTA for air tickets/excess baggage. Buyer pays the tariffs and charges, the PTA fee (which is defined by the sales agency) and receives a document confirming the payment (МСО, К95). The payment form (cash, money order, etc.) is defined by the sales agency. Buyer should inform Passenger on the time and place of ticket issuing. At the defined day, Passenger should come to the defined agency to acquire the ticket. The agent checks if the payment was correct, checks the Passenger’s ID, and issues the ticket. If any extra money is needed, Passenger may pay it himself, or he can make a request to the selling agency (in this case the payment is made by Buyer). If Passenger failed to use the services paid by PTA (or used it partially), the PTA selling agency shall refund the paid amount (exclusive of deductions) to Buyer and issue a confirming document (МСО). You can use a Prepaid Ticket Advice (PTA) when you purchase a ticket on behalf of someone who needs to pick it up at an airport or somewhere other than the place ofpurchase. If you issue it for a journey that commences outside an agency’s home country, it involves two currencies. PTAs detail passenger travel data, form of payment, and sponsor information. It is an ARC document used to pay for a ticket in one city that is to be issued and picked up in another city. This would be used when the itinerary does not permit the issuance of an electronic ticket. Most airlines charge a $100 fee to issue a prepaid ticket PTA is Prepaid Ticket Advice. When a ticket is sold in one city and ticketed in another city it is known as a PTA ticket. Ex.A passenger who is currently in city 'A' travelling to city 'B'. 136 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
However his chooses to buy his ticket from a travel agent in city 'C' (assuming 'C' is his home city). He makes the payment for the ticket in 'C' through a representative. But the ticket is collected by the passenger in 'A'. 7.5 MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES ORDER A miscellaneous charges order (MCO), also known as miscellaneous purpose document (MPD), is an accountable IATA document, similar to an old-style airline ticket, used to process the payment of travel arrangements. They are issued by airlines, but normally pay for services other than airfares. An MCO may be used to purchase most services offered by airlines, hotels and tour operators A Miscellaneous Charges Order (MCO) is an ARC-accountable document that records charges when standard ticket stock cannot be used. Issued by an agent or airline as proof of payment for accommodations, ground transportation, or special services, or as a credit toward future air transportation. TRXmainly uses the MCO as travel voucher for exchange differentials. An MCO is alternatively termed as a Multi-Purpose Document (MPD). A document issued by a Carrier or its Authorized Agent. It is worth the price written on the MCO and is used for payment for the types of service written on the MCO. When an MCO is issued and/or honoured for air transportation and related charges, applicable currency regulations shall apply. e.g.) ‘FORFURTHER TRANSPORTATION AND/OR EXCESS BAGGAGE’-may be used for payment of ticket or excess baggage ticket for the person named in the MCO.’FOR REFUND ONLY ‘may be used for application of refund the place of purchase of the original ticket against which such MCO 7.5.1 MCO Guidelines ➢ Does not accept manual or handwritten MCOs. ➢ MCOs cannot be used to pay debit memos or to collect/report cancellation penalties or exchange fees. ➢Only one MCO can be issued per ticketed passenger. Cross reference the ticket number on the MCO in the “reason for exchange” line. ➢ Travel agents should refer to the ARC industry agent’s handbook for instructions on the completion and reporting of MCO exchange coupons. ➢ Travel agents in should refer to the Passenger Sales Agency Agreement and Travel Agent’s Handbook for the instructions on the completion and reporting of MCOexchange coupons. ➢ Miscellaneous Charge Orders (MCOs) may not be used to process tour payments Approved MCO Uses an MCO can be used when standard ticket stock cannot be used. See list below for approved transactions for air travel and related services: 137 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
➢ Additional Collections ➢ Deposits/down payments that include air transportation ➢ Excess Baggage Fees ➢ Future Administrative Service Charge & Penalty Fees ➢ Land arrangements for inclusive tours ➢ Lost Ticket Applications (LTA) ➢ Pet Transportation Charge ➢ Pre-paid Ticket Advice (PTA) Fee ➢ Sky Club memberships ➢ Unaccompanied Minor Escort Fee ➢ Unspecified Future Travel and or Service 7.5.2 MCO Issuance for Paper Ticket Fee A non-refundable fee applies to each paper ticket requested for all e-ticket eligible itineraries. ➢ Travel Agencies will continue to have the ability to issue paper tickets for any non-e-ticket eligible transactions and to issue paper miscellaneous charge orders. ➢ International travel agencies participating in a Bank Settlement Plan (BSP) are restricted from issuing paper tickets and paper miscellaneous documents. ➢ International agencies have been advised to issue a Virtual Multi-Purpose Document(VMPD) in lieu of paper tickets and paper miscellaneous transactions. ➢ International travel agencies who do not participate in BSP will continue to follow their normal ticketing procedures. All customers, including SkyMiles members, who voluntarily request a paper ticket, will be charged a paper ticket fee. The fee applies to all fare types and will be charged via all ticketing channels, including tickets originally issued, reissued or converted by a travel agent. 7.5.3 Exceptions Infants travelling internationally require a paper ticket. Therefore, the paper ticket fee will be waived for an adult travelling with an infant internationally if they prefer a paper ticket 138 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Travel agencies outside the (e.g., U.S., Canada and Bermuda) who are currently not able to issue an ET Non-ET eligible cities or code share partners Guidelines for Issuing MCO ➢ Name of Passenger – The MCO may be issued only in the name of the passenger on the original unused ticket. ➢ Type of Service – An MCO may be issued for the following types of service: air travel and related services, including lost ticket application, Crown Room membership, excess baggage fee, pet transportation charge, unaccompanied minor escort fee, future administrative service charge, and PTA service charge fee. ➢ Endorsement Restrictions- Non-refundable/non reversible. The endorsement box of any ticket issued in exchange for the MCO must contain the non-refundable amount including taxes. Validity An MCO is valid for one year from the date of issue and must be presented for a ticket within that period. Once the MCO is exchanged, the ticket issued then becomes valid for one year from the date of issue. MCOs are not replaceable if lost or stolen. Travel Agencies cannot accept Delta-issued MCOs. Whenever an exchange coupon of an MCOis reissued, all prior endorsements or restrictions appearing on the original MCO must be carried forward to the new MCO. Use specific GDS entries below for information onMCOs. Coupons In common with older airline tickets, MCOs had a number of passenger coupons, (typically 1, 2 or 4), as well as valueless coupons for the agency's records and the airlines interline clearing house. There were two main types of MCO, those with a specific value for each coupon, and those with the residual value moving to the next coupon. These were often used where the cost of a service would not be known in advance – such as paying for excess baggage. Typically, the passengers' copies on the second type would not show any value, allowing payment for inclusive tours without the services' prices being known to the passenger. 7.5.4 MCO issue Travel agency MCOs were printed blank without airline information and were endorsed to the airline providing the service (or its local agent if the airline was not represented locally). Like tickets, they were valid for a maximum of one year unless otherwise endorsed for a shorter time. 139 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Future usage As most MCOs are now issued electronically like e-tickets, they are sometimes referred to as VMCOs (virtual Miscellaneous Charges Order). MCO's are being phased out and replaced with Electronic Miscellaneous Documents. 7.6 UNIVERSAL AIR TRAVEL PLAN UATP is the low-cost payment network privately owned by the world’s airlines. UATP streamlines billing and provides travel managers with detailed activity reports that track a traveller’s carrier, destination, travel itinerary and more. UATP’s robust data is the industry leader. With UATP, airlines can completely avoid credit card fees if their corporate clients purchase tickets on the airline that issued their UATP card. Additionally, airlines that issue UATP accounts earn revenue when their card is used to purchase travel on another carrier. No other card program offers this benefit. 7.6.1 Mission of UATP To create value for our Shareholders and Stakeholders by enhancing Subscriber and user loyalty, maintaining a strong global Network and lowering the total cost associated with the acceptance of travel payments. UATP continues its strategic goals of increasing its core businesses, the corporate charge card, and expanding the product base with new Merchants and new Partners. 7.6.2 Products of UATP CEPTOR Data Stream Data Mine Data View ATCAN No other card brand can offer Level III data for every ticket regardless of which airline the ticket is purchased and what method of purchase (e.g., via a travel agency, online booking site or direct purchase at the airline). Airlines, travel agencies and rail networks accept UATP as a low-cost form of payment for air and rail travel, service fees, management fees and net fares. Not only does this make UATP an impressive network for corporate clients who use UATP as their preferred form of payment, but those entities that accept UATP save money because of UATP’s low merchant service charges. 140 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Passengers with the one-way ticket can easily take advantage of the lower round-trip fares by simply discarding the unused ticket portion. Although, this thing is against airline ticketing rules yet it is quite common among passengers and they almost never punished. On the part of the airline, they can easily adjust flight schedules without losing money whether the passenger decides to book a one-way return or not. They do so by managing the situation when a passenger purchases a one-way ticket at a higher price than the cost of half of the same round-trip journey. Nothing brings home the value of your airline ticket like losing it and having to pay for it all over again. That’s what happens with most airlines, if you lose all or part of your ticket or it is stolen from you. Airline policies regarding lost tickets are enough to make any traveller weep. Some airlines automatically require you to purchase a new ticket and they refuse to refund or replace the lost ticket under any circumstances. Even when a refund is allowed, you must first fill in an application, then wait 30 to 90 days, or even longer, before a refund is issued. In the meantime, you must still repurchase your ticket in order to fly. There may also be a fee charged for processing your refund. All in all, losing your ticket can really cost you. Which is why travel experts like to harp on the importance of carrying your tickets in the safest possible place. That place is not in the hand, or in the carry-on bag or purse. It is directly on your person, either in an inside pocket, or in a hidden document carrier worn underneath your clothing. Such carriers are available where travel products are sold. Getting used to wearing one may take a few hours, but it’s well worth the trouble, if it saves you the loss of an entire air ticket. 7.7 SUMMARY A Round Trip is travel entirely by air from a point to another point and return to the original point, comprising two half round trip fare components only. A Circle trip involves travel from a point and return thereto by a continues, circuitous air route, including journeys comprising two fare components but which do not meet the conditions of the round-trip definition Open Jaw: A flight itinerary where the departure city is different on the way out than the return. Or alternatively, the destination city that a passenger arrives in is different than the one that is departed from on the return portion of a flight itinerary A mixed class fare is a fare whereby the client on a through fare travels part of the journey in one class, then changes to another class for the balance of the journey. This 141 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
change of class cannot take place in mid-air, but rather must occur at some intermediate point. Passengers who lose their tickets and wish to obtain a refund must complete a Lost Ticket Application (LTA), PTA means that one person (Buyer) can prepay the travel of another person (Passenger) at one agency, and the Passenger can acquire the ticket at another agency. You can use a Prepaid Ticket Advice (PTA) when you purchase a ticket on behalf of someone who needs to pick it up at an airport or somewhere other than the place ofpurchase. If you issue it for a journey that commences outside an agency’s home country, it involves two currencies. A miscellaneous charges order (MCO), also known as miscellaneous purpose document (MPD), is an accountable IATA document, similar to an old-style airline ticket, used to process the payment of travel arrangements. A Miscellaneous Charges Order (MCO) is an ARC-accountable document that records charges when standard ticket stock cannot be used UATP is the low-cost payment network privately owned by the world’s airlines. UATP streamlines billing and provides travel managers with detailed activity reports that track a traveller’s carrier, destination, travel itinerary and more. UATP’s robust data is the industry leader. With UATP, airlines can completely avoid credit card fees if their corporate clients purchase tickets on the airline that issued their UATP card. 7.8 KEY WORDS One Way Any journey which, for fare calculation purposes, is not a complete round trip, circle trip, or other than round trip/circle trip. One-way travel is when a fare purchased for a seat on an aircraft travel without a return trip Circle trip involves travel from a point and return thereto by a continues, circuitous air route, including journeys comprising two fare components but which do not meet the conditions of the round-trip definition Mixed Class Fare is a fare whereby the client on a through fare travels part of the journey in one class, then changes to another class for the balance of the journey Miscellaneous Charges Order is an accountable IATA document, similar to an old- style airline ticket, used to process the payment of travel arrangements. They are issued by airlines, but normally pay for services other than airfares 142 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Prepaid Ticket Advice means that one person (Buyer) can prepay the travel of another person (Passenger) at one agency, and the Passenger can acquire the ticket at another agency. Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP) UATP is the low-cost payment network privately owned by the world’s airlines. UATP streamlines billing and provides travel managers with detailed activity reports that track a traveller’s carrier, destination, travel itinerary and more. Open Jaw Fare A flight itinerary where the departure city is different on the way out than the return. Or alternatively, the destination city that a passenger arrives in is different than the one that is departed from on the return portion of a flight itinerary Travel Insurance It offers global coverage against medical expenses including COVID-19 treatment and travel related adversities such as baggage loss or passport loss that you may face during your trip. It helps you to tackle unforeseen emergencies that can spoil your trip Boarding Passa boarding pass or boarding card is a document provided by an airline during check-in, giving a passenger permission to enter the restricted area of an airport (also known as the airside portion of the airport) and to board the airplane for a particular flight. At a minimum, it identifies the passenger, the flight number, and the date and scheduled time for departure 7.9 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Discuss the pros and cons of taking Lost Ticket Application with your peers ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Prepare a sample itinerary within India and check how Round-Trip Ticket, Mixed class journey, Open jaw fares will save money. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. If possible, collect a real Miscellaneous Charges Order and write down a detailed report on components of it. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Learn how Open Jaw Tickets save your time and money 143 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7.10 UNIT END QUESTIONS A.Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. Define One Way trip and Round Trip? 2. When to consider an Around the World ticket? 3. What is Lost Ticket Application (LTA)? 4. What is Prepaid Ticket Advice (PTA)? 5. What are the Products of UATP? Long Questions 1. What is Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP)? State the Mission and Benefits of UATP? 2. What is the Validity, Exceptions and guidelines of MCO? 3. Describe the Benefits of using Around the World ticket and who offers them? 4. What is Paper Ticket Fee for issuance of an MCO? 5. What is Add on Mixed Class journey and how is it calculated? 6. State the concept of Open fare jaw with exceptions and rules? 7. How to find open jaw and circle fares? 8. What are the variable components of Miscellaneous Charges Order? B.Multiple Choice Questions 1. Which of the following is not a product of UATP? a. Data Stream b. Data Mine c. Data View d. Data Storage 2. Which of the following is not a component of Miscellaneous Charges Order? 144 a. Excess Baggage Fees CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
b. Air Fare c. Lost Ticket Application d. Prepaid Ticket Advice 3. Air India, the official flag carrier of our country is a member of which Aviation Alliance? a. Star Alliance b. Sky Team c. One World d. Vanilla Alliance 4. Are two individual flights cheaper than return flight? a. Yes b. No c. Depends on the Airlines d. Depends on many factors and cannot be generalised 5. Fare basis Code is denoted by which of the following? a. Numeric or Alphanumeric b. Alphabetic c. Numeric d. Alphabetic or Alphanumeric Answers 145 1-d, 2-b,3-a,4-c,5-d 7.11 REFERENCES Reference Books CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
• http://globallearningcenter.wspan.com/learningcenter/airline/BasicRes/12%20Basic% 20Res%20PTA.pdf Websites • https://pro.delta.com/content/agency/us/en/policy-library/reservations-and- ticketing/miscellaneous-charge-orders--mco-.html • https://www.skyscanner.net/news/best-round-world-ticket • https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/reservations/refunds/lost-ticket-refund- application.aspx • https://www.smartertravel.com/open-jaw-circle-fares/ • https://www.alternativeairlines.com/open-jaw-flights • https://scottscheapflights.com/guides/how-to-book-cheap-open-jaw-flights • https://aviation_dictionary.enacademic.com/5397/ • https://uatp.com/index.php/products-solutions/travel-protection-plans/ • https://www.zoominfo.com/c/universal-air-travel-plan-inc/39977303 146 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
UNIT 8HISTORY OF AIRLINES TICKETING STRUCTURE 8.0 Learning Objectives 8.1 Introduction 8.2 About Air India 8.2.1 Air India Services 8.2.2 Air India Passenger Operations 8.2.3 Air India Cargo Operations 8.2.4 Air India Awards and Recognition 8.3 History of Ticketing Process 8.4 Flight Booking Process 8.5 Summary 8.6 Key Words 8.7 Learning Activity 8.8 Unit End Questions 8.9 References 8.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit students will be able to • Explain about Air India • Understand Passenger and Cargo operations of Air India • Describe about the history of Airline Ticketing • Outline Airline Ticketing Process in various decades 147 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
8.1 INTRODUCTION The term ‘Tourism’ is often associated with leisure / holiday visitors. It therefore needs to be clarified that in the context how many involved in this process of the tourism industry. It the term ‘tourist’ includes several segments of visitor arrivals as explained below The definition of tourism is, “Activities related to persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes. This would therefore includeDomestic tourism, involving residents of the given country travelling only within the country; on business or leisure. Inbound tourism, involving non-residents travelling in the given country on business, leisure or Visiting Friends & Relatives (the VFR segment that includes NRI’s).Outbound tourism, involving Indian residents travelling to another country on business, pleasure or for employment (Overseas Foreign Workers - OFW). Airports must adapt to economic downturns, technology developments, market changes, airline commercial deregulation, and the international trend of converting airports from government organisations to more business-like entities in a quickly changing environment. These pressures have had, and continue to have, a substantial impact on how airports operate, not only financially, but also operationally. In these difficult times, especially in the face of increasing competition from other airports and means of transportation, it is critical that airports hire and train personnel and managers with the most up-to-date knowledge and skills. Issue of Air Ticket Three types of sheets for ticket are widely used in the world: an automatically copied ticket, an automatic coupon ticket with a boarding pass, manual form. The rules of IATA (International Air Transport Association) require that the ticket issued by a single agent should be understandable by any other agent, wherever in the world he is. Therefore, each ticket contains detailed information about all the details of the flight, route, fare and restrictions imposed by this fare for transportation. The most widely used form with four flight coupons. If the route has less flights, then on the “extra” coupons on the line “Itinerary” the word “VOID” is printed (not valid for transportation), and the coupon is “pulled” out by the agent. The last coupon (usually white) is a passenger copy and is left for you for the report, but only after you fully use the ticket (the ticket without the passenger coupon is not valid). The Internet has aided in the evolution of the travel sector. It aids consumer education by giving a wealth of information about places and various travel possibilities. The Internet has benefited both customers and travel experts by making the notion of travelling to exotic locations more imaginable. It has enabled users to view content in full colour and, in some cases, in real time. The Internet gives travellers the ability to do comparative shopping for attractive deals or packages. It also has helped many travel agencies, hotels, resorts and other travel-related suppliers flourish by bringing in business through Web sites. The leisure travel 148 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
industry has changed from being an option of the upper class to one open to all segments of society - in fact, travel has become an everyday part of life whether for a meeting across the country or a last-minute trip to a nearby city. Over time it has become price driven. Many people today base a large part of their travel buying decisions on cost and convenience of travel. People are booking closer in to their travel dates. With a history spanning more than 100 years and being India’s oldest Airlines, Air India is the where the Indian Aviation industry started long back in 1911. With a service spanning the world and Indian domestic destinations, Air India is India’s national carrier and a beacon of pride. Founded by visionary and the father of Indian Aviation J.R.D Tata, Air India was born with his flight in a single engine Puss Moth from Karachi to Mumbai. Since then, Air India has come a long way both in terms of Fleet size as well as passengers moved and is known for its reliability, cost effective and value for money service 8.2 ABOUT AIR INDIA Air India is the national flag carrier airline of India with a network of passenger and cargo services worldwide. It is one of the two state-owned airlines in the country, the other being Indian Airlines. Its main base is Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, with hubs at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi and Chennai International Airport. The airline operates flights that connect 39 destinations around the world including 12 gateways in India. Air India traces its roots back to October 15, 1932, when its founder, J. R. D. Tata flew a single engine De Havilland Puss Moth registered VT-ADN carrying air mail (postal mail of Imperial Airways) from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome to Bombay's Juhu Airstrip via Ahmedabad. The aircraft continued to Madras via Bellary piloted by a Royal Air Force pilot named Neville Vincent. That same year, the airline was formally established as Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. (now Tata Group), the large Indian industrial house. Following the end of World War II, regular commercial service was restored in India and Tata Airlines became a public limited company on 29 July 1946 under the name Air India The Government of India purchased 49 percent of the airline in 1948, with the option to purchase an additional 2 percent at any time in the future. In exchange, the airline was granted designation as India's designated flag carrier, allowing it to operate overseas routes under the name Air India International. On June 8, 1948, a Lockheed Constellation L-749A named Malabar Princess and registered VT-CQP took off from Bombay bound for London via Cairo and Geneva. This marked the airline's first long haul international flight, soon followed by service to Nairobi via Aden. On 1 August 1953, the Government of India chose to exercise its option to purchase a majority stake in the carrier and Air India International Limited was born as one of the fruits of the Air Corporations Act that nationalised the air transportation industry. At the same time 149 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
all domestic services were transferred to Indian Airlines. In 1954, the airline took delivery of its first L-1049 Super Constellations and inaugurated services to Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The first Boeing 707, named Nanda Devi and registered VT-DJJ, was delivered to Air India International in 1960. In the same year, jet services from London to New York were launched. The airline's name was shortened to its current form of Air India on June 8, 1962. Air India became the world's first all-jet airline on June 11, 1962. In 1970, Air India moved its offices into its own custom-built skyscraper in downtown Bombay. The next year, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 747-200 named Emperor Ashoka and registered VT-EBD. This coincided with the introduction of the 'Palace in The Sky' livery and branding. In 1986, Air India made the decision to supplement its fleet with Airbus A310s and began to accept delivery of these aircraft later that year. The airline would later become (and remains today) the world's largest operator of this type in passenger service. In 1988, Air India also took delivery of two Boeing 747-300s in mixed passenger-cargo configuration. In 1989, to supplant its \"Flying Palace\" livery, Air India introduced a new livery that was mostly white but had a golden sun on a red tail. However, that livery, which was applied to only about half of Air India's fleet, was never very popular, especially among Air India employees, and it lasted only four years. In 1993, Air India took delivery of the new flagship of its fleet when the first Boeing 747-400 named Konark and registered VT-ESM made history by operating the first ever nonstop flight between New York and Delhi. In 1994 the airline was registered as Air India Ltd. In 1996, the airline inaugurated service to its second US gateway at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. In 1999, the airline opened its dedicated Terminal 2-C at the newly renamed Chatrapati Sivaji International Airport in Mumbai. The 21st century has seen Air India introduce new services to Shanghai in China, as well as two new US gateways at Newark Liberty International Airport and LAX. Air-India has registered a profit of ₹133.85 crores in the financial year ending March 31, 2003, after taking into account the deferred tax benefit. In the year 2002, it recorded a net profit of ₹15.44 crores. Air-India earned a total revenue of ₹5658 crores in 2002-03 as against ₹5017 crores in the previous year. The airline has ambitious plans to expand its network and acquire new aircraft. The newly elected Government of India has appointed Mr. Praful Patel, as the Minister for Civil Aviation who plans to make the airline \"A Maharaja of the Skies \". In March 2004, Air India started non-stop flights from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to London, Heathrow, making it the 3rd station from India (after Mumbai and Delhi). In December 2004, Air India leased three Boeing 777-222ER aircraft from United Airlines. With these three new B777s, Air India was able to introduce three new 150 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
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