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Booking Policy (Part I) |
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Welcome to the American Airlines Travel Agency web pages.
This page details AA Booking Policy - Part I.
Please use
the links below to navigate to the subject of your choice.
You can use the mini-menu on the right to return
to the Homepage, or to navigate to other areas within the site.
Thank you for your continued support.
| AA CRS Booking debit memo policy
| AA CRS Booking fee monitoring policy |
| Booking do's and don'ts. Helpful hints
| AA policy on name changes |
| Tickets issued in married/divorced names not matching the names on the travel documents |
| AA procedures for schedule changes |
| Return to Booking Policy Home Page |
AA CRS Booking debit memo policy
In August 1996 American Airlines released its CRS booking fee
monitoring policy. The policy defined and discouraged abusive
and fraudulent booking practices and advised continued abusive
activity would be subject to debit memo issuance.
Additionally in Dec 1996, American Airlines notified all travel
agencies that it intended to issue debit memos for excessive
duplicate booking activity.
American's definition of a duplicate booking is the use of the
same passenger name for an additional flight for the same
market/date/IATA number -- regardless of flight number, class of
service, or status code. As duplicate bookings continue to drive
unnecessary CRS costs, in May we will issue debit memos to recover
the associated booking fee expense. These debit memos are based
on March 1997 booking activity and include a $50
administrative fee per debit memo. Booking cost will be based on
the CRS used to create the duplicate segments. Although costs
vary by CRS, the range is 1 USD to 4 USD per passenger, per segment.
Debit memo program expansion to include churn
Effective with June booking activity, booking fee debit memos
will also include - churn - volume. American defines churn as
any cancel/rebook activity intended to circumvent ticketing time
limits or hoard inventory. Like duplicate bookings, inventory
hoarding limits your opportunity to sell seats that should be
available to the traveling public.
We hope the need for debit memo issuance will be minimal, and
appreciate your continued assistance in achieving greater
mutual business efficiency.
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AA CRS Booking fee monitoring policy
Overview
Initiatives
Policy Changes
Overview
AA recognises CRSs as a valuable distribution channel, and as
such, we participate in all major systems. As part of our
participation, we pay incremental fees for travel agent bookings.
billable activity includes sell, cancel, waitlist, desire,
change, schedule change, etc....
While the following initiatives and policy changes are in support
of our ongoing effort to monitor and control our CRS costs, they
will also improve your work environment by eliminating
non-productive activity, allowing your agents to work better
and work smarter.
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Initiatives
- Waitlist reduction:
We have reduced waitlist ceilings and
eliminated waitlist in most discount classes of service. This
modification provides a waitlist product that allows you to
waitlist inventory that has the most potential of clearing.
- Schedule change notification:
Notification for minor time
changes has been reduced, eliminating unnecessary queue
and telephone activity.
- Claim PNR:
AA currently participates in claim products for
Apollo, Sabre, System One and Amadeus. We expect to implement
with Worldspan by the end of next month. These products allow
you to claim bookings made by AA reservations personnel,
eliminating the need to create additional active or passive
bookings. This will be a real time saver for your agents.
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Policy Changes
- Duplicate bookings:
We will monitor monthly booking activity at
the travel agent level in order to identify duplicate
bookings. Duplicate bookings are segments booked by your agency
for the same passenger travelling on the same day to the same
destination. You should never book duplicate space, as this is
a waste of your time and a loss to us.
- Ficticious bookings:
We will monitor monthly booking activity
at the travel agent level in order to identify fictitious
bookings. Fictitious bookings are those with name field items
that read test/traveller/tourist or a surname with fictitious
initials, i.e. a/b/c/d/e. You should eliminate the practice
of holding space under speculative passenger names.
- CRS conversions:
Agencies will be responsible for payment
of booking fees associated with conversion to a new CRS.
- Passive PNR abuse:
With the implementation of claim PNR,
we see little reason, if any, for passive bookings. In
addition, we are working with the CRS to eliminate the use of
billable passive codes (YK/BK/GK/MK).
- Schedule change:
We are billed for both the original
/WK/ and replacement /SC/ segment, and only receive credit
if the WK/WL segment is cancelled. When working your schedule
change queue you should always cancel these WK/WL segments
and your PNR will be easier to read and to ticket.
In addition to these programmatic and policy changes, you can
assist us in controlling booking fee costs by remembering
that every time you action an air segment, there is a charge.
Other suggestions that will keep booking fee costs down and save
you time are:
- Eliminate excessive cancel and rebook activity by ticketing
within the time limit specified in the fare rule.
- When using low fare products, complete the booking and low fare
entry in one transaction.
- For locations with multiple CRSs: book and ticket using the
same system.
- PNR clean up, cancel unnecessary segments with status code
of HX/UC/UN/WL/WK/DS/DL: this will also help reading,
pricing and ticketing the PNR.
- Don't book air segments for administrative reasons: use
auxiliary segments whenever possible.
- Limit the use of open segments. Your passenger will be better
served being confirmed.
- Get out of the passive business and use claim PNR.
- Eliminate the practice of holding speculative space under
fictitious names.
Working within our initiatives, policy changes, and suggestions
will improve your overall productivity and support our cost
control efforts.
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Booking do's and don'ts. Helpful hints
| DO |
DON'T |
| Use low fare/pricing search entries before ending transaction |
Don't use low fare/pricing search entries after end transaction |
| Book a passenger once. Only book passengers who intend to ticket
within AA's ticketing time limit |
Don't use billable passive booking for itinerary/invoicing purposes
(YK/PK/BK/MK). Amadeus users - do use non-billable /GK/ action code
to create PNRs for itinerary/invoicing purposes |
| Use PNR search entries to ensure the passenger is not already
holding a reservation |
Don't book software systems to churn or hoard inventory |
| Use claim PNR products instead of passive status segments |
Don't book passengers on multiple flights for travel on the
same date/market/time |
| Encourage your CRS provider to create non-billable status codes
for itinerary/invoicing purposes |
Don't make bookings with fictitious names to meet CRS productivity
agreements: If your productivity quote is inconsistent with
your booking volume, please ask your CRS provider to reduce it |
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is a duplicate booking?
Same passenger booked on more than one flight within the same
city pair, regardless of flight number/class or status code,
passive or active.
Examples - included but not limited to:
Duplicate booking within the same PNR
Duplicate booking within the same city pair
Dupe booking - active and passive status code
Duplicate booking within the same PNR
| 1.1 |
DUPLICATED/D |
| 2 |
2224Y |
25AUG |
M |
DFWORD |
HK1 |
0700 |
0909 |
US/CRC/8 |
| 3 |
2224K |
25AUG |
M |
DFWORD |
HK1 |
0700 |
0909 |
US/CRC/8 |
| 4 |
2228K |
25AUG |
M |
DFWORD |
HK1 |
0800 |
1015 |
US/CRC/8 |
| TKT/TIME LIMIT |
| 1.TL30 |
| PHONES |
| 1.CRCPWCT |
| RECEIVED FROM-P |
| CRC.CRC8RAB 0935/20APR97 SMEHTM |
|
Duplicate booking within the same city pair
| 1.1 |
DOE/JANE |
| 1 |
222K |
25AUG |
M |
DFWORD |
HK1 |
0700 |
0909 |
US/CRC/8 |
| TKT/TIME LIMIT |
| 1.TL30 |
| PHONES |
| 1.CRCPWCT |
| RECEIVED FROM-P |
| CRC.CRC8RAB 1018/20APR97 |
|
| 1.1 |
DOE/JANE |
| 1 |
222K |
25AUG |
M |
DFWORD |
HK1 |
0600 |
0808 |
US/CRC/8 |
| TKT/TIME LIMIT |
| 1.TL30 |
| PHONES |
| 1.CRCPWCT |
| RECEIVED FROM-P |
| CRC.CRC8RAB 1018/20APR97 |
|
Dupe booking - active and passive status code
| 1.1 |
DOE/JOHN MR |
| 1 |
2224Y |
25AUG |
M |
DFWORD |
HK1 |
0700 |
0909 |
US/CRC/8 |
| 2 |
2224Y |
25AUG |
M |
DFWORD |
YK1 |
0700 |
0909 |
US/CRC/8 |
| 1.TL30 |
| PHONES |
| 1.CRCPWCT |
| RECEIVED FROM-P |
| CRC.CRC8RAB 1018/20APR97 |
|
How is churn defined?
Any book/cancel/rebook activity intended to circumvent AA's ticketing time limits
Example:
1.1MOUSE/MICKEY
1 1790K 25MAY S DFWATL HK1
630A 926A
7T-SEE HISTORY
PHONES
1.HDQPWCT
RECEIVED FROM-P
HDQ.CRC8YRA 1825/28APR97 UYAAOV H
|
| Entry |
Response |
| *H |
AS 1790K 25MAY DFWATL NN/SS1
630A 926A
R-P
HDQ.CRC8YRA 1827/30APR97
XS 1790K 25MAY DFWATL NN/HK1
630A 926A
R-P
HDQ.CRC8YRA 1827/30APR97
AS 1790K 25MAY DFWATL NN/SS1
630A 926A
R-P
HDQ.CRC8YRA 1827/28APR97
XS 1790K 25MAY DFWATL NN/HK1
630 926A
R-P
HDQ.CRC8YRA 1827/28APR97
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How many agencies will receive debit memos?
Only the most excessive duplicate and churn volume agency will be targeted each month.
How does schedule change transactions affect churn?
Churn volume does not include transactions generated by AA.
WK/SC/TK/UN status codes are excluded from the audit.
How does this apply when AA does a dupe booking in an itinerary... Does the agency get
penalized when we advise them to DS/HL a segment or if we DS/HL a segment for them?
No. An agency is not penalized for a DS or HL segment. In the audit process.... All HL/DS and SC
segments are excluded from the duplicate booking report.
Is an agency charged for a booking when it is made or when the PNR is ended?
A status code becomes billable when an agent ends transaction.
Should an agency use passive booking in a PNR when their intent
is to only issue boarding passes? For example,
if agency books a record through a cruise line...they will
passively sell the segment in their systems to issue boarding
passes. The accounts are receiving a message from AA stating
they should not do this and may incur dupe booking debit memos.
This is considered to be duplicate booking activity.
some CRS's have a non-billable status code which can be used
for invoicing/itinerary purposes. We are asking subscribers
to use these codes if they have that option. If an agency does
not have this as an option we suggest they contact their
CRS and ask such a product.
If an agency changes the class of service i.e. doing an AAdvantage upgrade from Y to A, is that considered churning?
Class of service will be included in the audit. However upgrade activity will be excluded.
If there is an unrestricted fare being used /Y/ and the passenger changes dates/flights several
times in the same PNR...is that a concern ?
Yes...this is still a concern as it continues to drive booking fee costs.
Should a travel agent create a whole new PNR if they need to rebook a flight due to not issuing
the ticket within the 24hrs period?
No. Once again there are costs associated with creating a new PNR.
Will passive bookings be included in the debit memo program?
Passive segments will be part of the audit. Thus if an
agency has an active and a passive booking for the same
passenger this booking activity is considered to be duplicate
behaviour. Also if an agent is using passive segments for
itinerary/invoice purposes. They may be subject to a duplicate
booking debit memo. Please advise your accounts that passives
can be considered to be duplicates.
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AA policy on name changes
- American Airlines does not allow name changes for the following class of service:
Z / U / T / X / R .
- The inventory will be cancelled if name changes are made.
Please note: Agents ticketing multi-carrier itineraries
where AA has cancelled the itinerary due to name change
restrictions must contact each airlines individually for
reinstatement.
- Legitimate changes to passengers last name will be accomodated.
The travel agent must call AA reservations or sales to complete
the name change and retain inventory. Legitimate name changes
include spelling changes (max 3 letters) or changes to last name
due to marriage/divorce (proof in form of documentation may be
required).
- When performing a name change we suggest you cancel all
seating elements and then re-request them.
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Tickets issued in married/divorced names not matching the names on the travel documents
What to do when a ticket for flights solely on American Airlines has been issued in the passenger's married/divorced name
and that name does not match the name on their travel documents.
In this case the passenger will be allowed to travel on that ticket provided they present a copy of their marriage
license/divorce certificate at the American Airlines check-in desk on the day of departure.
Once the ticket has been issued you are not allowed to change the name of the passenger in the reservation
to match the name as it appears on their travel documents, you will have to insert a note in the booking via SSR/OSI
with the correct spelling of the first and last name of the passenger as they appear on their travel documents
and then advise the passenger to present the above license/certificate at the check-in desk on the day of their departure.
What to do when a booking for flights solely on American Airlines has been made in your system using the passenger's
married/divorced name and that name does not match the name on their travel documents and the ticket has not been issued yet.
The above policy applies to reservations, which have not been ticketed yet.
What to do when the ticketed/unticketed reservation contain segments both on American Airlines and other
airlines flights (i.e. codeshare flights, flights operated and marketed by another airline and so on) and
the maiden/divorced name of the passenger does not match the name on their travel documents.
For American Airlines please follow the normal procedure outlined above. For any other airlines involved in the reservation
you will be responsible for contacting the applicable airline and check with them whether the passenger will
be allowed to travel although the name does not match the one on their travel documents.
Please note that you are never allowed to change the name in any reservations without contacting the airline first.
If you need any further clarifications you can contact our Reservations*
department.
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AA procedures for schedule changes
AA does NOT send schedule change notification if:
- Departure is 9 minutes or less earlier or not more
than 29 minutes later than scheduled or
- Arrival is up to 1.5 hours later or less than 45
minutes earlier than scheduled.
AA does advise a schedule change by phoning the travel agent/passenger if:
- It is outside the above mentioned times
- There is a change of the departure/ arrival airport
- There will be a misconnection
- A flight has been cancelled/ discontinued
- Schedule change on another airline segment from an AA booking
(In cases where the booking does not contain contact numbers
for travel agency and/or passenger contact, AA is not
responsible for informing travel agency/passenger)
AA reprotects passengers only if:
- The ticket has been issued.
(AA will book passenger on next available flight with AA and inform passenger/travel
agency by phone)
Reprotection procedures
In case of a schedule change:
- In case an overnight stay is necessary due to a
Schedule change, AA will NOT cover the costs
- If passenger is not happy with reprotection, AA
will refund unused portion of the ticket
- If passenger is holding a ticket fom another airline
with a schedule change on the AA segment, AA will
advise passenger/ travel agent, but if a misconnect
derives from this schedule change AA refers to the
other airline.
In case of a cancellation on day of departure:
- If a cancellation occurs on the day of departure AA
will reprotect passenger on to the next availabe flight.
- If an overnight stay becomes necessary due to cancelled
flight (day of departure cancellation only), AA will
issue hotel voucher at the airport.
In case of discontinued flights:
- AA will follow applicable reprotection agreements!
What travel agents may do:
For schedule changes only, the issuing travel agency may reissue a ticket provided the origin,
destination, fare and fare basis remain unchanged. If origin, destination, fare and fare basis
are different, American Airlines must reissue.
Travel agency may not refund (unless otherwise authorized). Travel
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