Patent Application
20140200932
The invention generally related to computerized travel transactions and, more specifically, to methods, computer program products, and systems for automatically keeping travel data consistent between a Passenger Name Record (PNR) and corresponding Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD) that are held on different databases.
In accordance with an IATA (International Air Transport Association) mandate for migration from paper documents to electronic documents, the Electronic Ticket (E-Ticket) and the Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD) have become industry standards for electronic records. An E-Ticket is defined for the issuance of a seat on a flight for an aircraft of an airline (a carrier). An EMD-A (discussed below) is defined for the issuance of services related to the travel (e.g., excess baggage or premium seats, etc.) An EMD-S (also discussed below) can be issued for non-travel related services (e.g., a promotional item).
Once a reservation is made, an E-Ticket or an EMD only exists as a digital record in the computers of the corresponding airline or in the computers of a global distribution system (GDS). One well-known GDS is AMADEUS, a world-wide service provider for the travel industry and airline companies.
An E-Ticket is thus a paperless electronic document that exists as a file in a computer and that is used to represent the purchase of a seat on the flight as well as to track the life of the sale until the service is delivered to the customer. The purchase itself can be made, for example, by a traveller in person, or through an on-line transaction, or through a telephone call. The EMD instead represents the purchase of a service which could be seat-related (e.g., purchase of a premium seat) but is not necessarily seat-related (e.g. purchase of excess baggage).
An E-Ticket generally takes the form of a confirmation number assigned to the passenger along with the flight number(s) and operating airline, date(s), booking class designator (also referred to by IATA as a Reservation Booking Indicator (RBD)), departure location(s) and destination location(s) of the passenger's trip.
An EMD generally takes the form of a confirmation number assigned to the passenger along with a service description code such as the Operating airline, the service description represented by a Reason for Issuance Code (RFIC) and Reason for Issuance Sub Code (RFISC), as well as departure location(s) and destination (locations) of the passenger's trip.
Among many alternative possibilities this essential information can be printed, e-mailed, and/or sent to a mobile device (e.g., the passenger's phone or tablet computer). Hence, when checking in at an airport point of departure the passenger has simply to present positive identification to obtain a boarding pass and have any luggage checked in.
The Electronic Miscellaneous Documents can be considered as falling into two basic types according to their behaviour and usage. These types include an Electronic Miscellaneous Document—Associated (EMD-A), which is an EMD issued for the collection of miscellaneous charges (including excess baggage) that are to be lifted with an E-Ticket flight coupon(s); and an Electronic Miscellaneous Document—Stand-Alone (EMD-S), which is an EMD issued for residual value or the collection of miscellaneous charges that are not to be lifted with an E-Ticket flight coupon(s).
The association between EMD-A service coupon(s) and the corresponding E-Ticket flight coupon(s) implies that both the EMD-A service coupon(s) and the corresponding E-Ticket flight coupon(s) remain synchronized.
In accordance with a first aspect of the embodiments of this invention there is provided a computer implemented method to process travel-related documents. The method comprises, in response to an event that results in a modification of a Passenger Name Record (PNR), receiving an image of the modified PNR; receiving an image of a corresponding Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD); establishing a matrix of links between PNR services and EMD coupons; searching for matches between orphan PNR services and orphan EMD coupons; automatically Reconciling the PNR, EMD and an Electronic Ticket (E-Ticket) by Re-associating orphan PNR services with matching EMD coupons and an EMD coupon with a corresponding E-Ticket coupon; and disassociating any unmatched EMD coupons from an associated E-Ticket coupon.
In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments of this invention there is provided a data processing system that comprises at least one processor and at least memory that stores computer program code. The memory and computer program code are configured to, with the at last one processor, cause the data processing system to respond to an event that results in a modification of a Passenger Name Record (PNR) by receiving an image of the modified PNR and receiving an image of a corresponding Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD); to establish a matrix of links between PNR services and EMD coupons; to search for matches between orphan PNR services and orphan EMD coupons; to automatically Reconcile the PNR, EMD and an Electronic Ticket (E-Ticket) by Re-associating orphan PNR services with matching EMD coupons and an EMD coupon with a corresponding E-Ticket coupon; and to Disassociate any unmatched EMD coupons from an associated E-Ticket coupon.
In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments of the invention, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is disclosed that contains software program instructions, where execution of the software program instructions by at least one data processor results in performance of operations that comprise execution of the method.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the embodiments of this invention there is provided a system to perform an Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD) reconciliation service (ERS). The system comprises a Publisher configured to forward images of passenger name records (PNR); an EMD server configured to send EMD images and to Re-associate or Dis-associate EMD coupons with E-Ticket coupons; a Pricing Engine configured to compute if an EMD coupon is eligible for automatic Re-association according to initial pricing conditions; an EMD Reconciliation Engine (ERE) configured to receive the PNR images, request and receive the EMD images from the EMD server, match PNR services with EMD coupons using a link matrix, automatically Re-associate orphan PNR services with matching EMD coupon and automatically Re-associate matching EMD coupons with corresponding E-Ticket coupons, and automatically Dis-associate unmatched EMD coupons from associated E-Ticket coupons.
The foregoing and other aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this invention are made more evident in the following Detailed Description, when read in conjunction with the attached Drawing Figures, wherein:
By way of introduction, in the travel industry a sale of a travel product produces different types of electronic records. These include a Reservation/Detailed estimate used across Inventory Systems and Departure Control Systems (DCS), and Sale Contracts that are dynamic documents that may evolve until delivery of the product. These documents are typically handled by distributed systems with separate control flows that can result in de-synchronization between documents due to, for example, operational needs and/or due to a customer request. Any such de-synchronization between documents must be resolved by a point in time when the product is actually delivered to the customer.
In one non-limiting aspect thereof the exemplary embodiments of this invention automate the resolution of de-synchronization events.
To provide additional background information regarding this invention reference is made to
In the system 10 a PNR is completed and the agent triggers the creation of a corresponding E-Ticket and an EMD on separate systems (or on the same system, depending on the architecture). For example, the E-Ticket Database 16A is used for the E-Ticket and the EMD Database 16B is used for the EMD. In this non-limiting example the E-Ticket and the EMD are stored in their dedicated databases 16A, 16B under the control of the Electronic Ticketing platform 16 from where they can be retrieved to be consulted when necessary by a travel agent who has issued an EMD or an E-Ticket or by the end-user of a corresponding online travel application and, in any case, when the passenger checks in at the airport.
In the general case of a reservation there can be more than one flight segment per PNR, where a flight segment is composed of one or more legs that share the same commercial transportation service (such as a flight) number, and where a ‘leg’ is a non-stop journey between a “departure” station and an “arrival” station. Each of the flight segments is then associated with a corresponding coupon when the E-Ticket is created. This applies as well for services reservations linked to flight segments, i.e., each service reservation is associated with a corresponding coupon when the EMD is created. If services issued are linked to the flight coupon, then the E-Ticket and EMD coupons are also associated together.
However, a problem that arises relates to the fact that once the E-Ticket and the EMD are created any change made to the flight details or services details of the reservation in the PNR does not automatically trigger a corresponding change of the E-Ticket and the EMD. While there are some procedures available to automatically synchronize an E-Ticket with changes made to a flight reservation, at present there is no automatic process to automatically synchronize EMD coupons with services reservations, and there is no automatic process to update the association status between EMD-A coupons and E-Ticket coupons. The exemplary embodiments of this invention address these issues and provide novel solutions to these problems.
In a conventional case if a passenger has requested the assistance of a professional in a travel agency it is the responsibility of the travel agent to update manually the EMD with the requested changes. Otherwise, the document and the reservation become de-synchronized, and the service and its corresponding EMD coupon are considered as orphaned, i.e., the service is no longer associated with a coupon. De-synchronization typically requires costly human intervention and can adversely impair check in and boarding procedures, thus greatly offsetting the advantage of having implemented the EMD.
De-synchronization may also result in a loss of revenue for the airline or a loss of service for the customer when the E-Ticket flight coupon is lifted, and the association between an EMD-A value coupon(s) and the corresponding E-Ticket is not properly set.
Changes to a reservation can be requested by the passenger. These are voluntary changes, as opposed to involuntary changes initiated by the airline or travel agent. Involuntary changes are, for example, the result of a flight cancellation or of schedule changes. Depending on what commercial policy is applied airlines and travel providers may require charging penalties for voluntary changes according to a set of predefined calculation rules. The verification of the fare conditions must also be triggered manually prior to the updating of the EMD and E-Ticket. Moreover, because this is not mandatory, if the travel agent does not launch the corresponding process, the airline will not collect any fee for the reservation change thus impacting airline revenues.
The benefits of electronic ticketing, which are far less costly for the travel provider than conventional ticketing procedures, can be fully realized only if the electronic ticketing process can be carried out without impairment.
It is therefore one overall objective of the invention to have all passengers travel-ready at check in time regardless of changes that the passengers or airline agents may have made to their travel plans, thus requiring little or no human intervention at check in time.
It is also a specific objective of the invention to address and solve the lack of automatic synchronization between a PNR, an EMD and an E-Ticket.
The non-limiting examples of embodiments of this invention provide a method to maintain travel data consistency between the database 14A of PNR(s) including travel segments and services, the database 16B of EMD(s) including service coupons, and the database 16A of E-Tickets including travel coupons.
As was discussed above, different electronic records are generated when selling Flights and Services to a customer. These records include the PNR which contains the detailed description of flights and services bookings, one (or several) E-Ticket(s) representing the sale contract(s) for the flight(s), and one (or several) EMD(s) representing the sale contract(s) for the services. All of these documents are linked together, however the PNR, EMD, and E-Ticket may become de-synchronized for any of a number of reasons, e.g., if a travel agent modifies the itinerary or service booking in the PNR or upon a re-accommodation or disruption of flight schedules.
Referring to
A brief description of
The ERE 20 then proceeds with reconciliation measures:
The exemplary embodiments of this invention will now be described in further detail. While the description includes non-limiting examples of embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes can be made to the examples of the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
In the Analysis operation of
The algorithm further involves ensuring the chronological order of the coupons (within an EMD), and selecting candidate orphan coupons/services with the same city pair (or airport, depending on airline), service code and operating carrier.
The algorithm further involves selecting among remaining candidates the best choice service for a coupon.
More specifically the algorithm involves as a first operation the selecting of orphan coupons and services eligible to reconciliation. For the orphan PNR services selection the algorithm may consider, as non-limiting and exemplary cases: the airline code of the service to determine if the airline has subscribed to the reconciliation service. Alternatively the airline could be the operating airline of the segment for which the service is booked. In the codeshare scenario this would differ from the airline code of the service which is the marketing carrier. In general, the algorithm in this case can consider the operating airline of the service or even more generally a code associated with an airline involved in the service. The algorithm can further consider, as examples, if the air segment associated to the service is not past-dated, if the air segment associated to the service is established with an E-Ticket coupon, if the service is eligible for EMD, if the service is not already established with an EMD coupon and if the service status is Confirmed. For the orphan EMD coupons the algorithm may consider, in a non-limiting example, if the operating carrier of the coupon has subscribed to the reconciliation service, if the coupon status is Open for Use (‘O’) or Airport control (‘A’), if all subsequent coupons statuses are Open for Use (‘O’) or Airport control (‘A’) or Checked-In (‘C’), if the coupon is not already established with a service in the PNR which status is Confirmed, and if the coupon is not established with a service in another PNR.
The algorithm involves as a second operation selecting among remaining candidates the best choice service for a coupon. If there is only one candidate service for the current orphan coupon considered by the selecting operation, and if the only one candidate service is the candidate of a single one coupon, selecting the only one candidate service, otherwise if not, searching for another coupon or coupons perfectly matching the current one candidate service and, if found, selecting the first chronologically perfectly matching coupon else, if not found, selecting the first chronological orphan coupon. As will be explained below, a ‘perfect match’ is obtained when the flight reservation associated with a candidate PNR Service is established with the same E-Ticket coupon as the one issued in connection with a candidate EMD coupon. However, if there are several candidate services for the current orphan coupon considered by the selecting step, and if no other coupon is matching with any of the several candidate segments then the algorithm searches for another service perfectly matching the current coupon. If one is found, the perfectly matching service is selected otherwise the first chronological orphan service is selected. Otherwise the algorithm selects the first chronological orphan service.
Reference is also made to
At Block 3A there is a Start of Process operation or event. The EMD reconciliation process may be triggered upon different scenarios that occur, generally following an agent action either directly in the PNR or using more complex mechanisms or tools. An exemplary and non-exhaustive list of scenarios that can trigger the EMD reconciliation process performed by the ERE 20 can include a flight disruption, an inventory re-accommodation, a change of cabin configuration, any involuntary change impacting the flight and/or the services, and a voluntary change of reservation including an addition, update or cancellation of a service booking or a flight segment.
Regardless of the actual origin of the changes, the change(s) can create de-synchronization between the PNR, the EMD and the E-Ticket. An exemplary and non-exhaustive list of de-synchronization events include a service booking is added, changed or deleted, an association between a service booking and an EMD coupon has been added, updated or deleted, or an association between a flight booking and an E-Ticket coupon has been added, updated or deleted
The Publisher 24 is responsible for triggering the EMD Reconciliation Engine (ERE) 20. To this end the Publisher 24 monitors all transactions performed on the Reservation database 14A in order to detect all changes in a PNR. When a valid change is detected the Publisher 24 forwards the PNR (PNR image 22) to the ERE 20 for further analysis and reconciliation. Preferably PNR image(s) are sent using standard messages containing the PNR images 22 to the ERE 20.
At Block 3B a Build Link Matrix operation is performed. In order to determine which reconciliation actions are necessary the ERE 20 builds the matrix of links 28 between EMD coupons 32 and PNR services 30. To this end all corresponding EMDs 32 mentioned in a reservation must be retrieved. This is achieved through the sending of a corresponding request (display request 20A) to the EMS 38 that in response returns the image(s) 26 of the requested EMD(s) to the ERE 20.
Already established links—The PNR contains a valid link between a service and an EMD coupon. Such a link is usually created when the EMD is first issued or re-issued. No reconciliation action is needed to be performed by the ERE 20.
Orphan links—A de-synchronization has been introduced between previously associated coupons and services as a result of PNR changes or because the PNR contains non-ticketed services. Hence, a coupon has no corresponding service or a service has no corresponding coupon. In this case the ERE 20 operates to repair those links.
At Block 3C a Search for Matching Services/Coupons operation is performed. In this case the matching between orphan services and orphan coupons is undertaken.
Various matching algorithms can however be applied depending on the particular applications of the invention.
A non-limiting example is provided of how this matching process is performed by the ERE 20 of the invention between orphan services of a PNR and the orphan coupons of corresponding Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD).
A first sub-step of Block 3C is to search for orphan services that are eligible for reconciliation. That is, among the orphan services in the PNR the ERE 20 selects a list of orphan services that are eligible for reconciliation. An orphan PNR service is eligible for reconciliation when it has the following (non-limiting and exemplary) characteristics:
Additional exemplary characteristics can include:
Any service in the PNR that satisfies at least some of the above conditions is added to an Orphan Services list.
Reference can be made also to
SSR Special Service Request XBAG Excess baggage
In the example of
Index 1: the passenger identification: name and surname;
Indexes 2 to 6: several air segments booked for the passenger at index one;
Indexes 7 to 11: several services booked for the passenger at index one and the corresponding air segment. The service booking is represented in the PNR by a SSR element including a SSR code (XBAG) to describe the nature of the service;
Index 12: exemplary representation of the link between an E-Ticket coupon and an air segment. One FA element can contain one or several links;
Index 13: exemplary representation of the link between an EMD coupon and an SSR. One FA element can contain one or several links.
The EMD #reference# contains:
The passenger name;
The service RFIC;
and the description of each coupon in the EMD.
The E-Ticket #reference# contains:
The passenger name;
and the description of each coupon in the E-Ticket.
In the non-limiting example of
The result of the performance of this procedure is the generation of a list of possible candidate services which, in this case, are the services at index 7, index 10 and index 11. These are all candidate orphan services eligible for reconciliation.
A second sub-step of Block 3C is to search for orphan coupons eligible for reconciliation. This step of the EMD reconciliation process thus selects the EMD orphan coupons eligible for reconciliation.
An EMD orphan coupon is eligible for reconciliation when it has the following (non-limiting and exemplary) characteristics:
Any coupon of an EMD noted in the PNR that corresponds to all of the above conditions is added to an Orphan Coupons list.
In the example of
A third sub-step of Block 3C is a sequence check. The first step of the matching process is aimed at verifying that chronological order can be maintained after re-association of the EMD. This implies that, for a given orphan coupon, the services which would change the sequence of EMD coupons are invalidated. This is achieved as follows for each orphan coupon:
In the example of
The service at index 7 is then associated with the segment at index 2 which date is 8JUN and is no longer a possible candidate for the coupons at index 3 and 4. The service at index 10 is associated with the segment at index 5 which date is 22JUN and is no longer a possible candidate for the coupon at index 1. The service at index 11 is associated with the segment at index 6 which date is 25JUN and is no longer a possible candidate for the coupon at index 1.
The result of this (computer-implemented) step is the generation of the list of possible candidates for each coupon, wherein the service at index 7 is the only possible candidate for the coupon at index 1, and the services at index 10 and index 11 are possible candidates for the coupons at index 3 and index 4.
A fourth sub-step of Block 3C is a routing check. In that the services and coupons must share the same city pairs the next step of the matching process of Block 3C of
In the example shown in
The result of this (computer-implemented) step is a list of possible candidates for each coupon, where the service at index 7 is the only possible candidate for coupon at index 1; the service at index 10 is the only possible candidate for the coupon at index 3; and the service at index 11 is the only possible candidate for the coupon at index 4.
A fifth sub-step of Block 3C is a service code and operating carrier code check. A matching of a coupon and a service is achieved only if their operating carrier and reason for issuance code (RFIC) and reason for issuance sub-code (RFISC) are matching. This next step of the re-association process checks these properties. For a given coupon the ERE 20 removes services with different operating carrier codes or RFIC or RFISC, if any.
A unique reason for issuance code and sub-code correspond to each Special Service Request (SSR) code used for a service booking.
In the example shown in
The result of this (computer-implemented) step is a list of possible candidates for each coupon where the service at index 7 is the only possible candidate for the coupon at index 1; the service at index 10 is the only possible candidate for the coupon at index 3; and there is no possible service candidate remaining for the coupon at index 4.
Once the above described checking steps of the matching process of Block 3C are completed, the ERE 20 needs to select only one candidate service per orphan coupon.
To achieve this goal the ERE 20 identifies perfect matches among multiple candidate matches between services and coupons. As was noted above a perfect match is obtained when the flight reservation associated with a candidate PNR Service is established with the same E-Ticket coupon as the one issued in connection with a candidate EMD coupon.
Then, for each passenger, the ERE 20 proceeds with each remaining unassociated EMD coupon in chronological order as in the following exemplary sequence.
If the current coupon being considered has only one possible candidate service and:
If such a coupon is found, the first chronologically perfectly matching coupon is selected, otherwise the first chronological coupon is selected. However, if the current coupon has several candidate services, and:
As a consequence of this processing step each time a service is selected, i.e., re-associated with an orphan EMD coupon, the selected service, and all preceding ones, are no longer valid candidate services and thus are not further considered.
In the example shown in
The result of this step is a unique selected candidate for each coupon, where the candidate service at index 7 is selected for the candidate coupon at index 1, the candidate service at index 10 is selected for the candidate coupon at index 3, and no candidate service is selected for the candidate coupon at index 4.
At Block 3D of
An aspect of the operation of the Update Association links process (Block 3D) is an Automatic Reassociation (Auto-Reassociation) process. The Auto-Reassociation process is attempted whenever a match is found between an orphan service and an orphan coupon as per the exemplary process described above. To this end the ERE 20 makes use of a sub-process that restores the association between a PNR service and an EMD coupon as shown in the logic flow diagram of
In
In general, the result of the Pricing Engine 34 analysis may result in several possible outcomes. For example, a first outcome may be that the EMD coupon(s) are not eligible for re-association (not eligible for Reconciliation). This situation can occur when, for example, the changes proposed are not allowed according to the initial fare conditions, or when the changes proposed imply a fare difference or a penalty fee. In this case the Reconciliation process terminates (End Process in
A second possible outcome is that the EMD coupon(s) are eligible for reconciliation. This situation occurs when the changes proposed are allowable without any fare difference or penalty fee being needed according to the initial fare conditions. In this case the method proceeds to Block 10D and the ERE 20 proceeds with the automatic reconciliation of the changes.
The Automatic Reassociation process can next, as an optional step in the process, ensure that the EMD coupon status is still available for use. If the coupon status is airport control (or “A”) the ERS 10 recalls the control of the coupon at Block 10E. This action is performed by sending a corresponding request (Get Airport Control request or GAC, see 20A in
The ERE 20 then proceeds at 10G to perform re-association of the EMD Coupon and the corresponding E-Ticket coupon, i.e., the E-Ticket coupon established with the segment associated to the elected candidate service. This action is done through the sending of a corresponding request (Associate Request, Block 10H) to the EMS 38 for the EMD coupon and the E-Ticket coupon. The EMD 38 returns a response (10I) indicating success or failure of the operation. This step may be skipped in the case where the EMD coupon and its corresponding E-Ticket coupon are already properly associated.
Finally, at 10J the Automatic Reassociation process creates a valid link between the elected candidate service and the corresponding coupon in the PNR and updates their status in the Link Matrix 28 to ‘already established’.
Changes in the reservation are then committed and the reservation history is updated.
Discussed now in further detail is Automatic Disassociation. The Automatic Disassociation is attempted whenever an orphan coupon remains with no matching service at the termination of the search for the matching coupon/service. The ERE 20 proceeds to Automatically Disassociate those EMD coupons 32 with the respective E-Tickets coupons (if applicable). This action is performed through the sending of a corresponding request (Disassociate Request) to the EMS 38 which returns a response indicating success or failure of the operation.
As should be appreciated the use of at least some of the foregoing described embodiments of the invention provide a number of advantages, benefits and technical effects. For example, for a carrier, such as an airline, the revenue integrity is improved by increasing EMD usage efficiency, passenger care is improved by reducing the number of customers that need face-to-face service at the airport for ticket changes, and costs for manual processing of after-sale services are controlled. Further by example, the passengers (customers) are benefitted since they can be handled seamlessly by check-in kiosks (which may be interfaced directly or indirectly with the ESE 20) without requiring any manual action. Further, there is provided an ability to use internet check-in and self service devices instead of having to queue to change the EMD at the airport.
Reference is made to
In general the data processing system that is an implementation of the EMD Reconciliation Engine (ERE) 20 can be constructed to include one or more suitable computer hardware/software platforms, and can be embodied as a server or servers containing one or more data processors and associated memory storing computer software and data. The EMD Reconciliation Engine (ERE) 20 may be associated with, for example, a particular organization (e.g., a GDS) that handles travel inquiries and booking reservations for passenger airlines.
The exact implementation details and the construction of the computer system that implements the EMD Reconciliation Engine (ERE) 20 may take any number of suitable forms, and should not be construed as being limiting in any respect as to the implementation and practice of the exemplary embodiments of this invention. For example, the EMD Reconciliation Engine (ERE) 20 could be provided as a stand-alone system as shown in
Based on the foregoing it should be apparent that the exemplary embodiments of this invention provide a method, apparatus and computer program(s) to keep travel data consistent between a first database of airline reservations storing passenger name records (PNR) comprised of services and a second database (EMD) comprised of travel coupons. The second database may be independently controlled by an EMD server.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are summarized hereafter. These embodiments can each be used independently or in combination with at least another exemplary embodiment of the invention:
searching comprises steps of:
Selecting orphan coupons and services eligible for reconciliation according to certain criteria comprises:
For a case where there is only one considered candidate service for a current orphan coupon, the method further comprises:
selecting considers a plurality of candidate services for the current orphan coupon, and the method further comprises:
receiving an image of the modified PNR receives the image from a first database, and where receiving an image of a corresponding EMD receives the image from a second database.
The method comprises an initial step of determining if the modification to the PNR is a voluntary modification and, if it is, submitting a request to a Pricing Engine to analyze the modification against fare conditions to determine if the EMD coupon is eligible for the re-association.
If the Pricing Engine determines that the modification can be achieved without a change in fare or without incurring a penalty fee, proceeding with the automatic reconciliation of the PNR, EMD and the E-Ticket, otherwise performing a manual reconciliation of the PNR, EMD and the E-Ticket.
Further embodiments of this invention provide for an automatic check of a new reference in a PNR, where the reference is with regard to an EMD or an E-Ticket. These embodiments provide a consistent process/algorithm that secures a manual reference of an E-Ticket or an EMD in a PNR. As will be made apparent below the use of these embodiments can prevent fraud, facilitate agent work flow and facilitate the departure control process.
While reference is generally made at times to a “manual” process, it should be appreciated that the process(es) are implemented in and with data processing systems and servers that are programmed so as to implement these additional embodiments of this invention.
In the following certain definitions can be considered as follows.
A Basic FHD can be considered as a reference of an EMD without guarantees.
A Basic FHE can be considered as an E-Ticket without guarantees.
An Enhanced FHD can be considered as an EMD manually entered that guarantees performance of a number of security checks to ensure a reliable link between a service and an EMD coupon.
An Enhanced FHE can be considered as an E-Ticket manually entered that guarantees performance of a number of security checks to ensure a reliable link between a flight segment and an E-Ticket coupon.
An FA element is a reference of an EMD or an E-Ticket that is automatically entered and that guarantees the usability of the EMD or E-Ticket coupon for a given service or flight segment.
A Marketing Carrier (MC) can be considered as an airline whose Airline Designator is recorded as the transporting carrier on electronic value coupon(s). The Marketing Carrier of an EMD-A coupon is the actual Marketing Carrier of the flight associated with the EMD coupon.
An Operating Carrier (OC) can be considered as a carrier used in a code share situation when different from the Marketing Carrier.
A RFIC is a Reason For Issuance Code, while a RFISC is a Reason For Issuance Sub Code.
A Service can be considered as a SSR or SVC element
An SSR (Special Service Request) is a PNR element that can represent a Service.
An SSR for Services is always flight segment associated.
An SVC is a PNR segment that represents a Service. An SVC is not associated with a PNR flight segment. The SVC is a manual auxiliary segment.
A Validating carrier (VC) can be considered as an issuing airline whose numeric airline code precedes a document number.
In the context of security reinforcement, cost reductions and environment protection, electronic support for travel documents is an important factor. The use of Electronic Tickets (E-Tickets) and Electronic miscellaneous documents (EMD) that were discussed have become the industry standard documents record for flights and services.
The E-Ticket can be issued by the airline or travel agent once the passenger confirms and pays for the reservation. The E-Ticket is created based on the information of the reservation, such as the flight details (class, date, board point, etc. . . . ), the passenger name, form of payment, etc. . . . Upon the issuance of the E-Ticket every flight segment in the reservation is said to be associated to an E-Ticket coupon.
Once issued the E-Ticket is stored on a separate database and it is controlled by a separate system, the ETS (Electronic Ticketing Server). Only the number of the E-Ticket is needed on the reservation image and if the agent needs the details of the E-Ticket the agent can retrieve it from the ETS. This is done through a query referred to as an “E-Ticket display request”.
As a reminder, the EMD is the equivalent for Services (the E-Ticket is for flights). The EMD documents the sale and tracks usage of charges (e.g., residual value, excess baggage charges, miscellaneous services).
The EMD is basically a paperless solution. It is represented by a file created in the distribution system database to refer to the sale and contains a service code. The service code always qualified by a couple: “Reason For Issuance Code (RFIC)/Reason For Issuance Subcode (RFISC)”.
As was discussed in detail above, two different types of EMD exist, the Associated EMD (EMD-A) and the standalone EMD (EMD-S).
Briefly, the Associated EMD (EMD-A) is a multiple coupons document, where each coupon is directly linked to an individual flight coupon of an E-Ticket. On the PNR side this corresponds to a service associated with a flight segment.
The stand-alone EMD (EMD-S) is not intrinsically linked to an E-Ticket. On the PNR side this corresponds to a service without a link to any flight segment.
The life of these documents relies on many interactions between the reservation platform linked to the PNR database, the ticketing platform linked to the EMD and E-Ticket databases, and end-users.
As part of their activities, airline or travel agents may need to reference to a new PNR the number of a previously issued and still open for use document (E-Ticket or EMD). This can be used as a payment reference for a new booking (flight or service), or as a support before starting other transactions (such as exchange, refund . . . ).
Currently an agent can enter an E-Ticket number that does not match any flight segment in the PNR, or the agent can enter the same E-Ticket number in many PNRs.
Currently some basic checks can be done:
For the EMD the same type of problems exists. For example, an agent can enter an EMD number that does not match any service in the PNR, or the agent can enter the same EMD number in many PNRs. There is currently no method by which the agent can see at a glance if the document can be directly used, or if the reference is not reliable and does not have any connection with the services present in the PNR.
Currently some basic checks can be done:
Since no other checks are performed the conventional practice can result in an invalid EMD/E-Ticket reference as payment for a service or a flight segment. There are several undesirable consequences that can result from this lack of consistency, such as:
The additional embodiments provide a process that ensures the security level of the manual reference of an E-Ticket or an EMD in a PNR, or that at least warns the agent in the case of a non-secured reference. This process applies to different cases and provides reliability for customers. This process can be used at different levels.
For example, for airline and travel agents the process provides an easier and more secure way to enter E-Ticket or EMD references. For airlines the process can eliminate at least some cases of fraud by use of a secured reference of the E-Ticket and EMD. In addition, the task of the DCS agent can be facilitated since no actions need to be done at DCS time in order to repair problems arising from the presence of invalid references. Further, from the customer's point of view the waiting time at DCS can be reduced due to the use of a simplified procedure.
This feature provides Insurance for an airline user of the service that all EMD references impacting the airline will follow a secured process (defined below). Thus, if the airline is the validating carrier of the EMD, or the operating carrier, or the marketing carrier, or the owner of the office where the entry is performed, the system always relies on this secured process.
A definition of a secured process can be when a reference of an EMD is manually entered by an agent, with coupon and service information. This process is flexible and provides different levels of security and checks, depending on the needs of the airline. A goal is to block any reference of an EMD when the coupon of the EMD does not fully match the service of the PNR. Several criteria can be used to define a “full match” as explained below. If the EMD coupon that is referenced and the service don't fully match, the airline agent is given the possibility to allow the reference for informational purposes when there is a minimum of compatibility by using an override option.
An aspect of this first feature is the definition of an algorithm that searches for a match between the service and an EMD coupon, in the case where the agent does not give the coupon information.
This feature provides an assurance for an airline user of the service that all E-Ticket references impacting the airline follow a secured process (defined below). Thus, if the airline is the validating carrier of the E-Ticket, or is the operating carrier, or is the marketing carrier, or is the owner of the office where the entry is performed, the system always relies on the secured process.
A definition of a secured process can be when a reference of an E-Ticket is manually entered, with the coupon and flight segment information. This process is flexible and it provides different levels of security and checks, depending on the needs of the airline. The goal is to block any reference of an E-Ticket when the coupon of the E-Ticket does not fully match the flight segment of the PNR. Several criteria define a “full match” and are detailed below. If the E-Ticket coupon that is referenced and the flight segment don't fully match, the airline agent will have the possibility to allow the reference for informational purposes when there is a minimum of compatibility by using an override option.
Discussed first is the concept of Subscription. Every airline subscribing to the protected EMD reference service in accordance with the additional embodiments of this invention has the assurance that a secured process will be followed as soon as it is impacted by the reference.
When a reference to an EMD is manually entered in a PNR, the process ensures that for the airline client (subscriber) of the service, as the owner of the office or as the validating carrier (VC) of the EMD or as the marketing carrier (MC) or as the operating carrier (OC) of the EMD, the secured process will take place. The following process is systematically used.
In the case of the manual entry of an EMD reference in a PNR, the secured process may be referred to for convenience and not as a limitation as an “Enhanced FHD process” and the non-secured process (actual process) may be referred to for convenience and not as a limitation as a “Basic FHD process”.
Provided now is an overall description that highlights the flexibility of the Enhanced FHD process. The Enhanced FHD process is flexible in that it provides different levels of security depending on the needs of the airline. For an airline subscribing to the Enhanced FHD process the agent may have two process choices: enter the EMD service/coupon link, or enter the service only (FHD/S).
(A) When entering the EMD service/coupon link that the agent wishes to create (FHD/S/C) several checks are applied to guarantee the validity of the link provided between the service and the EMD coupon. This implies that the service could be used with the EMD coupon (the checks are described in further detail below).
(B) When entering the service only (FHD/S) the system searches using several criteria (described below) for a matching EMD coupon in the EMD referenced that will match the service.
Each airline (each subscriber) is enabled to define different a level of rights for agents in order to give them the possibility of using both of the foregoing two processes or only one of them.
In the case of a failure checks are made to determine if coupon/service is provided, or if no matching EMD coupon is found if the service only is provided. The highly secured reference to the EMD (the enhanced FHD) will be either rejected, or the system will default to a simple reference (referred to hereafter as the “basic FHD”) with a status of “failed”, according to the needs of the airline.
The agent, depending on the rights granted to the agent, has the possibility to force the entry. As discussed in detail below, in that situation the enhanced FHD will have a status “unchecked” to show the agent that it is not guaranteed.
Described now is the manual entry to reference an EMD in a PNR with coupon/segment association. Reference can be made to
Phase A—Some basic checks are systematically performed (reference can also be made to
Format matches: the entry should comply with the format defined.
Ticketing agreements with VC: If the entry is done from a travel agent, the validating carrier must be an eligible E-Ticket carrier for the office.
The system performs an EMD display, if the response is OK the process continues, while if the display fails the request is rejected. In a case of time out, the end user can override the EMD display verification by repeating the FHD (immediately, without any other entry before) with the same EMD number.
Name check: The same name is used in the PNR and in the EMD document.
The status of the coupon is not open (‘O’) or airport control (‘A’)
The process then checks if the force option is used. The force option is preferably only available for an agent with a high level of rights. If the force option is used the next checks are bypassed and the system defaults to a FHD “unchecked”. If the force option is not used the process continues.
The process then enters Phase B for performing a second level of checks (reference can also be made to
If one of the following checks fails the airline can choose if:
If all of the checks are successful the process creates a highly secured reference to the EMD, (Enhanced FHD element), which is a guarantee of a match between the service and the EMD coupon involved. The service and the associated EMD coupon are explicitly given.
In Phase B all checks are optional and can be organized following the priority (needs) of the airline.
The further checks can include all of some of the following examples:
The process then enters Phase C for performing Fare Condition checks (third level checks, reference can also be made to
The Enhanced FHD provides a guarantee of consistency between an EMD coupon and a service. However, at this stage of the process no fare conditions have been yet taken into account.
Further in accordance with these embodiments the airline has the possibility to require an Enhanced FHD with revenue integrity checks including, for example:
If those checks are not successful, the agent will be advised that a (fare) penalty may be needed:
Discussed now with reference to Phase D of
Otherwise, for each service provided the system checks that:
Discussed now with reference to Phase E of
Discussed now is a search for matches between eligible services and eligible coupons. If the EMD type is ‘A’, the process builds a first list of candidate services for each coupon by:
If the EMD type is ‘S’, the previous action is not performed.
The process of matching includes:
For each coupon, the process determines among the previous list the services that have same RFIC/RFISC. The result is a list of same RFIC/RFISC services. If the list is empty, process terminates.
A coupon and a service that have the same city pair are matched. The result is a list of candidate services for each coupon (this step is skipped for EMD-S without routing). If the list is empty, process terminates.
The process then selects one candidate service for each coupon, where
If the coupon has several service candidates and if no other coupon's routing matches with any of the candidates' services, the process searches to determine if the flight segment associated with a candidate service is associated with a E-Ticket coupon in connection with this EMD coupon. If found, this service is selected, while if not found the first chronological service is selected, else, the first chronological service is selected.
If the entry is rejected, the agent has the possibility to specify a coupon and service association to return back to the previous flow.
A further component of this process involves fare condition checks. Once the association of the coupon/service has been performed at least some fare conditions checks are performed as discussed above with respect to Phase C and
Discussed now in further detail is the previously described EMD re-association process. At the end of a transaction, when the PNR contains an enhanced FHD, an automatic process is launched to attempt to make the given EMD coupons usable without requiring additional checks by DCS agents. This EMD re-association process includes:
Before describing the second feature of the additional embodiments of this invention (protected E-Ticket reference insertion), reference can be made to
Discussed first is the Subscription. Every airline subscribing to the protected E-Ticket reference service is assured of having a secure process to follow as soon as it is impacted by the reference. When a reference to an E-Ticket is manually entered in a PNR, the process ensures that for an airline client of this service, as owner of the office, or as validating carrier (VC) of the E-Ticket, or as marketing carrier (MC) or operating carrier (OC) of the E-Ticket, the secured process will take place. The following process is systematically used.
In the case of manual entry of an E-Ticket reference in a PNR the secured process can be referred to for convenience as an “Enhanced FHE process”, and the non-secured process (actual process) can be referred to as a “Basic FHE process”.
A Process description of this additional embodiment will now be provided. As for the previous feature the process is flexible and can be adapted to the needs of the airline. The same options as with the previous process (FHD) can be offered. It is possible to enter the flight segment/coupon association, or only provide the flight segment and allow the process to find a matching coupon. It is also possible to force the process (depending on the level of rights of the agent).
Described now is manual entry to reference an E-Ticket in a PNR with coupon/segment association.
If these checks are not successful, the request is rejected, even in the case of the force option. This includes:
The process then checks if the force option is used. As was noted above the force option is only available for use by an agent with a high level of rights. If the force option is used, the next checks are bypassed and the system defaults to a FHE “unchecked”. If the force option is not used the process continues.
B—The Process enters the Phase of Second Level Checks:
If one of the following checks fails the airline can choose if the process defaults to a simple reference, the “basic FHE”. In this case the reference is given for information purpose only, but there is no guarantee of its usability. If one of the following checks fails the airline can choose to simply reject the entry.
If all of the checks are successful, the process creates a highly secured reference to the E-Ticket (the Enhanced FHE element), which is a guarantee of matching between the flight segment and the E-Ticket coupon involved.
In this phase all checks are optional and can be organized following the priorities of the airline.
The airline can also choose to accept an enhanced FHE, with a divergence flag set, even if some specific checks have failed. For example, if OC, Board Point and Off Point match, but the flight number is not the same, the enhanced FHE could be accepted.
What follows is a list of non-limiting examples of (second level) checks that can be performed. Reference can also be made to
Discussed now are Fare condition checks. The Enhanced FHE provides a guarantee of consistency between an E-Ticket coupon and a flight segment. However, at this stage of the process no fare conditions have been yet taken into account.
An airline is enabled to require an Enhanced FHE with revenue integrity checks, including:
If these checks are not successful the agent is advised that a penalty may be needed.
Discussed now is a manual entry to reference an E-Ticket in a PNR without coupon information.
A phase of this process is to check the validity of data provided. If there are no ticketing agreements between the office and the VC of the E-Ticket, the process is terminated.
For each flight segment that is provided the system checks that:
A further phase of this process is to search for eligible coupons for matching. The system determines the list of eligible E-Ticket coupons. An eligible coupon satisfies these conditions:
A further phase of this process is to search for matches between eligible flight segments and eligible E-Ticket coupons. The process builds a first list of candidate segments for each coupon by:
The process of matching entails the following sub-processes:
If the entry is rejected, the agent has the possibility to specify a coupon and a segment association to return to the previous process flow.
A further phase of this process is to make fare condition checks. Once the association of the coupon/segment has been performed some fare condition checks are performed as discussed above with respect to Phase C and
A further phase of this process is an E-Ticket re-association process. At the end of the transaction, when the PNR contains an enhanced FHE, an automatic process is launched to attempt to make selected E-Ticket coupons usable without requiring additional checks by DCS agents. This process includes:
As should be appreciated, these additional embodiments of this invention provide a number of advantages, technical effects, improvements and advancements over the conventional techniques. During the process of secured manual reference of the EMD or the E-Ticket in a PNR these additional embodiments beneficially provide for a different level of reference to be allowed as dictated by a subscriber (e.g., an airline) corresponding to different level of security.
Furthermore, these additional embodiments also beneficially provide an ability to manually enter into the automated system a reference of an EMD or an E-Ticket with a link service/EMD coupon or flight segment/E-Ticket coupon.
Furthermore, these additional embodiments also beneficially provide an ability to establish a highly secured sequence of checks to validate the reliability of the link EMD coupon-service or E-Ticket coupon-flight segment.
Furthermore, these additional embodiments also beneficially provide an ability to make available information of a record locator at the coupon level in order to define a reliable link between a service and an EMD coupon or a flight segment and an E-Ticket coupon.
Furthermore, these additional embodiments also beneficially provide an algorithm to determine a match between a provided service and a coupon of the provided EMD, in a case where there is no coupon specified in the entry
Furthermore, these additional embodiments also beneficially provide an algorithm to determine a match between a given flight segment and a coupon of the provided E-Ticket, in a case where there is no coupon specified in the entry
The use of these additional exemplary embodiments of this invention are also beneficial in limiting fraud, reducing the workload of an airline and a travel agent, and also reducing time delays for passengers at DCS.
In accordance with an aspect of the operation of this invention an agent enters manually a reference of an EMD (respectively E-Ticket) coupon that does not match a service (respectively flight segment) of the PNR, and the system automatically rejects the manually inserted reference.
In accordance with a further aspect of the operation of this invention an agent enters a reference of an EMD (respectively E-Ticket) without a coupon/service (respectively coupon/flight segment) link, and the system automatically establishes an association.
Further, the various names used for the described parameters, images, IATA codes, data structures and the like (e.g., PNR, ETS, EMD, Link Matrix, etc.) are not intended to be limiting in any respect, as these parameters, images, codes data structures, etc. may be identified by any suitable names. Further, the processes and algorithms that manipulate these parameters, images, data structures and the like may differ from those expressly disclosed herein.
Each computing system described herein, also referred to as a platform, client, server, or back end, may include at least one processing unit configured to execute one or more instructions to perform one or more operations consistent with embodiments of the invention. Each computing system generally includes an input/output (“I/O”) interface, a display, and external devices. The I/O interface may be configured to receive data from the display and data from the external devices that is communicated to the processing unit and may be configured to output data from the processing unit to the display and external devices. The display may be, for example, a computer monitor or a screen on a mobile phone or a tablet. Alternatively, the display may be a touch screen that not only functions to permit a user to receive and view output data, but also functions to permit the user to input data with, for example, an onscreen virtual keyboard. The external devices may include, for example, additional user input devices such as a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a microphone, etc., and additional user output devices such as speakers, etc. The computing system may also include a network adapter, such as a network interface card or a transceiver, that supplies the physical connection with a network and that is configured to transmit data and receive over the network.
Each computing system includes a memory configured to store one or more software modules or applications and/or an operating system, where each application and the operating system each generally comprise one or more instructions stored as program code that may be read from the memory by each processing unit. The instructions, when executed by the processing unit, may cause the processing unit to perform one or more operations to thereby perform the steps necessary to execute steps, elements, and/or blocks embodying the various embodiments of the invention.
The memory may represent random access memory (RAM) comprising the main storage of a computer, as well as any supplemental levels of memory, e.g., cache memories, non-volatile or backup memories (e.g., programmable or flash memories), mass storage memory, read-only memories (ROM), etc. In addition, the memory may be considered to include memory storage physically located elsewhere, e.g., cache memory in a processor of any computing system in communication with the client device 16, as well as any storage device on any computing system in communication with the client device 16 (e.g., a remote storage database, a memory device of a remote computing device, cloud storage, etc.).
The routines and/or instructions that may be executed by the one or more processing units to implement embodiments of the invention, whether implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module, interface, engine element, tool, or sequence of operations executed by each processing unit, will be referred to herein as “program modules”, “computer program code” or simply “modules” or “program code.” Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. Given the many ways in which computer code may be organized into routines, procedures, methods, modules, objects, and the like, as well as the various manners in which program functionality may be allocated among various software layers that are resident within a typical computer (e.g., operating systems, libraries, API's, applications, applets, etc.), it should be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention are not limited to the specific organization and allocation of program functionality described herein.
The flowcharts, block diagrams, and sequence diagrams herein illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in a flowchart, block diagram, or sequence diagram may represent a segment or portion of program code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s) and/or act(s). Program code may be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the blocks of the flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and/or block diagrams herein. In certain alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur in a different order than shown and described. For example, a pair of blocks described and shown as consecutively executed may be instead executed concurrently, or the two blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. Each block and combinations of blocks can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
The program code for any of the embodiments described herein is capable of being individually or collectively distributed as a program product in a variety of different forms. In particular, the program code may be distributed using a computer readable media, which may include computer readable storage media and communication media. Computer readable storage media, which is inherently non-transitory, may include volatile and non-volatile, and removable and non-removable tangible media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer readable storage media may further include RAM, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other solid state memory technology, portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and which can be read by a computer. Communication media may embody computer readable instructions, data structures or other program modules. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above may also be included within the scope of computer readable media.
While the invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicants' general inventive concept.
