Many airlines offer discounted air travel with special terms and conditions to closed user groups within key customers and industry partners. This ranges from duty travel for airline or cargo company executives, travel agents and spouses, or the crew positioning departments of partner airlines.
However, the provision of interline travel services can be complex when providing booking and ticketing functions. This is because airline must register and verify customers, manage and control multiple agreements, as well as ensure terms and conditions are met and enforced.
In addition to the administrative complexities, the agreed upon fares are usually calculated based on percentage discounts, and agreement needs to be made on how the payment process should operate.
The operation of the interline service itself is usually the responsibility of individual business units within the airline (such as the alliances department), or in some cases the airline’s staff travel department. In order to meet the demand, these departments tend to utilise a combination of manual processes in order to fulfil the service requirement, along with legacy system capabilities.
Automate the interline travel process for your airline staff and associated closed user groups
It allows airlines to automate the registration process and specify how verification should operate, offer an online booking and ticketing service, and set up and control differing interline agreements and priority codes for specific closed user groups. In addition the system enables the management of credit terms and payment methods, and ensures bookings adhere to the appropriate terms and conditions.
Users are able to access the Interline Travel Zone at their convenience, and have full control over their bookings from passenger selection through to ticketing, and automated refunding if plans change.
Features and Capabilities
- The airline has full control over the customer registration and verification process, all interline travel agreements, and the fulfilment process.
- Enables customers to self-service via the system’s online passenger selection, flight availability, pricing, payment, ticketing and refunding functionalities.
- Supports ID and AD fare types, multi-currency and multi-language.
- Can be integrated with the airline’s own PSS or via NDC
- Can be utilised to merchandise the airline’s own NDC content
- System tabs/queues enable the user to manage the work flow and actions associated with the booking, such as ticketing deadlines
- Handles multiple terms and conditions and differentiates services and pricing by customer type
- Opt-out function for booking in trade customer’s GDS
- Can be white labelled to reflect the airline’s brand and identity
- MIS reporting capability
Benefits to Airlines
- Builds trade customer loyalty by offering state-of-the-art leisure booking and management services
- Optimises use of available inventory and revenue management constraints
- Lowers operating and distribution costs through effective use of automation
Benefits to Customers
- Provides a high degree of self-service and control, available 24 hours a day
- Intuitive user interfaces, logical flows and system generated reminders reduce complexity and eliminate the risk of cancelled space and/or financial penalties
- Provides small to medium sized trade customers with direct access to the airline’s leisure product enabling them to compete, win sales and grow their business
