Flight Booking Process: Structure, Steps, and Key Systems | AltexSoft - 0 views
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An airline uses a software solution called Passenger Service System (PSS) comprised of a central reservation system (CRS), airline inventory system, and departure control system (DCS).
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contains schedules, fares, reservations and ticket records. Its goal is to support bookings through different distribution channels. It stores a database of fare tariffs, rules and booking conditions, all considering different zones, classes, and inventory buckets.
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The GDS data from is then distributed among booking platforms and directly to travel agents who request it.
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All the systems mentioned above are connected via APIs or an EDIFACT protocol and distributed via GDSs. So, if an Online Travel Agency (OTA) wants to access flight information, it must connect to a GDS or third-party API for fares and schedules.
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Passenger name record (PNR) is a personal code that contains a traveler’s information and itinerary.
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Ancillary services include an ability to reserve a particular seat, additional baggage, extra legroom, or in-flight meals.
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Being a member of a frequent-flyer or airline loyalty program, a passenger can use earned miles accumulated from each flight, or points for purchasing extra services from airlines.
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To receive a ticket with a PNR (sometimes called a booking confirmation number), a traveler must pay the fare.
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A payment gateway is a third-party service that not only processes all financial operations between customer and merchant, it also ensures data safety.
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As soon as the payment was processed by the payment gateway, the airline’s CRS can generate a booking confirmation number and issue an electronic version of a ticket.
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Based on a flight’s itinerary, airport baggage management systems like SITA’s BagManager or ARINC SmartBag generate code and issue a baggage tag with it each time luggage is checked-in through an airport agent or a self-service drop.
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Since there are no ticket agents anymore and you don’t need to call them to reserve a paper ticket, today’s flight booking pipeline is considered to be simpler than before. But still, a single booking requires a number of different operations, all bound to one another.
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This article goes into detail of the processes involved in flight booking and how GDS's play a role in this process. GDS's allow for airlines to disburse their flight information to various search engines which allows the consumer to have it at their hands in a matter of minutes. Booking is now made easy and GDS's have decreased the work load of hotels and airlines alike.