eTARS Passenger Reservations Overview The diagram, below, shows the major areas of your airline that eTARS (The Airline Reservation System) supports. The relational SQL database is common to all applications installed at your airline. This means that all data can be used by all applications. Data is input only once, thereby eliminated input errors from multiple entries of the same data. Both productivity and accuracy are improved. eTARS provides: Central, in-house, database Data is input only once Real-time reporting of all business aspects Direct availability of all data to external applications via Java JDBC and MS Windows ODBC Every transaction made in the system is summarized and placed into a transaction log. You can view every transaction at any time in the same detail it was input into the system as. All transactions are available to anyone with proper authority. The data contained in the relational SQL booking database is originated at: Internal Terminals Management locations Accounting Reservation centers Flight Operations Maintenance Cargo Remote locations Help Desks External Terminals Passengers Airline reservation agents Travel/Tour/Cargo agents Corporate Customers Other Airlines Communication Lines Connection To/From: Other CRS/Booking Systems Travel/Tour Agents Passengers Auto Rental Agencies Hotels Credit Card Clearing Houses/Banks Airline Telex Network Caterning Messaging Weather Flight Plans BSP ACH OAG ATPCO Interlining eTARS provides an interface to: Other CRS systems. This connection is made via a TCP/IP, X.25 or ALC link which provides the necessary type "B" protocol and eTARS provides the IATA reservation interline message procedures. This connection allows booking from/to the other CRS systems for passengers, cargo and to the other CRS systems optionally for Hotel and Auto Rental reservations. This connection is made transparently via our partner Amadeus, which allows connection to any CRS connected to the airline network. For a detail desctiption of interlining Click Here. Local Terminals Airline: Reservations (Passenger/Cargo), Management, Accounting, Flight Operations, Maintenance, etc.. Internet - World Wide Web Remote Terminals: Airline Stations, Travel/Tour Agents, Customers, Corporate Customers, etc.. eTARS Server The eTARS server would be installed in total at your airline's central location or at your decision our location. For a detailed description of the server Click Here. Internet Web Site For your airline eTARS provides a Internet web site that is capable of allowing reservations to be booked directly from: Travel/Tour/Cargo Agents The airline's reservation agents. Passengers Other airlines Reservations Reservations Introduction There are four separate presentations of the reservation system included in eTARS: Passengers Airline Reservation Agents Travel/Tour Agents Corporate Customers The basic reservation flow and panels are the same, except that each of the four users are offered different options and functions as well as different payment options. Inventory Capture Travel Requirements To input the desired Travel Requirements: Select the from and to cities Select the desired flight date Select the type and number of passengers Select the desired currency Select the desired class of service Select "Submit" Selecting "Submit" will select from the database or other reservation system the flights that satisfy the input criteria, only the flights that have seats available are displayed. Flights that are scheduled but have no seats available are not shown. Availability Inventory on an other CRS When the flight information is located on an other CRS: eTARS automatically creates and sends an "availability" request to the appropriate CRS. The availability response from the CRS/Booking system must be interrogated. If the preferred segment is not available a request is made for non-specific alternates When the data is gathered the data is formatted to the eTARS format and then presented to user on eTARS If the response from the CRS/Booking system was: wait listing, schedule change or the request does not meet all requirements. This information is formatted and then presented to the user on eTARS. Since all data is formatted to the eTARS format, eTARS treats it as local eTARS data. The user is unaware that they are booking on a remote CRS. Inventory on eTARS When the flights are located on the eTARS server: If the flight information is located on the eTARS server then the "availability" command is directed to eTARS. If the availability response is formatted and displayed to the user. The users are unaware of all interline procedure, this eliminates unnecessary training and reduces the overall cost to the airline. Dynamic Route Modification eTARS configuration provides both segment and flight dynamic insertion and modification based on todays or even this instant requirements. The flight configuration tool allows insertion of new segment(s) into a flight or creation of a new flight in a matter of minuets. Segments can be modified or new ones created in a matter of minuets. This feature allows an airline that has a requirement to dynamically change a flight, segment or route to do so with a minimum of effort and in minuets. Select Desired Flight The reservation system is configurable so that the inventory pricing is handled differently depending on the option selected. Available inventory options are: Pricing Of Inventory Inventory pricing options that are described below. Pricing is based on time periods Pricing is based on Class of Service Pricing is based on tariffs/perorations agreed to with Travel/Tour Agencies, Corporate Customers and other airlines. The first two options above can be combined so that the inventory is gated by class of service and is also time sensitive. This configuration selected for the figure shown above uses the pricing based on time periods: before and including 14 days, 13 to 7 days, and from 6 to 1 days. As the time periods are exhausted the seats that are not sold are migrated to the next fare basis. This means that all available inventory is always shown, at the price depicted by the active data basis and at the least expensive fare for this time period. Tariffs and perorations are handled separately and are used in producing the final ticket pricing. Unlimited Fares/Class Of Service are available for each defined flight. Each Fare/Class Of Service have their own rule definitions. To continue, select the desired flight by mouse clicking the button on the left hand side of the selected flight. Flight Information Panel The Flight Information Panel allows the reservation agent to confirm that the flight selected, time, fare and number of passengers are correct. Also included (not shown) are the rules for this Fare Basis/Class Of Service for this flight so that they can be explained to the customer. At the bottom of this panel (not shown) the person making the reservation can make the decision to: Add more flights to the itinerary Complete the reservation Cancel the reservation being made Itineraries can contain as many reservations as desired, there is no limit. Multiple passengers can also be defined in an itinerary. Payment The standard payment choices are: Credit/Debit Card Cash Check Invoice Passenger Credit Coupon Voucher Pass BSP ACH The types of payment methods that your airline supports can be configured and supported by using the reservation configuration tool. Credit/Debit Card - All credit and debit cards are supported. Three options are supported by the reservation system to clear debit/credit cards: Credit/Debit card clearing is done by the reservation system automatically connecting to the airline's bank's credit authority and obtaining the authorization number and clearing the passenger's credit real time. The credit/debit cards are automatically cleared with the credit authority and a authorization number obtained. At the end of the day a reconciliation batch is credited and sent to the credit authority to clear the batch of credit cards. Credit/Debit cards are checked locally by the reservation system to determine if the credit/debit card number is a valid number, that the customer name is input and that the card's expiration date is in the future. The credit/debit cards are then cleared using a terminal supplied by the bank. The method to be used is a configuration option available in the reservation system. Cash - The acceptance of cash can be limited to particular areas within the airline. Such as at ticket agencies or airports. A system is provided to account for cash transactions. Checks - The acceptance of checks can be limited to particular areas within the airline. Such as at ticket agencies or airports. A system is provided to account for check transactions. Invoices - The acceptance of invoices can be limited to particular outside companies or agencies. Such as at corporate customers or travel/tour agencies. A system is provided to account for invoiced itineraries. Passenger Credit - Passenger credit is generated when a passenger cancels a reservation. Cancellations can carry a cancellation penalty or to be penalty free. Passenger credit is available for one year after the reservation was made. At payment time the passenger credit file is automatically searched and if there is a credit for this passenger it is automatically applied to the payment. Coupons - Coupons are used as advertising and are given out as a free flight. Coupons pay for a particular flight or itinerary in full. Coupons are tracked and checked for validity. Voucher - Vouchers are used as advertising and are given out as a free flight. Vouchers must be paid for by a fee charged on a per segment basis. Vouchers are tracked and checked for validity. Passes - Passes are for company travel and are valid for the period in which they are issued. There is no cost for an employee flying using a pass. Passes are tracked and checked for validity. BSP - is provided to allow travel agents to pay for their reservations. E-Ticket The overall usage of E-Tickets depends on the bilateral agreement with the major CRS and if the airline is booking reservation on other airlines. If the major CRS issues and only accepts standard IATA Interline Passenger Tickets, eTARS will issue and accept these tickets in place of the E-Ticket. The E-Ticket printer supported by E-TARS is the Unimark ST 6000. If your airline uses a different E-Ticket printer we will need one to allow us to interface it to E-TARS. If the major CRS will accept E-Ticketing and will issue E-Tickets the standard eTARS E-Ticketing process applies as follows. When the ticket is paid for an E-Ticket is generated for each flight in the itinerary. It can be emailed, faxed or printed and mailed to the customer. It completely replaces ticketing and associated cost. Passenger Departure Check-In Operation The airport check-in functions provided are: Walk-Ups No Shows Stand-By Baggage Lap Children Special Needs The check-in function is accomplished, by each check-in agent, from an eTARS panel displayed on their terminal. The single panel contains a listing of all passengers booked on the flight being checked in. The agent, to check-in a passenger is only required to select the correct passenger and select "Checked-In" with the mouse. Selecting the "Update" button immediately updates the central database so that the manifest report is accurate to the second no matter where it is viewed/printed. The agent can display the original reservation and also print an e-ticket if needed by the passenger. The passenger information is immediately made available for the weight and balance program. Baggage The passenger, if they have baggage to check-in, must check baggage in with the agent in order to insure the baggage is routed correctly and that it is labeled. A baggage check-in function is provided that records the bags being checked in as well as automatically calculating any baggage charges due. To activate the baggage check-in function the agent select the "Baggage Link" on the row representing the current passenger. This automatically presents the baggage check-in panel to the agent. Fast Check-In Fast Check-in allows your agents to check-in passengers at the check-in counter in less than 1 minuet per passenger. On the top of the eTicket is a bar code that contains the passenger and flight locater number. If you install a bar code scanner all that has to be done is to scan the eTicket and the passenger will be checked-in. If the passenger has baggage just input the number of bags. If you have a bag tag printer installed the bag tags will be automatically printed. eTARS allows check-in of both checked and carry on baggage. For security reasons check-on baggage (including Personal Computers, large hand bags, etc.) should be checked-in at the check-in counter and a tag be placed on the baggage. This will allow identification of checked carry-on baggage at the departure gate. If the passenger has excess baggage or baggage weight just select the baggage button and check in the excess baggage, collect the additional revenue and then move onto the next passenger. When the agent selects "Continue" the passenger is automatically checked-in. The scanner shown is a Metrologic MS700i and the bag tag printer is a Unimark et6000. If you choose not to purchase bar code scanners the check-in agent can input the passenger and flight locater number and bag tag numbers using the Personal Computer keyboard. When you scan or manually input the flight locater number the following panel will pop up providing confirmation that the passenger is check-in-in to the correct flight. Gate Operation The boarding function is accomplished from a single eTARS panel. The single panel contains a listing of all passengers booked on the flight being boarded. The functions provided for the gate agent are the same as the check-in agent with the following additions: Print Flight Manifest Calculate and print the Weight and Balance report Update the Flight Following report The agent, to board a passenger is only required to select the correct passenger and select the "Continue" button,. This function immediately updates the central database so that the manifest report is accurate to the second no matter where it is viewed/printed. When all passengers have boarded the aircraft, the agent can then print the flight manifest for the aircraft's captain. When the flight manifest is printed a check is made to insure that any passengers that have check-in and checked baggage are on the aircraft. If all passengers are accounted for the flight manifest is printed. Otherwise the flight manifest cannot be produced until the checked baggage is removed from the aircraft or the passenger accounted for. Fast Passenger Boarding Fast Boarding allows your agents to positively board passengers at the gate in less than 3 second per passenger. On the top of the eTicket is a bar code that contains the passenger and flight locater number. If you install a bar code scanner all that has to be done is to scan the eTicket and the passenger will be boarded. If you choose not to purchase bar code scanners the gate agent can input the passenger and flight locater number using the Personal Computer keyboard. When you scan or manually input the flight locater number the following panel will pop up providing confirmation that the passenger boarding is getting onto the correct flight. Weight and Balance The pilot or agent must input the fuel on-board, expected fuel burn and the pilot's name. All other information is gathered automatically by the system. The above load sheet panel is displayed. To print the report the "Print" function is selected. Flight Following The flight following is either input by the flight operations personnel or the gate agent. The flight following panel is shown below. Passenger Arrival The processing provides: Baggage Lost/Damaged Baggage Wheel Chairs Special Needs Upon arrival the passengers, if any baggage was checked, must collect their baggage and then depart the airport. If a connecting flight is to be boarded the passenger's baggage is transferred to the connecting flight and the passenger(s) board the flight. If the passenger's baggage was misplaced, lost or damaged the baggage agent merely needs to input a passenger's baggage claim number and the entire baggage records are displayed. The assigned agent, prior to flight arrival, views the special need report for the flight. This allows the agent to prepare for any special needs indicated. Security - Passenger and Baggage eTARS supports: APIS - Advanced Passenger Information System CAPS - Computer Assisted Passenger Screening Baggage Matching APIS - Advanced Passenger Information System APIS addresses passengers and crews traveling from a foreign country into the USA. eTARS automatically determines if the flight is coming from a foreign country and entering the USA. For flights that meet this criteria eTARS begins capturing the needed information at passenger check-in. When all passengers have boarded eTARS automatically completes the required passenger manifest and sends it automatically to the USA Customs office where the passengers will enter the USA. eTARS determines the flight crew from the weight and balance report and then captures the needed information from the crew's personnel records to complete the required crew manifest. The crew manifest is then sent automatically to the USA Customs office where the crew will enter the USA. CAPS - Computer Assisted Passenger Screening CAPS addresses screening for suspect passengers and informing USA customs. eTARS provides utilities that will allow the airline to input the screening criteria required by USA Customs. When a passenger checks-in eTARS automatically compares the customer information to the customs supplied security criteria. If a passenger is determine to be suspect, eTARS will automatically print a new eTicket that indicates to Customs that this passenger has been determined suspect. eTARS automatically fulfills the required number of passengers that Customs requires to be screened. Baggage Matching The purpose of baggage matching is to not allow baggage on an aircraft if the passenger who checked-in the baggage is not on the aircraft. There are many ways baggage can be placed onto an aircraft and the passenger never boards the aircraft: Passenger checks-in but never boards Passenger checks-in but is denied boarding Passenger does not board connecting flight eTARS tracks each passenger and if any passengers have not boarded or has left the aircraft eTARS will not produce a flight manifest until the passenger's baggage is removed from the aircraft. Inventory Reporting The inventory reports are available, to the appropriate personnel, on a real-time basis. The reports can be reviewed, printed or exported to external applications. The following represents a basic set of reports. We will produce the necessary reports to allow you to run your business at no additional cost to you. The data contained in the following reports are based on the information as we understand it and will be refined to reflect what you actually need. Operational Reports Booked Inventory The booked Inventory Report shows the inventory booked on a flight basis. Flight Manifest This is a report that shows the passenger inventory boarded on a flight basis. It is provided to the aircraft's captain in a printed format and can be viewed, printed or exported by the personnel allowed to access this report. Management Reports Booking Report The Booked Revenue report shows the number of reservations made for a specific date and time frame as input by the user. Shown in this report are: Ticket Cost Taxes and Charges Number of Passengers Payment Method and Amount Paid Customer Credit A total summary is provided for each column including the total number of passengers booked. Future Booking Report The Gross Revenue Report is a report that is intended for planning and accounting purposes. It allows management to produce a report that shows for a specific period (time and date, from one minute to as long as desired) the number of bookings on every flight flown by your airline. Accounting The accounting system provides a processing module with the capability to automatically capture the sales transactions, retain the transactions and transfer the daily sales into the airline central accounting system for input free processing. The revenue system provides the following capabilities: Automate billings including direct bills, credit cards. Revenue recovery of unreported sales. Variance processing with automatic creation of debit/credit and rejection memos. Extensive audit capabilities and trails are provided. Reduce itinerary pricing by system matching the tariff master and proration. Evaluate travel agency effectiveness through sales analysis reports. The accounting modules have extensive interfacing capability to methodically track, maintain, control and monitor revenue system management by passenger confirmation number, location, status and agency pricing factors. All the methods and procedures required for a fully functional airline passenger revenue system department are incorporated into these modules. In addition, full reporting capability assures accounting and budget projection accuracy, and marketing support. Passenger confirmation number tracking establishes inventory control to on-line sales and serves as the source for the reports of unreported sales, sold reservations open, and sold reservation tickets closed including variance capture, and the earned/unearned revenue position. The accounting modules allow the data to be automatically exported into a spread sheet application. The spread sheet application can tailored or create new ones reports on a real time basis. The following image shows a report on "Customer Credit" transactions" The following shows the same report but the format was selected to export the report when it was executed. The following shows the same report but displayed in a spread sheet. The spread sheet just imported the unchanged data. The steps between the export report above and the display in the spread sheet are: Using the browser file function save the exported file using the "Save As Function" of the browser. Import the saved file into your spread sheet. Once the data is in your spread sheet there are no limitations to the reports and their format that can be produced by your accounting department. We will meet with your accounting department and determine the needed functions and reports. We will provide the support and reports as required at no cost to your Airline. System Management Functions/Reports System Management Definition Functions Travel Agent edit/create/delete System Default Settings Language Used Currency Used Credit Card Clearing Prices Date Format Report Headers Include Cargo Include Flight Operations Assign Seats Include Check-In Operation Include Gate Operation Function(s) Priority Definition Use standard IATA AWB Include Aircraft Maintenance Include Weight and Balance Function Use IATA NUC for currency conversion Add Class Of Service Use Internet/SITA/ARINC/AEROTHAI City Code and Description Definition Leg/Segment creation/edit/delete Flight creation/edit/delete Aircraft Definition: Weight and Balance, Cargo Areas and Seat Assignment Optional Charges (Up to 10) Block Flights or Holiday Definitions Edit Customer Credit Edit Travel/Tour Agent Commission Edit Passenger or Company Records Internal Cargo Rate Tables Dangerous Goods Code Definition System Management Reports Passenger Boarded Report, For Airport Authorities to pay airport fees Flight Report, automatic generation of FAA/Transport Canada require report Orphan Passenger Report, for scheduling situations Accounting Reports Provided Reports Gross Revenue Earned Revenue Booked Revenue Summary Report Customer Credit Customer Refund Credit Card History Travel Agency Due Corporate Booking Corporate Invoicing Cargo Invoicing Cargo Booked Cargo Gross Revenue Cargo Earned Revenue Cargo Unearned Revenue Pre-Flight Validation Functionally, in performing the pre-flight validation, the system uses the passenger confirmation number to identify each PNR. If the case where tickets are used the PNR contains both a ticket number and a confirmation number. When the reservation is booked there is an extensive audit to validate accuracy of all input and system generated data. The validation of the itinerary price is automatic as all reservation are made in the centralized reservations system and the fare cost, tax, airport charges, and optional charges are all system generated using the flight price master table. Boarded Validation Once a boarding pass has been processed, the passenger transaction record is automatically validated to insure that the monetary value, transaction type, date of usage, and method of payment are all correct. For processing an itinerary's components the pre-flight validated reservation record and the actual sales record after the passenger has boarded ("the boarding pass/coupon is lifted") are used. The actual sales record is used to validate the pricing and reporting of all itinerary sales. This includes passenger, baggage, upgrades, or any other sales transaction. Pre-Flight validation processing provides the source for the air traffic liability (unearned revenue) and once validated the PNR is placed in both the gross revenue and unearned revenue tables. Boarded validation provides for the edit, pricing, reporting, and billing of boarded passengers. This audit includes refunds, exchanges, and re-bills. The boarded validation processing system is the source for earned income and the PNR data is now moved from the unearned to the earned table, Financial Responsibility Movement of the financial responsibility from reservation, counter and gate agents occurs automatically when Flight Operations indicates to the Flight Following function that the flight has taken off. At this time the revenue becomes earned and the accounting department has complete control of the flight's financial records. Flight Operations is still responsible to insure that the flight completes its schedule itinerary and to keep the flight following data current. All information is still available to the airline personnel but they are unable to modify the data after accounting is given control. Daily Reconciliation Daily Reconciliation is accomplished by accounting reviewing the unearned revenue report at the end of the day. If there are no entries This is the first action required by accounting. If there any entries in this report accounting must manually reconcile them using the data made available by eTARS. Accounting was not required to manually input information from coupons which were pulled and received days later nor were they required to validate any data, it is automatically accomplished by the eTARS accounting process. Credit Card Batch Reconciliation Credit cards can be processed using two methods. The first and most used method is that the credit card is authorized and cleared by the credit authority in one step. This means that when the reservations are made the credit cards are authorized and cleared into your bank account. The second method is when credit cards are only authorized at the time the reservation is made. And the reconciliation is handled at a later time when after a reconciliation batch is built and sent to the bank. The building of the batch file is accomplished by utilizing the "Credit Card" function, this is the reconciliation batch to be sent to the bank. This report assembles into one report any unreconciled credit card charges into one reconciliation batch to be sent to the credit authority. Once the report is verified as correct the accounting department can send the report automatically to the credit authority using the supplied support. Each report is time stamped and dated. When the credit card payments are received the accounting department is required to input the actual payment received into the system. When the entire batch is reconciled it may be move to the archive files for later use. Networking Reservations may be made by anyone who has a Personal Computer and an operating system that supports a World Wide Web browser. Access to the eTARS functions can be connected to using the following methods: Type of Access Method of Access Local Connection Ethernet Local Area Network or by a direct communication connection Remotely Access Internet's World Wide Web or by dialing into the system or via leased lines. When using the Internet's World Wide Web access can be made from anywhere in the World. Local and remote terminals can be installed in less than 15 minuets. The terminals are inexpensive Personal Computers with any Operating System installed that supports an Internet browser. This includes Microsoft Windows/NT client or Linux. All inexpensive terminals include the necessary programming. There is no additional programming to load onto the terminals other than what is shipped with them. To install a remote terminal you connect the remote terminals to the Internet, select the reservations system with the browser and it is installed. To install a local terminal plug the LAN cable into the Personal computer, select the reservation system via the browser and it is installed. There is no limit to the number of terminals you can connect to the reservation system. We install, at no cost, a network/website traffic analyzation tool that will allow you to understand the people that are accessing your reservation system and what areas they are accessing. Other Airlines With the eTARS system the interface to the Other Airlines are via ARINC's Dial 2000 asynchronous dial support or SITA Text. To communicate with Other Airlines on a host-to-host basis the connection is via Telnet or a leased X.25 or ALC line. To review the interline support available with eTARS/eTACS select the following: Interlining Credit Card Clearing The connection to the credit authority to allow credit card clearing is via a single or multiple asynchronous dial modems. PDA and Mobile Telephone Support The eTARS Airline Management System is accessible from mobile phones or PDAs. Passengers, Travel/Tour Agents, Corporate Customers and your airline employees using a WAP equipped mobile phone can access your eTARS Airline Management System from anywhere the world. All functions of the eTARS Airline Management System are supported. Passengers can: Make reservations Check flight status View flight schedules Remotely check-in Cancel and re-book flights Your airline can: Check in-Passengers from the check-in queue Board Passengers at the boarding gate View work schedules Bid on work assignments