Fare Shopping

Fare Shopping with Terminal Formats

Also know as Focalpoint Shopping and Optimal Shopping.

You can use terminal formats to perform shopping requests for booked or unbooked itineraries. The lowest available fare is returned, as well as the lowest-priced alternative itineraries.

Note: FS quotes a total fare for all passengers in the PNR/Booking File instead of quoting a fare for each passenger.

Fare Shopping prices booked or unbooked itineraries at the lowest available fare, and searches schedules and fares to find the lowest priced alternative itineraries.

  • A maximum of 8 flight segments can be handled by a single request.

  • A maximum of 9 passengers can be included in each transaction.

  • One-way, round-trip, circle trip, single and double open-jaw itineraries are supported.

  • Low fare searches can be performed with or without a booked itinerary.

  • Pricing and Availability modifiers can be used to influence the search process and provide customized results.

More Information

For more information, see the Travelport Knowledge Base.

Tip! Be sure to log in with your MyTravelport user name and password.

You can request Fare Shopping for an unbooked itinerary or a booked itinerary to rebook at a different itinerary or fare.

Fare Shopping for Unbooked Itineraries

To fare shop for an unbooked itinerary:

  1. Enter Customer Information for each passenger in the itinerary. Because Fare Shopping is performed for all passengers in the itinerary, at a minimum, you need to include the name of each passenger to perform a Fare Shop.

    Tip! Be sure to also include any optional Customer Information that can affect the fare, such as PTCs, corporate discounts, and frequent traveler memberships.

  2. Enter the fare shopping format FS. For example: FSSIN02MAYTYO09MAYSIN

    Some of the basic commands are the same for both Travelport+ (1G) and Apollo (1V), but formats for modifiers can vary.

    For additional formats and modifiers, see Fare Shopping with a Booking File in the Travelport+ Format Guide.

    Format/Modifier Description
    FSLON10JANDXB One way journey
    FSLON10JANDXB20JANLON Round trip journey
    FSBKK11JUNHKG17JUNSIN20JUNTYO25JUNBKK Circle trip journey
    FS2BOS25MAYLON07JUNBOS

    Two passengers
    +**ITX Passenger Type Code (PTC) only
    +:C Net fares only.
    +-ACCT:P Private Fares with account code (may also display fares without an account code).
    +FXD Fares excluding economy unbundled fares.
    SLON10JANDXB20JANLON+BAG

    Request fares with a minimum of one checked bag included in the fare.

    This modifier only applies only to branded fares from carriers that support this modifier. The checked bag is indicated in the fare rules and the Brands and Ancillaries screen.

     

    For additional formats and modifiers, see KB0012487: Working with Fare Shopping (FS) in the Travelport Knowledge Base.

    Format/Modifier Description
    FSDEN10SEPDFW One way journey
    FSMSP10SEPLAX15SEPMSP Round trip journey
    FSHND10JULHKG15JULSIN20JULHNDL Multi-leg trip
    FSHND10JULHKG15JULSIN20JULHNDL Two passengers

    The Fare Shopping results are displayed.

    The following table lists the key components of the Fare Shopping screen for the first option.

    Component

    Description

    TTL OF 30 PRICING OPTIONS
    AND 57 ITINERARY OPTIONS RETURNED

    Total number of pricing options and itinerary options.

    PRICING OPTION 1

    Options are returned from the lowest price to highest, regardless of the airline.

    LOWER FARE AVAILABLE
    LOWEST FARE ALREADY BOOK

    Alert that varies depending on the classes of the itinerary currently booked.

    TOTAL AMOUNT  507.80 GBP

    TAX  INCLUDED

    Total amount for all passengers including tax and the three-character currency code.

    If the fare is displayed in green text, the fare is a branded fare. Click to display the Brands and Ancillaries screen.

    ADT   

    Adult passenger type code (PTC).

    1 KE 644 Q 02MAY SIN ICN 2235 0600 # TU 77W QLE7ZFSJ

    The first origin and destination for Option 1.

    1 = segment number

    KE = airline code

    644 = flight number

    Q = booking code

    02 MAY = departure date in DDMMM format.

    SIN = departure city/airport code

    ICN = arrival city/airport code

    2235 = departure time

    0600 = arrival time

    # = if present, indicates arrival in the next calendar day

    TU = departure day of the week

    77W = equipment. Click to display seat maps, if available.

    QLE7ZFSJ = fare basis code
    BOOK Books the selected pricing option.
    +TQ Adds the quote to Trip Quote.

    D  

    Click to display fare details including the journey time

    To view the fare details click on the details will then be displayed below the pricing option giving you the journey time of each flight sector and a breakdown of the fare including taxes.

    If you click on the ‘D’ in option 1 that is the booked itinerary, further details such as the last day to purchase the fare and the linear fare construction are also displayed.

    Note: Click on Details again to close the display.

    R

    Prompt to view rules text.  You can then enter FN1/ALL to see full rules text for first fare component or click.

    To view the rules on the pricing option click on the rules icon  The fare components for the journey appear.  The rules do not display at this stage. 

    You can also click a segment in the COMPONENT column to view the full rules for that component.

    Frequently used rules are displayed in orange text.

    Click Back to Pricing Options to redisplay the fare components.
    +

    If present, the + icon on indicates that there are other itinerary options for the same price available. 

    Pricing options are returned in low-to-high fare order and may involve the same fare with several different itineraries.  These itineraries are known as itinerary options within the pricing option group. The number of alternate itinerary options is also listed. For example, +3 indicates three additional itineraries for the same price.

    Click the link to view alternative itinerary options for the fare.

  3. Review fare options, including fare details and rules.

  4. If applicable, click More Flights to view additional flights.

  5. Click BOOK to book the selected pricing option without canceling the existing reservation.

  6. If the Customer Information is not completed, add any additional required information.

  7. End transact (ER) to save the booked fare.

Fare Shopping for Booked Itineraries

To fare shop for a booked itinerary:

This example shows the basic flow for pricing a booked itinerary in Travelport+ (1G). See the Knowledge Base for more information and modifiers.

  1. Display a booked itinerary. The itinerary may or may not be end transacted.

  2. Enter FS to display the Fare Shopping results.

    For additional formats and modifiers, see:

    • Travelport+ (1G): Fare Shopping with a Booking File in the Travelport+ Format Guide.

      Format/Modifier Description
      FS+*STU Passenger type code (student).
      FS+:P Private fares only.
      FS+:C Net fares only.
      FS+-ACCT Private fare with account code and fares with no account code.
      FS+FXD Exclude economy unbundled fares.
      FS+BAG

      Request fares with a minimum of one checked bag included in the fare.

      This modifier only applies only to branded fares from carriers that support this modifier. The checked bag is indicated in the fare rules and the Brands and Ancillaries screen.
      FS++/BA Carrier code (maximum 3)
      FS++//O* Alliance carrier (One World)
      FS++/CX# Specified carrier only
      FS++/CO- Exclude carrier
      FS++//O* Alliance carrier (One World)
      FS++//S- Exclude Alliance carrier (Skyteam)
      FS++-FIRST Cabin preference (First Class)

    • Apollo (1V): KB0012487: Working with Fare Shopping (FS) in the Travelport Knowledge Base

    In the response:

    • The first pricing option performs a Best Buy (FQBB in 1G or $BB in 1V) entry and displays the best fare for the itinerary already held. In this example, the active itinerary is the best fare, so an option to store the fare is displayed.

    • The additional pricing options display the option to either book the selected option without canceling the existing reservation, or cancel and rebook in a new reservation.

    The following table lists the key components of the Fare Shopping screen for the first option.

    Component

    Description

    TTL OF 31 PRICING OPTIONS
    AND 58 ITINERARY OPTIONS RETURNED

    Total number of pricing options and itinerary options.

    PRICING OPTION 1 – BOOKED ITIN

    Pricing option 1 header.

    Note: Option 1 is always your booked itinerary. 

    Option 2 and the following options are from the lowest price to highest, regardless of the airline.

    LOWER FARE AVAILABLE
    LOWEST FARE ALREADY BOOK

    Alert that varies depending on the classes of the itinerary currently booked.

    TOTAL AMOUNT  487.97USD

    TAX  INCLUDED

    Total amount for all passengers including tax and the three-character currency code.

    If the fare is displayed in green text, the fare is a branded fare. Click to display the Brands and Ancillaries screen.

    ADT   

    Adult passenger type code (PTC).

    1 F9 553 M 12OCT 1520 1645 WE 32N M21ZXS5

    The first origin and destination for Option 1.

    1 = segment number

    F9 = airline code

    553 = flight number

    M = booking code

    12OCT = departure date in DDMMM format.

    1520 = departure time

    1645 = arrival time

    WE = departure day of the week

    32N = equipment. Click to display seat maps, if available.

    M21ZXS5 = fare basis code

    STORE FARE

    For Option 1, stores the current fare.
    BOOK Books the selected pricing option without canceling the existing reservation.
    REBOOK Cancels the existing booking and rebooks in the new class.
    +TQ Adds the quote to Trip Quote.

    D  

    Click to display fare details including the journey time

    To view the fare details click on the details will then be displayed below the pricing option giving you the journey time of each flight sector and a breakdown of the fare including taxes.

    If you click on the ‘D’ in option 1 that is the booked itinerary, further details such as the last day to purchase the fare and the linear fare construction are also displayed.

    Note: Click on Details again to close the display.

    R

    Prompt to view rules text.  You can then enter FN1/ALL to see full rules text for first fare component or click.

    To view the rules on the pricing option click on the rules icon 

    The fare components for the journey appear.  The rules do not display at this stage. 

    You can also click a segment in the COMPONENT column to view the full rules for that component.

    Frequently used rules are displayed in orange text.

    Click Back to Pricing Options to redisplay the fare components.
    +

    If present, the + icon on indicates that there are other itinerary options for the same price available. 

    Pricing options are returned in low-to-high fare order and may involve the same fare with several different itineraries.  These itineraries are known as itinerary options within the pricing option group. The number of alternate itinerary options is also listed. For example, +3 indicates three additional itineraries for the same price.

    Click the link to view alternative itinerary options for the fare.
    $

    If present, indicates that the flight does not have an associated fare quote. The symbol changes to a pound sign/hash tag # after the fare is quoted.

  3. Review fare options, including fare details and rules.

  4. If applicable, click More Flights to view additional flights.

  5. After selecting an option, either

    • STORE FARE (Option 1) to store the current fare.

    • BOOK to book the selected pricing option without canceling the existing reservation.

    • REBOOK to cancel the existing booking and rebook in the new class.

  6. End transact (ER) to save the booked or rebooked fare.