Apply Tolerance Options

Universal Policy next evaluates the tolerance options set on the Fare Tolerance Options screen.

Universal Policy loops through all price points and sorts them into ascending fare total order. It calculates the maximum allowed journey time by looping through the lowest journey time values for each leg in the route / leg list saved earlier and adding the additional travel time set on the Fare Tolerance Options screen to each leg.

Universal Policy loops through all price points and checks whether the travel time for an option exceeds the maximum allowed value. If so, Universal Policy flags the option so it is not used to find the lowest logical airfare (LLA).

Universal Policy determines the LLA by again looping through all price points and finding the lowest fare from a price point that has an option that has not been flagged for exceeding the maximum allowed value. If a price point / flight option has multiple options, it can still be considered for the LLA if at least one of the options is valid.  Universal Policy calculates the in-policy fare range using the LLA from above.

Universal Policy loops through all price points and finds the lowest preferred refundable (LPR) fare. If a price point is refundable and preferred and does not exceed the maximum allowed travel time, Universal Policy saves that lowest value for later processing. If there are no preferred refundable fares, Universal Policy instead uses the lowest non-preferred refundable fare.

Universal Policy then takes the following steps to determine if any refundable fares are in-policy:

  • Loop through all the price points and find any refundable fare.
  • Subtract the refundable tolerance amount from the fare (all fares, not just preferred fares).
  • Compare this amount to the LLA. If greater than the LLA, Universal Policy does not process the fare. If less than the LLA, Universal Policy continues processing the refundable fare.
  • Subtract the non-refundable tolerance amount from the refundable fare and from the LPR (only subtract for preferred fares).
  • Compare the tolerance amount refundable fare to the tolerance amount LPR. If less than or equal, Universal Policy marks the refundable fare in-policy. If more, Universal Policy marks the refundable fare out-of-policy.

 

For example, assume the following four price points are returned and Universal Policy is configured to use a non-refundable tolerance amount of $100 and a refundable tolerance amount of $500:

  • Price point A: Refundable, $1,000, Preferred
  • Price point B: Refundable, $950, Non-Preferred
  • Price point C: Refundable, $1,200, Preferred
  • Price point D: Non-refundable, $650, Preferred

LPR = Price point A = $1,000
LLA = Price point D = $650

Universal Policy subtracts the refundable tolerance amount from all refundable fares as follows:

  • Price point A: Refundable, $1,000, Preferred = $500 after refundable tolerance amount
  • Price point B: Refundable, $950, Non-Preferred = $450 after refundable tolerance amount
  • Price point C: Refundable, $1,200, Preferred = $700 after refundable tolerance amount

Universal Policy compares these to the LLA:

  • Price point A: Refundable, $1,000, Preferred = $500 after refundable tolerance amount < $650 LLA
  • Price point B: Refundable, $950, Non-Preferred = $450 after refundable tolerance amount < $650 LLA
  • Price point C: Refundable, $1,200, Preferred = $700 after refundable tolerance amount > $650 LLA – stop processing

Universal Policy subtracts the non-refundable tolerance amount:

  • Price point A: Refundable, $1,000, Preferred = $900 (mark as preferred)
  • Price point B: Refundable, $950, Non-Preferred = $950 (do not mark as non-preferred)

LPR = Price point A = $1,000, subtract tolerance amount as preferred = $900

Universal Policy compares the tolerance refundable fare to the tolerance LPR:

  • Price point A: Refundable, $1,000, Preferred = $900 = LPR - mark in-policy
  • Price point B: Refundable, $950, Non-Preferred = $950 > $900 LPR - mark out-of-policy

After this processing Universal Policy adds a message to the response with the LLA amount. If policy has already been set for a refundable fare / price point, Universal Policy then loops through price points to process non-refundable tolerance amounts.

For preferred fares Universal Policy compares the tolerance amount fare to the LLA plus the in-policy fare range. If less than or equal the fare is in-policy. If greater than, the fare is marked as out-of-policy.

For non-preferred fares, if the in-policy fare range applies to all airlines, Universal Policy compares the fare to the LLA plus the in-policy fare range. If less than or equal the fare is in-policy. If greater, it is marked as out-of-policy.

For non-preferred fares, if the in-policy fare range applies only to preferred airlines, Universal Policy compares the fare to the LLA. If less than or equal the fare is in-policy. If greater it is marked out-of-policy.

The tolerance amount processing uses the preferred segment rankings and travel times of the segments, the total price or approximate total price, and the refundable indicator from the price points.

Continue in Apply Configured Fares and Fare Caps