NDC FAQs: Reporting and MBOS

These frequently asked questions provide information about reporting and mid- and back-office systems (MBOS).

Refer to the other FAQ topics for information about getting started, shopping and booking, seats, and servicing for NDC content.

Question

Answer

Will an NDC booking create a GDS PNR with passive segment for mid- and back-office integration purposes?

NDC bookings made through 1P/1V will automatically create a passive (ZK) segment with all the NDC flight data, fare, taxes, etc. captured in the DI lines (Travelport+), Ticketing Remark lines (1V), or Remark lines (1P), and these will flow through to the MIR (Travelport+ and 1V) and TAIR (1P) to flow through to mid- and back-office systems. This similar process is used today for booking low cost carriers via the LCC’s API.

I use the Travelport MIR (1V) and TAIR (1P) to capture data in my MBOS, will this continue to work?

MIR and TAIR data is transmitted in the same way as any type of booking, and NDC data will be stored in the DI lines (Travelport+), Ticketing Remark lines (1V), or Remark lines (1P). It is not automatically transmitted.

Important: Have early discussions with the agency and/or MBOS providers to review any work required on their side to capture this data from the MIR and TAIR files because it is different to an ordinary air booking.

How do agencies transmit a MIR (Travelport+ and 1V) and TAIR (1P)?

Agencies will need to use non-faring options in the transmission. This is because we are not storing fares/prices.

In 1V it will be DJD modifier

J = NON-FARING MIR (DJD command used). The DJD command transmits a MIR only to the MIR device targeted in the command. This MIR does not enter the fraud package and does NOT contain ANY fare information (APO only). The DJD command will also transmit a non-faring MIR for non-participant carriers with or without a MIR device targeted in the command (APO only).

In 1P it will be EZI|@B0.00 (@B is the fare override)

Customers want to issue an invoice for NDC PNRs, including the Service Fees, with totals, terminal, seat information, etc. Are we going to have an outlined process for this?

The DI. lines and remarks fields can be used for MBOS data; the agent will then have to use their own methods to extract this to create a customer invoice.

In NDC when doing an exchange ticket for the booking, how will this flow through to MBOS?

In NDC all passengers in the booking are exchanged together and the amount per ticket is reported together for all passengers in the DI lines and not per passenger. We are aware MBOS providers logic is to capture data for one passenger at a time. So MBOS providers will need to have new logic in place to capture this information for all passengers. In NDC if you are only exchanging the ticket for one passenger, then that passenger needs to be split out on his/her own PNR.

When I do a void, cancel, or refund, will these actions be automatically sent to by MBOS to update it?

No, the MIR or TAIR is not automatically updated with these modifications. A DI. line (1G and 1V) or remark line (1P) will be added to the PNR with these actions. Keep in mind that a PNR with no segments will go into a past date status and a MIR or TAIR cannot be generated. A workaround is to ensure you input retention lines in the PNR before doing these actions to keep the PNR alive so you can re-send the MIR.

Will I see my NDC tickets issued in my HMPR (1V) and DDL (1P) reports?

HMPR and DDL will not be updated, as these are the GDS record of ticket numbers, which we create. As the airline is doing the ticketing, they are in control of the ticket number and ticket number reports. Some airlines are looking at order history, but this is not implemented yet through IATA standards.

Will these tickets appear in PNR displays using the 1P entries *TK , *HTC & *DH and *ETA?

No, these entries will not work. However, in 1P using the *M entry, the ticket number will be displayed separately.

How can I see a list of all the PNRs I’ve created for NDC?

A list of all NDC PNRs created is available using the current GDS formats and the passive ZK PNR is returned in the PNR list. For example:

LD/SC-ZK/C24OCT*02NOV/01JAN*20OCT-D

returns a display of all PNRs with a status code of ZK between the dates input. Please note that this returns ALL segments with a status code of ZK, which could include low cost carrier segments as well as NDC. This displays on the Smartpoint cryptic screen.

To restrict results to a particular carrier within a date range, use entry: 

LD/SC-ZK/QF/1NOV*30DEC-D

Where QF is the carrier code.

For more format options for Travelport+, refer to Formats for List Display.

For Worldspan, there is not a host entry that would display all ZK bookings. An option would be to do a PNR Search which could be used to put all PNRs on a specific queue that contained a segment with a ZK segment status. A QLD entry would provide a list of all the PNRs on queue.

 

Can NDC create GDS booking file with passive segment for mid-back-office integration purposes?

While agents are not able to create passives manually within the GDS environment for NDC bookings, any NDC bookings done through Travelport will have a special type of passive (a ZK passive segment) automatically created in our system to flow into mid-back-office integration.  This is the same system we use today for low cost carrier segments obtained through the LCC’s API so is not new.

If ARC, what would identify an NDC ticket from other ARC tickets?

The Airline Ticket stock form code on your ARC report would be different to your agency ticket stock as in NDC the airline is issuing the ticket and the ticket number would be from AA’s ticket stock, not your agency stock. This could be different than your existing direct carrier fulfilment processes.

Below is an example of the IAR report:

  • #TT will show ET.

  • If NDC booking qualifies for commission based on your agreement with AA, you would add your commission in the IAR box.

  • Service Carrier ID will show 9413 FareLogic as the Service Carrier.