Currency

The following currency definitions are applied to currency usage in Universal API:

Total Fare Currency (TotalPrice)

The currency of the country where the sale will actually happen (POS). The Total Fare Currency is a term applied to the total fare (base and taxes) only. For our purposes it will be the POS for whatever PCC is being used for the booking and ticketing.

Base Fare Currency

The currency of the Filed Fare, which is typically the currency of the departure city of the journey, but can be overridden.

Route-Based Fare

If a fare is filed by the carrier as "Routing" it mean that the fare allows a traveler to go from Point A to Point B only via carrier-specified connection points. For example, all US domestic fares are routing fares. A traveler can fly from non-stop for New York to Los Angeles, or via connections such as Chicago or Denver or San Francisco.

Mileage-Based Fare

The opposite of a Routing Fare. The carrier files a fare between Point A and Point B, and the number of stops or connections that occur between those points is not relevant to the fare. Mileage fares are usually (but not always) more expensive because the traveler has more freedom to choose a path of travel, is free to make more stops, etc.

The carrier publishes a maximum permitted mileage (MPM) for each mileage fare. If the path from A to B exceeds the MPM, the fare will include a mileage surcharge. The amount of the surcharge depend the percentage by which the MPM is exceeded: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%n or greater. There are set fees associated with each level of overage.

Neutral Units of Conversion/Neutral Units of Construction (NUC)

An IATA-defined universal "currency" in which fares are frequently expressed to standardize the conversion process. Universal API uses NUC units at the fare component level to convert currency. The currency code is NUC, and this code treated as a valid currency code.

Equivalent Currency

If the Point of Sale (POS) currency, from the country where the sale occurred, is different from the currency of the Filed Fare, Universal API displays the equivalent base price in the currency of the country where the fare was filed.

If applicable, The base fare as an amount with decimal, is returned in the EquivalentBasePrice attribute in AirSearchRsp, which is used by Air Pricing Low Fare Shopping responses.  

If Equivalent Currency is not returned, then the currency of the Filed Fare is the same as the currency of the country where the sale occurs. For example, a journey that begins in France will have a base fare currency of EUR. If the ticketing agency is also in France (or another EUR country), there will be no Equivalent Currency.

System Differences

Galileo

Galileo supports:

• A different currency type for each element in the response (Base/Total/Tax).

• A decimal place indicator for each amount element.

• Equivalent Currency.

ACH

• Amounts are returned in the currency of the first departure city

• Equivalent Currency is not supported. At booking, the traveler is charged in the initial currency.

Worldspan

• The Pseudo City Code (PCC), known as an SID in Worldspan, controls the currency returned in the response.

• A decimal place indicator is not returned.

RCH

• RCH supports:

  • One currency for all elements in a response.

  • A decimal place indicator.

• RCH does not support Equivalent Currency.

• Approximate Amounts are returned in the travel provider's default or requested currency.