Glossary of Travel Industry Terms

A

ABACUS - A global distribution system based in Singapore, serving primarily Asian travel agents and travel planners. Allied with SABRE. Primary partners are Cathay Pacific Airlines, China Airlines Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Royal Brunei and Singapore Airlines.

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) - The U.S. airline industry organization which appoints travel agents in the United States and processes air travel sales. ARC is the division of the Air Transport Association of America which established standards and working agreements covering the way U.S. airlines deal with each other, international airlines and other segments or the travel industry including travel agents. ARC issues the ID numbers termed “ARC numbers”, to accredited to U.S. agents which are used by the hotel industry for commission payment.

Amadeus Global Travel Distribution - Touted as the largest global distribution system in the world, Amadeus has theIn many cases these systems interface with the front office systems and are used by many travel agents to process weekly ARC sales report.

American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) - A federation of state and regional lodging industry trade associations covering the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central and South America.

APEX - Advance Purchase Excursion Fare.

Apollo - Originally developed as the internal central reservation system for United Airlines, Apollo is now a global distribution system operated by Galileo International, from their office in Rosemont, IL. Marketed in Canada, Europe, South America, Asia and Africa under the Galileo name and in the United States and Mexico as Apollo.

ARC number - The membership identification number assigned to accredited travel agencies in the United States by ARC, the Airline Reporting Corporation. ARC numbers are accepted by the hotel industry as indicating a legitimate travel agency to which a booking commission should be paid. Travel agencies situated outside the United States are accredited by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which issues a similar membership number.

ARInc.- Aeronautical Radio, Inc., - An independent, not-for-profit communications company owned by U.S. airlines, which operates the communication system linking U.S. airlines (ADNS - ARInc Data Network Services). Additionally, ARInc provides communication network services to link GDSs to travel service vendors such as hotel and auto rental companies.

ARTA - Association of Retail Travel Agents

ATA - Air Transport Association.

ATPCo - ATPCO is the world's leader in the collection and distribution of airline fare and fare related data (tapes).

AVS - Address Verification System.

B

Back-to-Back Ticketing - The practice of booking two round-trip excursion tickets with overlapping dates with each requiring Saturday nights stayovers for the purpose of circumventing higher unrestricted fares.

Bilateral - An aviation agreement regulating commercial airline operations between two nations.

C

Cabotage - An airline's ability to carry local passengers between two markets in a foreign nation.

CAS - Certified ARC Specialist. Candidates are tested on their knowledge of ARC’s Industry Agents’ Handbook.

CASMA (Computerized Airline Sales and Marketing Association) - An airline association designed to promote the use of automation in airline sales and marketing.

Churning - Repetitive or excessive booking and canceling to achieve computer reservation system productivity credit or to circumvent ticketing restrictions.

Central Reservation System (CRS) - Commonly refers to a hotel vendor’s “host” or central reservation system.

Code-Sharing - An agreement whereby one airline uses the two letter IATA air
line designation code on a flight operated by a second airline.

Computer Reservation System (CRS) - Also known as global distribution system, GDS, or CRS. These are computerized reservation systems through which users - generally travel agents or airline staff - view data on a wide range of travel services, including air, hotel, auto rental and like services. Several CRSs provide their services to users worldwide (e.g., Amadeus, Galileo International, SABRE), while others provide regional or national coverage. GDSs are generally owned by partnerships of airlines and other travel industry companies.

Computer Reservation Terminal (CRT) - A computer display terminal. Abbreviated as CRT. CRTs are also referred to as video display units (VDU), video display terminals (VDT) or monitors.

Corporate Travel Department (CTD) – The ARC accredited CTD location type is designed for corporations that wish to purchase carrier transportation and services for its own employees, owners, and officers. (i.e. in-house travel department).

Covia - Former owner and operater of Apollo; merged with Galileo to form Galileo International.

CRM (customer relationship management) - is an information industry term for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way.

CRS - Prior to the mid-1990s, a commonly used to refer to airline owned computer reservation systems used by travel agencies. Today travel agency computer reservation systems are referred to as Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and the acronym “CRS” often refers to a vendor’s “host” or Central Reservation System.

Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) - Association of international cruise lines promoting cruise vacations.

CVB - Convention and Visitors Bureau.

D

DATAS II - Delta Automated Travel Account Systems. GDS formerly owned by Delta Airlines, now replaced by Worldspan. See WORLDSPAN.

Deregulation - An Act of Congress which took effect in 1978 through which the former Civil Aeronautics Board lost direct responsibility for overseeing and assigning routes, frequencies and fares for the nation's airlines.

Direct Access - A term used by global distribution systems to describe the mode of reservation processing in which the supplier’s reservation system provides a confirmation number within seven seconds of completion of the booking requests, and prior to the travel agent ending the booking transaction.

DRS (Direct Reference System) - The section of each global distribution system containing extensive capacity for text files. These files provide agents with specific supplier policies and a descriptive list of supplier services.

F

Familiarization Tour - A complimentary or reduced-rate travel program for travel agents and/or airline employees that is designed to acquaint them with specific hotels or destinations to stimulate their sale. Frequently abbreviated as FAM or “fam trip”.

Freedoms Of The Air -
1. First Freedom: the right of an airline from one nation to fly over another nation;
2. Second Freedom: the right of an airline from one to nation to make a technical or fueling stop in another nation;
3. Third Freedom: the right of an airline to carry passengers from its home nation into another nation;
4. Fourth Freedom: the right of an airline to carry passengers from another nation into its home nation;
5. Fifth Freedom: the right of an airline to carry passengers between two foreign nations on a route beginning or ending in its home nation;
6. Sixth Freedom: the right of an airline to carry passengers between two foreign nations via its home nation;
7. Seventh Freedom: the right of an airline to carry passengers between two foreign nations without stopping in its home nation.

Frequent Traveler Program - Plan offered by some travel vendors to award bonuses, such as free or upgraded accommodation, to customers in order to encourage repeat use and build brand loyalty.

Front Office Systems - Travel agency reservation systems commonly referred to as the GDSs or CRSs.

G

Galileo - A worldwide global distribution system serving users in Canada, Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. Galileo is now managed by Galileo International.

Galileo International - Galileo International is the Rosemont, IL based management organization that owns both the Apollo and Galileo GDSs.

GDS - Global Distribution System (see CRS)

GTR - Government Travel Request.

Guild of Business Travel Agents - Association of British travel agents concerned with business travel. Abbreviated as GBTA.

Guild of European Business Travel Agents - Association of European business travel agents. Abbreviated as GEBTA.

H

HCC (Hotel Clearing Corporation) - The THISCO subsidiary created to provide centralized commission payment, worldwide and in local currency, for hotel chains.

HEDNA (Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association) - The organization of hotel marketing automation staff, GDS and travel agency representatives formed in 1991 to advance communication, procedures and technology for the sale of hotel accommodation through electronic distribution systems.

Hidden-City Ticketing - The practice of issuing a ticket with an intermediate stop (connection) with the intention of disembarking at that connecting city to circumvent the fare rule.

I

IAHA (International Association of Hospitality Accountants) - A North American association of hotel and club accountants and controllers. Sponsors of HITEC, the lodging industry’s premier annual automation trade fair.

IAR (Interactive Agent Reporting) - Interactive Agent Reporting (IAR) is the new electronic sales reporting system from the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC).

IATA (International Air Transport Association) - The world trade association of airlines which operate domestic and international services. IATA operates as a supra-national organization proposing rates, condition of service, safety standards, etc. and provides the machinery which makes the unified world system of air transportation possible. IATA appoints retail travel agents for international ticketing through its IATAN subsidiary.

IATA Number - The membership identification number assigned to accredited travel agencies situated outside of the United States by the International Air Transport Association. IATA numbers are accepted by the hotel and car rental industries as indicating a legitimate travel agency to which a booking commission should be paid. Travel agencies in the United States are accredited by ARC, the Airlines Reporting Corporation, which issues a similar membership number.

IATAN (International Airlines Travel Agent Network) - Wholly owned subsidiary of the International Air Transport Association, responsible for accrediting travel agents in the United States for member airlines.

IHA (International Hotel Association) - A European-based hotel trade association.

IPEX - Instant Purchase Excursion Fare.

M

MCO - Miscellaneous Charge Order. An ARC form used to collect miscellaneous charges.

Multilateral - An Aviation Agreement regulating commercial airlines operating between three or more nations.

N

National Business Travel Association (NBTA) - The trade group representing corporate travel managers. NBTA holds an annual convention each summer. Formerly the National Passenger Traffic Association.

National Carrier - As defined by the DOT, an airline with annual revenues between $100 million and $1 billion.

Negotiated Rate - A term used in global distribution systems to describe rates negotiated by a hotel company with a specific client. Viewership of these rates in the GDS by a travel agent or other GDS users is restricted, and the rate may be booked only after entry of either the agents’s or client’s authorization code.

O

Official Airline Guide (OAG) - A listing of airline flights and schedules produced and published by the Reed Travel Group.

Open Jaw - A triangular itinerary where only two legs are ticketed.

Open Skies - An agreement between two or more nations which allow the airlines of those nations to fly unrestricted within each others' borders.

OSI - Other Supplemental Information. A PNR field designed to provide additional passenger information to the airline.

Overbooking - A condition which exists when more seats have been booked on a flight than seats allowable for the sale.

P

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) - An organization of nations interested in promoting tourism throughout the Pacific Rim and Asia. Abbreviated as PATA.

Passive Segment - A segment booking entered in the CRS for the purpose of ticketing or record-keeping for which an identical booking has already been made in the carrier's reservation system.

PAX - A term used by airline employees tot refer to a passenger, or passengers.

PCC -see Pseudo City Code.

PED (Period Ending Date) - ARC acronym for the ARC reporting period closing date which closes every Sunday.

PFC - Passenger Facility Charge.

PNR - Passenger Name Record. The CRS file or record that contains information about a passenger’s travel plans, including flight itinerary, hotel booking segments, car rental booking segments, and related details.

Pseudo City Code (PCC) - Identifier that distinguishes one travel agency location from another. Generally a three to five character code (alpha, numeric, or combination), depending upon the GDS.

PTA - Prepaid Ticket Advice

Q

Queue System - Computerized file or address in GDS. GDS users (travel agents, hotel companies, etc.) are provided with queues, identified by a queue address, to which messages are delivered.

R

Regional Carrier - As defined by the DOT, an airline with annual revenues of less than $100 million.

REN (Refund Exchange Notice) - An ARC form used to process refunds and exchanges.

Rule 240 - Airline defined rules as published in the Domestic General Rules Tariff DGR-1 by the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCo) regarding passenger rights in the event of a schedule irregularity or force majeure event.

S

SABRE (Semi-Automated Business Research Environment) - A worldwide Global Distribution System operated by The SABRE Group Holdings, Inc. Based at Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport, TX.

SAHARA - Sita Airline Hotel Advanced Reservations Automation - Hotel booking package for the Gets GDS. Allows staff of 256 airlines in 154 countries to check availability and obtain detailed hotel rates, status and facilities information on hotels.

Seamless Connectivity - The global distribution system term for linking of their systems to those of hotel companies to allow travel agents and other GDS users to view rate, descriptive and availability data housed in the hotel company’s system.

SI Field - The “special information” field in a GDS hotel reservation with which a travel agent communicates special requests or useful information to the hotel chain or hotel. Examples include requests for non-smoking rooms, corporate rate number and arrival times.

Sign-in Message - Promotional opportunity offered by most GDSs which places a hotel or other supplier’s message on GDS CRT screens when travel agents log on to their terminal.

SITA (Societe International De Telecommunications Aeronautics) - A non-profit communications company owned by international air transportation industry. Offers communication network between airlines and other service providers.

Slot Controlled - An airport which regulates the number of take-offs and landings. There are four in the U.S.: Chicago's O'Hare, New York's Kennedy and LaGuardia, and Washington D.C.'s Reagan National.

Southern Cross - CRS marketed in the South Pacific; used Apollo/Galileo applications.

SPRF (System Provider Reporting File) – Automated transactions that are captured by the GDS and transmitted to ARC. Typically SPRF files, when captured by the GDS, are transmitted to ARC every evening and are accessible in IAR the day after the transaction was initiated.

SSR (Special Service Request) - A PNR remark field designed to request special passenger services from the airline using commonly accepted four character keywords.

System One - Formerly a computer reservation system developed by Eastern Airlines which primarily served American travel agents.

T

The Hotel Industry Switch Company (THISCO) - A not-for-profit organization founded in 1989 by 16 hotel companies. THISCO first developed Ultra-Switch, a communication link between hotel central reservation systems and global distribution systems.

Third Party Automation - Non-CRS owned hardware or software.

TIDS (Travel Industry Designator System) - The IATA-run program to supply indentification number to non-IATA travel agencies which facilitates payment to them of hotel booking commission.

TOP (Tour Operator Program) - ASTA’s Tour Operator Program (TOP) was developed to build confidence in ASTA member tour operators. TOP tour operators must meet ASTA's stringent requirements.

TASF (Travel Agent Service Fee) - An ARC document which allows agents to process service fees through ARC.

Travel Technology Association (TTA) - Travel Technology Association. U.S. based trade association of technology vendors serving the travel and hospitality industries. (Formerly ITTA)

TSI (Travel Service Intermediary) - A business category established by IATA to recognize non-air sellers of travel.

U

UFTTA (Universal Federation of Travel Agents’ Associations) - Monaco-based international association of travel agency organizations.

UC (Unable to Confirm) - The code sent by a hotel company to a travel agent via a GDS when the hotel company is unable to confirm a reservation requested through that GDS. Abbreviated as UC.

UM - Unaccompanied Minor.

V

VAT - Value Added Tax.

W

Wet Lease - An agreement which allows an airline to provide an aircraft and crew to operate a flight or flights for a second airline.

Wizcom International - WizCom International, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD), was founded in 1987 and provides GDS and Internet connectivity and transactions processing to the hotel and auto rental industries.

World Tourism Organization (WTO) - Formerly the International Union of Official Travel Organizations, now a United Nations affiliated organization of government tourist offices.

World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) - A Brussells, Belgium - based organization established to strengthen government understanding of the economic role of tourism and to promote the exansion of the tourist industry; developes statistics on international tourism and travel activities. Abbreviated as WTTC.

WORLDSPAN - The Atlanta, GA based global distribution system formed by the merger of the PARS and DATAS II GDSs in February 1991.

X

XML (Extensible Markup Language) – XML is a flexible way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere.

Y

Yield Management - The practice of airlines, hotels, and car rental companies of controlling the supply and price of their inventory to achieve maximum revenue.