GLOSSARY

A

• AACO

• Arab Air Carriers’ Organization: Headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, was established in 1965 upon the recommendation of the Transport Committee of the League of Arab States and the endorsement of the Arab transport ministers. AACO is a platform of cooperation between its members and various stake-holders in the Middle East.

   

• ADR

•  Average Daily Rate: The average rate of each hotel room sold for a specific day. ADR = Room Revenue / Rooms Sold

• ADT

• Approved Departure Time Airport Taxes : Taxes taken from passengers for passing through an airport/ for the use of an airport.

   

• Airport Taxes

• Taxes taken from passengers for passing through an airport/ for the use of an airport.

• Allocation

• The number of rooms a hotel has for sales.

• Allotment

• Pre-negotiated block rooms or seats which have been bought or held by OTAs, Tour Operators, Wholesalers.

• Allotment Management System

• A system meant to distribute airline inventory over different scheduled and charter flights, direct and indirect sales channels.

• ALOS

• Average Length of Stay: Average number of days travelers stay at a hotel for a period

• ALTA

• Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association: ​Founded in 1980, ALTA is a commercial non-profit organization, which represents over 90 percent of the region’s commercial air traffic.

   

• Ancillary

• Non-ticket sources, such as baggage fees and on-board food and services.

• Ancillary Revenue

• Revenue from non-ticket sources, such as baggage fees and on-board food and services. It has become an important financial component for low-cost carriers (LCCs) in Europe, North America and other global regions. In the last few years Legacy and Hybrid carriers started adopting ancillary celling model.

• ARTCC

• Air Route Traffic Control Centre

• ASK

• Available Seat Kilometers:​ the total flight passenger carrying capacity of an airline in kilometers.

• ATA

• Actual Time of Arrival: The time that the flight or other mode of transportation is scheduled to land/dock/arrive and be at the gate, which may be later due to all the standard delays, or earlier thanks to fair winds or less traffic.

• ATC

• Air Traffic Control: ​is a service provided by air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through controlled airspace.

• ATCC

• Air Traffic Control Centre: is a center providing services such as air traffic control, by directing aircrafts on the ground and through controlled airspace.

• Availability

• The number of empty rooms in a hotel.

• Average Fare

• ​Airlines which host more business people might have a higher average fare comparing with discount airlines. The higher average fares the higher Revenue per Available Kilometer (RASK).

• AVS

• Availability Status: ​Information about available seats in an aircraft, kept in the reservation system of an airline, allows to provide travel agents and GDS platforms with the airline's last seat information.

B

• BAR

• Best Available Rate: The lowest rate of the day for travelers to book

• BELF

• Breakeven Load Factor: ​A unit of measurement that shows the airline operations are profitable or not. Almost all airlines have high fixed costs, and these costs can only be recovered by selling an adequate number of tickets. Airlines must reach a percentage level in order to break even its costs. This percentage level is calculated by dividing Cost Per Available Seat Kilometer by Yild.

• Booking Class

• Each cabin class in an aircraft is divided into invisible booking classes, which although booked into the same cabin, different booking classes offers different conditions and benefits outside of the cabin class travelled such as frequent-flyer points, baggage limit, change or refund policy, etc.

• Bundling

• A sales strategy that involves offering several products for sale as one combined product.

C

• CAA

• Civil Aviation Authority: An organization in charge of defining aviation safety standards.

• Cabin Class

• A quality of accommodation, provided by an airline. Traditionally, an airliner is divided to, from the top, first, business and economy cabins. In recent years, premium economy classes are added by some airlines.

• CASK

• Cost Per Available Seat Kilometer: ​The average cost of flying an aircraft seat (empty or full) is one kilometer. Often referred to as a “unit cost” measurement, CASK is used for cost benchmarking of various airlines or for the same airline across different time periods (This year versus Last year). It is obtained by dividing the operating costs of an airline by available seat kilometers (ASK). Generally, the lower the CASK, the more profitable and efficient the airline. (as they have to charge less to break even).

• Channel Management

• Systems used by the hotels to distribute room inventory and update hotel information among various distribution channels. Once hoteliers change inventory, hotel information, system updates across all channels. 

• CLC

• Centralized Load Control: ​Usually being integrated in a complex operational chain of events, which take place between the Load Control Agent at one or more Centralized Load Control Centers and the stakeholder such as the Ramp Agent or Flight Deck Crew at the airport stations.

• COC

• Country of Commencement of Transportation​: The country from which travel on the first international sector takes place.

• Codeshare

• Also known as Codeshare Agreement is a business arrangement between airlines, where two or more airlines share the same flight. A seat can be purchased from an airline on a flight that is actually operated by another airline under a different flight number or code.

• Collision damage waiver-(CDW)

• Optional damage insurance coverage available when renting a car. 

• Connection

• Transfer between two different flights at an intermediate airport. If a passenger’s flights are operated by two different airlines, they may check baggage or obtain boarding passes for the entire itinerary directly at the departure city’s airport, pursuant to interlining agreements or airline alliances.

• CRS

• Computer Reservation System (Central Reservation System):​ A system used to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air travel, hotels, car rental, or other activities.

• CTA – Closed to Arrival

• Closing certain days for bookings arriving on a particular day.

   

• CTD – Closed to Departure

• Specific days that travelers cannot choose as their check-out date when making a reservation. 

• Cut-Off

• Similar to the release dates, it is a time limit when a reservation is made. Especially used if tour operator or groups hold a block of rooms. Within the set date, reservation details should be submitted, otherwise, rooms will be released and open for sales.

D

• DCS

• Departure Control System​: A system used by airlines and airports to check in a passenger. The DCS is connected to the reservation system, enabling it to check who has a valid reservation on a flight.

• Departure Taxes

• Transportation taxes per arrival and/or departure charged by a country.

• Direct Flight

• A flight that operates from point A to point B without a connection.

• DOC

• Direct Operating Cost or FC - Fixed Costs: ​Costs that remain the same over a time period. Fixed costs does not change no matter how many hours aircrafts flew. We can consider Aircraft financing (lease or loan payment), Insurance, Books, charts, and materials, Hangar rental, Taxes and FAA registration fees, Aircraft accessories and Crewmember salaries (if paid a fixed annual salary).

• Dynamic Packaging

• Creating deals / packages based on the air and non-air travel products (Flight + Hotel) selected by the customer. 

E

• Early Check-in

• An arrangement that hotel allows a guest to check-in earlier than the normal time. 

• EMD

• Electronic Miscellaneous Document: ​IATA standard for electronically documented ancillary revenue and other sales and transactions between airlines and passengers besides electronic tickets.

• ERA

• European Regions Airlines Association​:​ Founded in 1980, ERA is a trade association representing the European aviation industry.

• ET

• ​E​lectronic ​T​icket: ​Itinerary / Receipt issued by or on behalf of the carrier, the Electronic coupons and, if applicable a boarding document.

• ETA

• Estimated Time of Arrival: The time, when an aircraft is expected to arrive at a certain place.

• ETD

• Estimated (Expected) Time of Departure: Date and time when an aircraft is expected to depart from a departure point.

• ETE

• Estimated Time Enroute: The estimated time from the departure point to the destination, might be different from the actual time in route.

• Extranet

• A web application that allows access to partners, vendors or suppliers to administer content and hotel inventory.

F

• Fare Bacis

• The codes that give information regarding type of fare and category of passenger, class entitlement, minimum and maximum validity, reservations entitlement, seasonality and days of travel.

• Fares for Ancillary Services

• Rules depending on airline revenue and customer strategy

• FF

• Frequent Flyer​: A person who regularly travels by plane on commercial flights, especially one who is registered as a member of an incentive scheme for such travelers.

• FFP

• Frequent Flyer Program:​ A solution to recognize their customers at any touch-point, create personalized offers and contact loyalty program members with the right messages at the right time.

• Fix Inventory

• Often, huge sales partners benefit from their negotiation power to get best price available and in return airlines ask guarantees per available seats assigned. That is, airline knows that sales partners work with fixed inventory are liable for all the inventory, whether sold or not.

• Fleet

• ​The number and types of aircrafts operated by an airline.

• Flight Leg

• Segment of a flight, which involves a stopover, change of aircraft or airline.

• Flight Number

• The number assigned by an airline to a flight.

• Flight Plan

• ​Information related to the intended flight of an aircraft.

• Flight Segment

• Non-stop operation of an aircraft between A and B with corresponding departure and arrival times.

• FRMS

• Fatigue Risk Management System: ​A system that allows monitoring and maintaining of fatigue related safety risks, based upon scientific principles and knowledge as well as operational experience that aims to ensure relevant personnel are performing at adequate levels of alertness.

• Fuel Surcharge

• A fee charged to cover or balance the increased fuel cost.

G

• GDS

• Global Distribution System: A worldwide computerized distribution network used as a single point of access for reserving airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, and other travel related items. Primary customers of GDS are: travel agents, online reservation sites, and large corporations.

• Ground Handling Operator

• ​Company that provides ground handling support services to airlines. These may include catering, cleaning, passenger check-in and ticketing and engineering support.

H

• Hub

• ​A major airport used as a ‘base’ for an airline from where they fly to other destinations within their network. Usually a base for flight crew, cabin crew and maintenance.

I

• IATA

• I​nternational Air Transport Association: formed in April 1945 in Havana, Cuba, IATA is a trade organization representing 83% of world’s air traffic. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) supports aviation with global standards for airline safety, security, efficiency and sustainability.

• IATA Carrier

• A carrier that is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

• IATA Rate of Exchange

• The rate, published quarterly to convert local currency fares to a Neutral Unit of Construction (NUC) and to convert total NUC amounts to the currency of the country of commencement of transportation. It is published for each country. The IATA Rate of Exchange list is established by the IATA Clearing House on a five-day average ending on the 15th of each month. It changes four times a year and remains frozen for three month periods unless there is a major variation in currency by more than 6% in the intervening period. If this happens, the effectiveness date for IATA Rate of Exchange changes will take effect the first month after the establishment of the new IATA Rate of Exchange (IROE).

• IBE

• Internet Booking Engine​: A web-based booking system, that allows passengers to make bookings and manage their flight reservations and benefit from other services available. An internet booking engine lets customers specify their travel requirements such as city of departure, destination, departure & return dates, and class of travel.

• ICAO

• ​International Civil Aviation Organization. A UN specialized agency which are the global forum for civil aviation and works to achieve safe, secure and sustainable development of civil aviation.

• Interline

• Also known as interline ticketing and interline booking, is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines. Such agreements allow passengers to change from one flight on one airline to another flight on another airline without having to gather their bags or check-in again.

• Inventory

• The term refers to the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate purpose of sale (or repair).

L

• Layover

• ​A long stop between flights, that usually involves a change of flight number and/or aircraft.

• Local Currenct Fare

• Fares and related charges expressed in the currency of the country of commencement of travel.

• Long Haul

• A long distance international flight and of at least six hours in duration.

• Loyalty System

• Also known as Frequent Flyer system, is a software created to recognize airline’s customers at any touch-point, create personalized offers and contact loyalty program members with the right messages at the right time.

M

• Margin

• Commission or fee that OTAs are making from the room rate.

• Mark-up

• The difference between buying and selling prices. Could be either margin or discount. 

• MCT

• Minimum Connecting Time: ​The least amount of time an airline allows for a passenger connecting between flights at an airport.

N

• NDC

• New Distribution Capability: ​A travel industry-supported program (​NDC Program)​ launched by IATA for the development and market adoption of a new, XML-based data transmission standard.

• Nesting

• Airlines usually nest the booking limits to avoid the situation in which high-fare bookings are rejected in favor of low-fare class. The idea of nested allocation is to make sure that the resources allocated to each fare class are available to all higher are classes whatever will be the arrival order of future demand.

• Net Rate

• A rate that does not include commission.

• Nett Fare

• ​Fares available for sale specifically by a distributor/s that are negotiated between the individual distributor and the airline.

• Neutral Unit of Construction​

• The unit value equivalent of local currency fares, add-ons and related charges derived by converting same using the IATA Rate of Exchange. All fare construction is done in NUC but at the end of the formula the total sum in NUC must be converted into local currency at the IATA Rate of Exchange for COC. NUC is not a currency. It is used for fare calculation purpose and must only be shown in the “Fare Calculation Area” of the electronic ticket.

• No Show Passenger

• Passenger who neither cancels his or her reservation nor shows up for the flight.

• Non-endorsable Ticket

• A ticket issued by an airline that cannot be used to fly with another airline.

• Normal Fare

• A fare established for a first, business, premium economy or economy class service and any other fare denominated and published as normal fares ( e.g. FIF, WIF, CIF, YIF, etc.). Children’s fares and infants’ fares whichare established as a percentage of a normal fare are also considered to be normal fares. Normal fares tickets offer no restrictions, and validity of normal fares is one year from date of commencement of travel (first flight coupon).

O

• Overbooking

• A ​Practice of airlines to sell more tickets than the actual number of people they can accommodate. Based on the assumption that a variable percentage of confirmed passengers “no show” for the flight.

P

• PATA

• ​Pacific Asia Travel Association – Founded in 1951, PATA is anassociation working to promote the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region.

• PAX

• In the travel industry PAX stands for Passenger.

• PNR

• Passenger Name Record: A record in the database of a computer reservation system (CRS) that consists of the personal information for a passenger and also contains the itinerary for the passenger, or a group of passengers travelling together.

• Pooling

• Select sales partners can be defined as participants in Pooling, at which time they will be granted access to a common set of seats on a "first-come first-serve" basis.

• Post-Invoicing

• Depending on the contract, it occurs when some invoices or all invoices are issued after flight departure taking flown passengers, taxes, fees, and others into consideration.

• Pre-Invoicing

• Depending on the contract between the airline and Tour Operator, it occurs when some invoices might be issued at a fixed time before the actual flight for the negotiated seats. 

• Prorate Inventory

• Sales partners can sell as many seats as possible and keep the right to decrease the promised amount in the initial negotiation at a specified Release Date. If unsold inventory is not returned during the release date, airline can then hold sales partner liable for the unsold seats.

• PSS

• Passenger Service System:​ A series of critical systems used by airlines. The PSS usually comprises an airline reservations system, an airline inventory system and a departure control system. Some PSS systems can include charter management, loyalty and customer care solutions

R

• Rack Rate

• Highest rate a hotel has and other rates are created based on Rack Rate.

• RASK

• Revenue Per Available Seat Kilometers: ​a unit of measurement that is used for the comparison of various airlines in terms of efficiency. It is obtained by dividing operating revenue by available seat kilometers (ASK). The higher RASK means the more profitable operations for airlines.

• Rate Parity

• It is a revenue management topic that hotels and hotel chains tries to maintain same rate on every platform they are selling their rooms.

• Reaccomodation

• A situation when an airline has to reseat a passenger to another flight. Usually caused by a flight cancellation.

• REVPAR – Revenue Per Available Room

• Very common KPI to see how much revenue they have made within a specific period. REVPAR = Rooms Revenue / Rooms Available

• RPK

• Revenue Passenger Kilometers: ​RPK is often compared to the ASK, which show the total number of passenger kilometers that could be generated in order to determine the amount of revenue that comes in compared to the maximum amount.

S

• Service Fee to Issue

• A price charged to cover the cost for allowing electronic purchases, or call center-agency services.

• Short Haul

• A short flight usually domestic or regional on nature, typically lasting less than six hours.

• Single Supplement

• A fee charged to those who take a room alone.

• Special Fare​

• Any fare other than a normal fare. Special fares are low promotional fares that have more restrictions than the normal type. Such restrictions are: length of stay such as minimum and maximum stay requirements; advance purchase requirements; reservations, payment and ticketing limits end many other. Special fares may be published as a fixed amount.

• Spill

• Denied booking due to capacity restrictions.

• SSIM

• Standard Schedule Information: ​IATA standard which ​provides the airline industry with official set of recommendations, messaging formats and data processing procedures meant to be used by all IATA Member Airlines and their business partners.

• SSR

• Special Service Request​: Can be added to a PNR, such as meal requirements, wheelchair assistance, and other similar requests.

• Stopover

• Interruption of a journey for 24 hours or more.

T

• Tariff

• Rates, charges and related rules of a carrier.

• TTL

• Ticketing Time Limit:​ A deadline by which ticket​(s) must be issued. The TTL varies from fare to fare but generally ticketing​ must be completed within 24 hours or 72 hours, 7 or 14 days after reservations are made.

U

• Unlimited mileage

• Some rental car companies limits the mileage drivers can make. Unlimited mileage does not limit drivers in terms of distance. 

V

• VOC

• Variable Operating Costs:​ Costs that can change during time (go up or down) with the usage of the aircraft. We can consider Fuel, Oil, Landing Fees, Catering, Crew Expenses (such as travel, hotel and per diem expenses), Crew salaries (if paid per flight hour) and Maintenance.

• Voucher

• A given receipt to a guest for a specific prepaid service by Travel Agencies

W

• Wholesaler

• Wholesalers are the companies that buy seats, rooms in bulk then sell them to the Travel Agents and OTAs.

Y

• Yield

• A unit of measurement of average earnings made by an airline by transporting revenue passengers per kilometer flown. It is useful for monitoring fare changes over time. Yield is not a good indicator for benchmarking across the industry and competitors, because of two reasons: ​1-It varies dramatically by length of the route flown (also known as stage length) 2- It also does not take into account the percentage of capacity used (also known as load factor).

Z

• ZED

• Zonal Employee Discount:​ A multilateral agreement for reduced rate personal travel by airline employees and other travelers.