This month:
Final ET Countdown
Only 29 days to the ET deadline. In March ET penetration increased to 94.2% across all BSPs as airlines in every region are concentrating on finishing their ET projects. Airlines have continued to add IET agreements, with ten carriers, led by Northwest Airlines and Singapore Airlines, holding more than 100. In total there are now 3,275 Interline ET agreements, resulting in 81% of all interline tickets being issued as ET in March. Of particular note was the largest BSP, China, exceeding 99% ET, and the largest rail service interline partner, Deutsche Bahn, concluding its first Interline ET agreement.
The StB survey of airlines revealed that only five of the 509 largest airports had airline ET usage of 60% or less.
Smooth transition to a 100% ET world
Airlines: are your travel agents ready for June 1st?
As the ET deadline nears, BSP participating airlines can take specific steps to ensure that their travel agents are ready for 100% ET. The ET team recommends the following five point plan:
- Determine what booking situations cannot be ticketed using an e-ticket today (e.g., infants, groups).
- Determine what proportion of the business in each BSP these situations comprise, and what part of this business the airline desires to retain or let go.
- For the business to be retained, determine what issuance options are available in each BSP
- Establish the airline’s policy on how non-ET eligible tickets will be issued after the deadline. Options include putting airline stock in the agency or using one of the MPDs available in the BSP.
- Communicate the airline’s policy on the use of available options in their BSP to agents in affected markets.
ET - Sprint to the Finish Line. The ET Team held three webcasts in April for airlines to discuss the transition to 100% ET. The webcasts were extremely successful with over 100 attendees representing over 30 airlines and GDSs participating and having their questions answered live by ET experts. Listen to the recorded webcast, and access the Q&A summary and presentation. Also please help us in planning future webcasts by taking our five-minute survey here.
New report! The miscellaneous passenger documents (MPDs) report will give airlines an idea of which MPDs they are using and help them anticipate how MPD usage might be affected after the deadline. The report indicates an airline’s issuance of each type of MPD (e.g., automated MCO, vMPD, excess baggage ticket) in each of its BSPs over the last three months. Find your report on your airline’s StB Extranet page. A brief guide is also posted on the Extranet landing page to help you understand the report.
Useful postings
- Recently updated, the StB Fact Sheets provide the most important information about StB’s projects in one page: what they are, their benefits, key targets and more.
- Available now – online tutorials facilitating the understanding of our two new exciting projects, Baggage Improvement Programme (BIP) and Fast Travel.
Project news
ET
- 94% global ET penetration in IATA BSPs in March. Detailed figures are available in the project update.
- View the list of TOP 50 carriers by implemented IETs.
BCBP
- Read the case study to learn how ANA is taking full advantage of the benefits 2D bar codes can bring. The airline is integrating 2D bar codes across all channels (desk, kiosk, web and mobile) and is providing the infrastructure that allows for reading these codes all along the passenger journey through the airport.
- New! The BCBP Matchmaker scorecard provides at a glance data on airlines and airports registered and the number of airports validated.
- BCBP Matchmaker reached a milestone with more than 50 registered airlines confirming 700 airport destinations. Help IATA engage airports so the industry can meet the 100% BCBP deadline. Simply register to the BCBP Matchmaker now and validate the airports your airline flies to.
- After Houston, Continental Airlines launches a second pilot in Washington DC for BCBP on mobile phones. Read the full article.
IATA e-freight
- Read more about the industry's use of electronic data through the Message Improvement Programme's (MIP) industry reports.
CUSS
- With two providers now, CUSS implementation in China is expected to increase rapidly. Shanghai Pudong represents the first significant airport CUSS project delivered in China with a locally designed and built kiosk solution. Read more.
- CUSS taking off in Russia with implementation at a second location. Moscow airport is leading the way with 12 kiosks overall.
Events
Contact us to share your comments,
questions and ideas! The StB Global
Team |
