Airline schedules data (timetable information) is distributed throughout the airline industry to a growing number of recipients such as airline reservations systems, timetable agencies, airline partnerships, traffic handling agencies, airport coordinators, air traffic control authorities and Government departments.
Airline schedules data is initially associated with airline reservations and ticketing systems and subsequently with the exchange of other data required for timetable planning and production, and for airline operational purposes.
It is recommended that at least 360 days of advance schedules data, including Minimum Connect Time data, should be distributed on an equal basis to all schedules aggregators, reservations and ticketing systems in which a carrier participates, to maximise the efficiencies of such systems.
Due to the ever- increasing volume of data being exchanged, the industry requires speedier and more efficient methods of exchanging this data.
The airlines considered it essential that compatible timetable systems needed to be developed to ensure that airline timetable information was exchanged on a cost-effective basis within the airline industry. As such, all parties have needed to make use of computer facilities and established procedures to ease the burden of handling the significant amounts of data being exchanged within the industry.
To facilitate the exchange of data, the IATA Member Airlines initiated the development of an official set of Recommended Practices to guide the industry along mutually compatible lines for schedule data handling procedures. These Recommended Practices and associated industry code sets are published in the Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM). The SSIM is published twice a year in March and October.
The responsibility for maintaining the Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM) is mandated to the Schedules Information Standards Committee (SISC) by the Passenger Services Conference (PSC).
For more information, contact ssim@iata.org.