GALILEO AUTOMATED REFUNDS AND EXCHANGES (ARNE) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Transcription

1 GALILEO AUTOMATED REFUNDS AND EXCHANGES (ARNE) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS General Questions 3 What qualifies as a successful transaction? 3 Why does ARNE process refunds and exchanges using rules that I am not accustomed to? 3 Why is ARNE limited to specific carriers? 3 Which carriers currently participate in ARNE? 3 Can we continue to use today s exchange and refund processing (using HBRF or HB:FEX)? 3 Will ARNE allow agents to work out of one pseudo (processing pseudo) but issue refunds/exchanges for their other branches (booking pseudo)? 3 Can code share flights be processed by ARNE? 4 How do I learn more about using ARNE? 4 What enhancements are envisioned for ARNE? 4 Exchanges 4 Why does ARNE build a fare calculation line in the exchanged ticket reflecting the old and the new fare? 4 Can ARNE process an exchange when the only thing that has changed is the class of service (e.g. the flights are the same)? 4 Since ARNE returns the lowest qualifying fare (if lower than the private fare), can you override that feature, and force the airline private fare? 4 Can ARNE process a new single-name PNR if the original ticket was issued from a multi-name PNR? 4 Can you split and divide a PNR and then process an exchange using ARNE? 4 Does ARNE issue an MCO when the new ticket is less than the original ticket? 5 Can an MCO be applied as payment for an exchange through ARNE? 5 Can the residual value of a ticket be applied to the exchange penalty? 5 How can I re-price a new itinerary without canceling the existing flights? 5 Refunds 5 How is a refund shown in the PNR and on the invoice? 5 Can ARNE process a refund for a PNR with multiple passengers? 5

2 What is a Refund Fee? 5 Back Office Reporting 5 Does ARNE have any impact on the MIR for exchanges? 5 Does the DAD ticketing modifier combined with the DTD ticketing modifier retransmit a MIR on an exchange? 6 I use a back office product other than GolobalWare. How do I take advantage of the new refund MIR available with ARNE? 6

3 General Questions What qualifies as a successful transaction? Galileo considers the transaction to be successful when the refund/exchange information is successfully displayed in the Auto Calculation response screen. Below is an example of a successful refund response. Why does ARNE process refunds and exchanges using rules that I am not accustomed to? Galileo has worked extensively with the participating carriers' faring and re-pricing teams to ensure that we are processing tickets correctly based on their business rules. This diligence has provided the carriers the confidence to participate in ARNE. Many of these processes differ from how agents currently handle tickets; however, by following the carriers' business rules we have reduced our risk of discrepancies that may result in a debit memo on an ARNE transaction. Why is ARNE limited to specific carriers? In order to ensure we are processing refunds and exchanges correctly, in addition to reading the category 16 fare rules, we have also gathered each carrier s specific business rules and use these rules when processing records. It is due to this due diligence that we are able to offer Galileo s fare guarantee for every ARNE transaction. Which carriers currently participate in ARNE? The current participating carriers are United, American Airlines, US Airways, Delta, Continental, Midwest Airline and Alaska Airlines. We are working to expand our list of participating carriers. Can we continue to use today s exchange and refund processing (using HBRF or HB:FEX)? Yes. These entries can be used in those instances where ARNE cannot yet process the transaction. Keep in mind that there have been no changes or updates to these processes. Will ARNE allow agents to work out of one pseudo (processing pseudo) but issue refunds/exchanges for their other branches (booking pseudo)? ARNE must be activated in the pseudo where the exchange or refund is processed; therefore ARNE does not need to be activated in a booking pseudo if ARNE exchanges will not be requested in those pseudos.

4 Can code share flights be processed by ARNE? Yes. How do I learn more about using ARNE? There are several ARNE training tools available to you: On the Internet, go to and sign into the Galileo 360 Portal. Select Learning, Documents, Fares and Ticketing to access and print the ARNE Quick References. Also from the Galileo 360 portal, you can access Learning, Courses to sign up for ARNE instructor-led, online training. What enhancements are envisioned for ARNE? The first release of ARNE is our entrée product. Plans are already under way for improvements. Just a few of the enhancements being discussed are: the ability to handle multiple passenger PNRs, the ability to process international itineraries and itineraries that contain more than one carrier, support for Agency Private Fares and the ability to refund or exchange a previously exchanged ticket. We welcome feedback from customers please pass your ideas on to your Galileo Account Manager. Exchanges Why does ARNE build a fare calculation line in the exchanged ticket reflecting the old and the new fare? ARNE builds the fare calculation line based on the carrier s business rules. All of the current participating carriers have indicated they would like to see the old and new fare when ARNE uses point-of-origin pricing. Point-of-origin pricing indicates that the fare has been re-priced (or validated) from the departure city, and most of our participating carriers have selected point-of-origin pricing for most of their exchange scenarios. Can ARNE process an exchange when the only thing that has changed is the class of service (e.g. the flights are the same)? ARNE permits exchanges without a change in itinerary as long as there is a change in class of service (for example, the original ticket is booked in Y and the new is booked in B ). It may be necessary to use the price as booked modifier given that if ARNE re-prices the itinerary using its default best buy and ends up with the class of service originally booked (re-prices the B to Y ), then ARNE will consider the itinerary as unchanged and will return the error Unable - Itinerary for Exchange matches Original Electronic Ticket. Since ARNE returns the lowest qualifying fare (if lower than the private fare), can you override that feature, and force the airline private fare? No. A core assumption for the pricing engine used by ARNE is that the customer wants the least expensive fare for the booked itinerary. Based on the fares available to the agency (public or private), ARNE will select the best qualifying fare for the exchange. It is possible to request that ARNE price the itinerary as it has been booked by applying the Price as booked modifier. Can ARNE process a new single-name PNR if the original ticket was issued from a multi-name PNR? Yes. In this first phase, ARNE can only process single passenger PNRs. For multi-passenger PNRs, each passenger requesting an exchange will need to be divided out into a new single-name PNR in order to process the record through ARNE. Can you split and divide a PNR and then process an exchange using ARNE? Yes. Given this first phase of ARNE can not process multi-passenger PNRs, exchanges can be processed by dividing any passenger requesting an exchange into a single-name PNR.

5 Does ARNE issue an MCO when the new ticket is less than the original ticket? No. However, ARNE will calculate the remaining value of the ticket and display this amount as a forfeit amount. Some carriers allow the residual value to be returned to the customer as an MCO. ARNE does not determine an airline s policy regarding MCO issuance; this will be the responsibility of the agent. Can an MCO be applied as payment for an exchange through ARNE? No. This type of exchange is a Paper to Electronic exchange. ARNE can only handle electronic to electronic exchanges. Can the residual value of a ticket be applied to the exchange penalty? ARNE will automatically apply the residual value of a ticket to offset the exchange penalty when the carrier s policy allows this to occur. The Add Collect field will reflect the revised penalty, if the residual has been applied. If the residual value of the original ticket is more than the penalty, the remaining residual value will be reflected in the Forfeit Amt field, and the transaction will be considered an even exchange (one that does not require an add collect.) How can I re-price a new itinerary without canceling the existing flights? If you want to check an exchange before canceling the original itinerary, follow these steps: Refunds Book the new segments, receive and retain the current ATFQ using a T:R. Request that ARNE price the itinerary using segment selection select all segments that are to be exchanged. If you decide to proceed with the exchange, ARNE will rebook (if necessary) the segments indicated and will issue the new ticket. You will need to cancel any unused segments in the original PNR. How is a refund shown in the PNR and on the invoice? Given a PNR is not necessary to process a refund, no PNR updates occur. An invoice is not generated, but a plain paper refund authorization (ETREA) can be generated. Can ARNE process a refund for a PNR with multiple passengers? Yes. ARNE processes a refund based on the ticket number. Thus, each ticket in a multi-passenger PNR can be entered one-by-one and the refund will be processed. What is a Refund Fee? A refund fee is similar to the airline penalty fee for non-refundable ticket. It can be found in the penalty section of the fare rules. ARNE will determine, based on the fare rules of the original ticket, if a fee is to be charged for a refund. This fee will be displayed in the Refund Fee section of the ARNE Auto Calculation screen to advise that a fee is applicable. The fee will be deducted from the remaining ticket value and will be reflected in the Refund Due field. Back Office Reporting Does ARNE have any impact on the MIR for exchanges? No. Any ticketing remark lines (T-) entered in the PNR for an exchange processed using the current HB:FEX entry should be added to the PNR prior to issuing an exchange through ARNE. Ticketing lines can be added after ARNE has presented the pricing screen and before the transaction is accepted.

6 Backroom processing, regardless of the accounting system used, will not need to be modified with your ARNE implementation for exchanges. Does the DAD ticketing modifier combined with the DTD ticketing modifier retransmit a MIR on an exchange? No. Theses modifiers do not retransmit a MIR. You can use DAD and DTD ticketing modifiers (DTDAD) with an ARNE exchange transaction by entering them on the Automated Exchange screen prior to the ACCEPT / ISSUE TICKET prompt. You can retransmit any ARNE ticket, MIR, or itinerary, from Demand Sent. Review of Device Modifiers: DID Issue itinerary only (must use with DTD modifier) DTD Issue ticket only DXD Issue dual MIR (must use with DTD modifier) DAD Issue Non-Accountable MIR only (must be use with DTD modifier) I use a back office product other than GlobalWare. How do I take advantage of the new refund MIR available with ARNE? In order to interface data to your third-party back office for refunds, ARNE has been developed to include refund data in the MIR. Note: HBRF has not been modified and therefore will not generate a refund MIR. In order to implement the new ARNE refund MIR, you will need to update the MIR Options and MIR Type tables. In the MIR Options table, change the REFUND DATA field from N to Y. COMMAND >MMOD >MMOU MIR OPTIONS TABLE - 3M7 26OCT CUSTOMER REMARKS - Y FREQUENT FLYER - Y WAITLIST INFO - Y SEAT DATA - Y FARE CONST. - Y REMARKS UN/ASSOC - Y LEISURE SHOPPER - Y MIR 12 HOUR CLOCK- Y ETDN INFO - N REFUND DATA - Y MISCELLANEOUS DOC- N In the MIR Type table, change the REFUND field from N to Y. COMMAND >MMTD >MMTU MIR TYPES - 3M7 16AUG TKT - Y REFUND - Y VOID - Y UNVOID - N SPOILED - Y MPD - N Please verify any changes that may be required for your back office system configuration to receive the new MIR data with your vendor s account representative. Note: The refund MIR is not intended to be used by agencies that use GlobalWare. GlobalWare s IAR feature will continue to capture refund data from the IAR back office system, so no changes are necessary. Globalware agencies should not turn the refund MIR on.