VIRGIN ATLANTIC BOOKING & TICKETING POLICY
1.1 PURPOSE
This Booking and Ticketing Policy (the "Policy") sets forth procedures that must be followed by any persons, including but not limited to Travel Agents, Travel Management Company employees, Airline employees, Tour Operator employees, or any other person hereinafter referred to as a "Travel Agent", accessing Virgin Atlantic Airways ("Virgin") seat inventory. Terms and conditions of transportation on Virgin are also contained in Virgin’s Contract of Carriage. Travel Agents should conduct business within the parameters of their specific contractual agreement with Virgin, this Policy, and the Conditions of Carriage.
This Policy applies to all GDS/CRS users, domestic and international, and any person or entity (such as a Travel Agent) accessing Virgin’s internal reservation system content via the Internet, or any other electronic means. It is the Travel Agent's responsibility to ensure that all of its employees and contractors, in all of its locations, are familiar with this Policy, including any future updates.
2.1 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
A. Accredited Agency - a travel agency, TMC, CTD, etc., approved by IATA or ARC to issue airline traffic documents.
B. ARC - Airline Reporting Corporation (USA)
C. Back Dated Ticketing - issuance of a ticket with an indicated date of issuance that is earlier than the actual date of issuance.
D. Back to Back Ticketing - the booking and/or issuance and/or use of Flight Coupons from two or more different tickets at round trip fares for the purpose of circumventing applicable tariff rules (such as advance purchase/minimum stay requirements, or other restrictions).
E. BSP - Bank Settlement Plan
F. Churning - excessive or constant booking/cancelling activity to circumvent ticket time limits or to meet GDS/CRS productivity requirements.
G. CTD - Corporate Travel Department (USA)
H. CRS/GDS - Computer Reservation System/Global Distribution System
I. Agency Credit Memo (ACM) - refund of monies to the agent based on overpayment to Virgin
J. Agency Debit Memo (ADM) - invoice issued to an agent to collect additional monies owed to Virgin for any violations of this Policy.
K. Duplicate Booking - booking more than one reservation for the same passenger travelling on or about the same date to one or more of the same or nearby airport destinations, or creating another PNR for a passenger when one already exists in the Virgin internal reservation system, or in a different GDS/CRS. Duplicate bookings also include, but are not limited to a similar or same itinerary booked on both Virgin and another carrier.
L. Fare Rules - applicable requirements or restrictions associated with a particular fare, including, but not limited to, non-refundability, ticket time limits, class of service requirements, minimum/maximum stay requirements, or advance purchase requirements.
M. Fictitious or Speculative Bookings - Fictitious bookings could include those with name field items that include, but are not limited to Test, TBA, Doe/John, or a surname with Fictitious initials i.e. A/B/C/D/E.
N. Flight Coupon - the portion of the ticket that indicates travel points between which the coupon is good for carriage.
O. Group Booking - booking 10 or more passengers on a common outbound and return flight segment to a common destination, on multiple PNR's.
P. Hidden Cities Ticketing - the booking and/or issuance and/or use of a reservation or ticket from an initial departure point on the ticket which is before the passenger's actual point of origin of travel, or to a more distant point(s) than the passenger’s actual destination being travelled even when the booking or purchase and use of such tickets would produce a lower fare.
Q. IATA - International Air Transport Association
R. Impossible/Illogical booking (Redundant Segments)- includes but is not limited to, bookings for the same passenger on concurrent flights that fly in the same time period, on or near the same day; multiple bookings for the same passenger between the same origin/destination; duplicate bookings; or bookings with connections that depart before the arrival of the inbound flight.
S. Inactive Segments - flights segments within a PNR with status code HX, NO, SC, TK, UC, UN, US, DL, DS, IX, UU, WL, LL, HL or WK
T. Married Segments - used to identify connecting segments which comprise a trip to be actioned as a matched set.
U. No Show - inventory spoilage caused by the failure to issue tickets and/or cancel ticketed or unticketed reservations.
V. Passive Bookings - these are listed in the Travel Agent’s GDS system under passive segment status codes. Claim PNR should be used where possible which avoids passive segment creation (Amadeus/Sabre). Passive PNRs will be subject to segment fees where Claim PNR is available.
W. PNR - Passenger Name Record
X. Throw-away Ticketing - the booking and/or issuance and/or use of connecting and/or round-trip tickets for the purpose of one-way or partial travel only.
Y. Ticketing Time Limit - the time, as agreed with the airlines fare rules or contract, by which a ticket must be issued for a confirmed reservation.
Z. TMC - Travel Management Company
3.1 BOOKING AND TICKETING BEST PRACTICES
A. Administrative bookings for itinerary purposes - Travel Agents must utilise non-billable status codes to produce invoices and itineraries or for administrative or accounting purposes. Failing to follow this procedure will result in an ADM being raised for segment fees and administration charges.
B. Cancellations - If a client cancels their reservation, the Travel Agent must immediately cancel the reservation and release Virgin inventory. Otherwise, this will result in a No Show and consequently an ADM will be raised to recover the losses, incurred by Virgin, from the Travel Agent. If another client wishes to utilize the same seat, a new PNR must be created and the old one cancelled.
C. Change fees and collection - All change fees/penalties are to be collected via the vMPD/vMCO process. The vMPD/vMCO must be cross referenced with the ticket number of the ticket incurring the change. The PNR must be updated immediately with an OSI including the vMCO/vMPD number. If a ticket requires a reissue which carries a difference in the fare, the ticket must be reissued with the additional collection, including any additional taxes, and any penalties/fees associated with the reissue must be collected via vMPD/vMCO and the PNR updated accordingly, e.g.:
OSI VS MCO 9321234567890
D. Customer name - Client's full first and last names, as they appear on their passport, are required in all bookings. Incomplete names will result in cancellation. First and last names appearing in the PNR and on the ticket must be spelled exactly the same as in the passport. Failure to ensure that the passenger name is correct will result in the passenger having to pay a fee for the re-issue of the ticket at the airport.
E. Deal Codes (if applicable) - Deal Codes MUST appear in the PNR utilising the OSI VS entry, and the Tour Code box of the ticket, if applicable. This applies to both the original and any subsequent reissues of the ticket (whether manual or automated). Failure to enter the correct Deal Code will result in the issuance of an ADM.
F. Fare Rules - The Travel Agent and/or ticketing agent must adhere to all Fare Rules. Virgin prohibits, and the Travel Agent and/or Ticketing Agent will be held liable for, any booking or ticketing practice that circumvents the applicable Fare Rules, including, but not limited to, back-to-back ticketing, throw-away ticketing and Hidden Cities. The travel agent must issue a valid ticket or cancel the PNR by the applicable Ticketing Time Limit. Virgin uses an automated program to cancel segments when ticketing has not occurred by the applicable Ticketing Time Limit, however, the Travel Agent is responsible for any unticketed PNR that the Travel Agent booked and Virgin determines to be a No Show. In the event the automated system applies an incorrect Ticketing Time Limit, it remains the responsibility of the Travel/Ticketing agent to ensure that Fare Rule requirements are met. Virgin reserves the right to amend any Fare Rule, including but not limited to, Ticketing Time Limits. It is the Travel/Ticketing Agent’s responsibility to ensure that they are aware of the Fare Rule of the ticket they are booking and to re-fare the booking on the day of ticket issuance to ensure that current rules apply.
G. Fictitious Names or Speculative Bookings - Travel Agents must not make any speculative bookings using fraudulent or fictitious names. Some examples of such bookings include the use of a valid surname followed by initials (e.g. Smith/A/B/C/D, Jones/W/T/R/S, etc.) and fictitious names (e.g. Test/Mr, Simpson/Marge/Homer, TBA/Mr/Mrs). Travel Agents must not create any speculative PNRs in anticipation of expected demand thereby blocking seats. Travel Agents deemed to have created a PNR which results in a No Show, in any form of fictitious or speculative name, will be issued with an ADM amounting to the full fare for the cabin in which the seat had been booked.
H. Inactive Segments - Any inactive segments must be removed from the GDS/CRS PNR at least 24 hours prior to departure. It is the Travel Agent’s responsibility to action all messages queued by the airline. Virgin is charged a GDS fee each time a Travel Agent books a Virgin segment. Inactive segments that are not removed from the PNRs therefore increase our distribution costs. Billable activity includes sell, cancel, waitlist, desire, change, schedule change, etc. Virgin will begin to monitor and audit PNR transactions to identify non-compliant practises regarding inactive segments. As Policy violations are identified, an ADM fee will be raised and the Travel Agent billed accordingly.
I. Interline Ticketing - Travel Agents must not validate any ticket on Virgin if the ticket contains a flight segment for any airline that is not an Interline Partner to Virgin. In addition, any ticket that is validated on Virgin must contain at least one Virgin flight segment. Travel Agents must not validate or issue a ticket for transportation solely on any other carrier, unless authorised by Virgin. Violation of Ticket issuing practises will result in an ADM being raised.
J. Passive Bookings - Travel Agents must use Claim PNR where ever possible. Claim PNR is currently available through Amadeus/Sabre, and as other GDS systems provide availability to this service, this will be the manner in which to ticket an existing reservation that is currently held in Virgin’s internal reservation system. Passive bookings created for the purpose of ticketing, where the Claim PNR format is available and has not been utilized, will be subject to ADMs for segment fees. Invalid passive segments will be rejected. Non-accredited agencies are prohibited from creating any passive bookings.
K. Prohibited Booking and Ticketing Practices - Virgin will hold the Travel Agent responsible for any losses due to the Travel Agent's actions in violation of this Policy or their applicable contractual agreement, including but not limited to, the Travel Agent's actions with respect to any Churning, Duplicate Bookings, Back Dated Ticketing, Back to Back Ticketing, Hidden Cities (Cross Border) Ticketing, Impossible/Illogical booking, No Shows, and Throw-away Ticketing and any other prohibited practices outlined in the Contract of Carriage. In the event that the Travel Agent fails to comply with the provisions in the Booking and Ticketing Policy, Contract of Carriage, or any other form of contractual agreement, Virgin may charge the Travel Agent fees as described in the 'Fees for Abusive Booking and Ticketing' policy for any such violation. The Travel Agent will be held responsible for its actions in violation of these policies, including booking violations, regardless of whether or not a ticket is issued.
L. Protection Bookings - The Travel Agent must not create any booking on Virgin for the purpose of protecting or re-protecting any passenger in connection with irregular flight operations. This includes, but is not limited to, misconnections, over sales on Virgin or any other carrier, flight cancellations, delays, or any other flight interruption on Virgin or any other carrier. Any such booking for the purpose of re-protecting or protecting a passenger must be done only by the originating carrier.
M. Taxes - The Travel Agent must collect, report and accurately code all taxes, fees, charges and/or surcharges imposed by the relevant governments or local authorities or airlines, or any taxes, fees, charges and/or surcharges levied by foreign countries.
N. Ticket Numbers - The Travel Agent must issue and report a valid ticket number for the passenger and itinerary in the PNR. Virgin prohibits the Travel Agent from providing a ticket number that does not match the passenger and/or itinerary, for the purpose of circumventing ticketing requirements, or to satisfy a Ticketing Time Limit. Failure to issue an Eticket where Eticketing is available, will result in an ADM being raised to the Travel Agent.
Manual formats accepted and recognized by the system are:
OSI VS TKNO
OSI VS TKNM
OSI VS TKNC
Automated formats that are generated as an SSR message from the GDS:
SSR TKNA VS
SSR TKNM VS
SSR TKNE VS
SSR TKNC VS
O. Training and test bookings - Travel Agents have a 'training mode' available in their own GDS/CRS system. Therefore, it is prohibited practice to create training/test PNRs in live inventory in Virgin’s internal reservation system. If it is determined that a training/test PNR has been created and remained live after the flight closure, Virgin will hold the Travel Agent liable for any losses incurred by Virgin, and Virgin may raise an ADM for the full value of the seat/seats held in the training/test PNR. Training/test bookings in live inventory in Virgin’s internal reservation system will also be subject to ADMs for segment fees.
P. Waitlisted segments - Virgin will edit waitlisted segments 48 hours prior to departure. If Virgin is unable to confirm the passenger from the waitlist, an HX segment will appear in the Travel Agent’s GDS/CRS. It is therefore the Travel Agent's responsibility to monitor their queue and remove any HX segments from the PNR. Failure to remove these segments may result in an ADM being raised for failing to comply with Booking and Ticketing requirements. Only the following booking classes may be waitlisted:
Upper: J/D
Premium Economy: W
Economy: Y
4.1 Non-Accredited Agencies
A. Virgin will consider a Travel Agency to be non-accredited if no IATA/ARC number is included in the point of sale data received by Virgin from its GDS/CRS.
B. Even though many non-accredited agencies are affiliated with an accredited agency for the purpose of ticketing, it is the non-accredited agency’s responsibility to ensure that each booking complies with, but not limited to, this Policy and the Conditions of Carriage.
C. Any non-accredited agency that fails to comply with this Policy, or the Conditions of Carriage, will be restricted from accessing, viewing, and booking inventory in the Virgin’s internal reservation system. Unticketed PNRs are subject to cancellation, without warning, once it is deemed by Virgin that the ticketing time limit has been violated. Virgin will attempt to advise ticketing deadlines, however, the rules of the fare will apply and Virgin reserves the right to cancel any booking that has not adhered to the rules of the fare and is therefore unticketed.
5.1 Group Bookings
A. All Group bookings for travel on Virgin must be made directly through Virgin's Groups Department.
B. Violation of Virgin's Group Booking Policy may result in cancellation of bookings, and assessment of any fees due to Virgin.
6.1 Sales Allocations
A. All Sales Allocations for travel on Virgin must be made directly through Virgin’s Sales Allocations Department.
B. Violation of Virgin’s Sales Allocations Policy may result in cancellations of bookings, and assessment of any fees due to Virgin. Tour operators booking allocation space with Virgin may be required to provide proof of ticketing for all passengers in any associated Sales Allocation booking that has materialized as a No Show. Any identified unticketed Sales Allocation passenger that is deemed a No Show will result in the issuance of an ADM.
7.1 Failure to Comply
A. Fees - Virgin reserves the right to charge the Travel Agent any fees for violations as set out in the 'Violation Fees' Schedule
B. Inhibiting Access/Termination - Ongoing violations of this Policy, or the Conditions of Carriage, or Contract held between the Travel Agent and Virgin may result in access to Virgin inventory through its internal reservation system, being denied, and/or the termination of the Travel Agent's appointment and use of Virgin's Carrier Identification Plate for the purposes of ticket issuance. The Travel Agent will be required to pay any outstanding amounts owed to Virgin prior to access being reinstated. Virgin may require additional fees to restore a Travel Agent’s access to Virgin inventory. The Travel Agent must also pay any outstanding amounts owed to Virgin at the time of termination, including any amounts identified by Virgin following termination.
C. Costs - Virgin may charge the Travel Agent, and the Travel Agent agrees to pay, for any losses incurred by Virgin as a direct result of the Travel Agents violation of any of the prohibited practices as identified in this Policy, and/or the Conditions of Carriage, and/or Contract Agreement. Charges could include, but are not limited to, loss of revenue, the difference between the fare charged and the fare available at the time of booking or issuance of the ticket.
D. Other - Virgin reserves the right to terminate any and all applicable agency appointments/contracts of any Travel Agent that is deemed to have not complied with this Policy, or the Conditions of Carriage. Virgin reserves the right to offset from any source, any amount owed to the Travel Agent by Virgin, in order to satisfy any of the fees, costs, or damages owed to Virgin as a result of the Travel Agents Violation of this Policy, and/or the Conditions of Carriage, and/or Contract.
