AClick on a letter to see the list

add-on: An amount used only with specified/published international fares for the construction of constructed/ unpublished international fares. (Also referred to as an arbitrary or proportional fare.)

advanced subscriptions: The tariff subscriber receives tariff pages in loose-leaf form by mail or overnight delivery as soon as changes are made and tariff pages are printed and filed. This process occurs daily.

agent: One who acts for or represents another. ATPCO is a legal agent authorized to make filings and distribute data on behalf of designated carriers.

all adds: A complete copy of an ATPCO data subscription product that is used by subscribers to initialize their database before processing changes or updates. All adds contains both effective and future effective data.

AllFares: A unit of data that contains worldwide international and domestic fares, add-ons, footnotes, rules, and routing data excluding Canadian and US markets.

alternate governing rule: A governing rule that applies only when specifically invoked by the fare rule. Alternate governing rules are not referenced in the Record 0.

amendment to application: Any change made to an SPA/STPA after the application has been sent to the DOT/CTA but before it is actioned.

application number: A number assigned by the EFS to an SPA/STPA when it is sent to the DOT/CTA.

approval number: A number assigned by a government that

indicates the government's approval of an SPA/STPA.

ARB: Auto Rate Bulletin.

ARC: Airlines Reporting Corporation; entity responsible for managing travel agency ticketing, reporting, and settlement for US travel agency sales.

arbitraries: The fares (or rates) that may be combined with an international fare (or rate) published to a gateway to create a through-fare. Arbitraries may not be sold separately for travel and are usually published between points within the same country. Also referred to as add-ons or proportionals.

arbitrary bucket: The text that defines fare class combinability. It constitutes a generic add-on fare class code combinable with multiple fare classes. For example, A****, B****, C****.

area: IATA divides the world into three areas, also referred to as Traffic Conferences (TC):

Area 1: Western HemisphereArea 2: Europe, Africa, Middle EastArea 3: Asia, Pacific

ARS: Auto Rental Rates System identifier. This IDMS system contains rate and other information for the car rental industry. The car rental companies enter data into the online system. These changes are then transmitted for inclusion into fare quote systems.

ATPCO: Airline Tariff Publishing Company. A corporation owned by various airlines formed to serve as agent for those owners (and for other airlines or vendors) to file and publish tariffs and related products.

Automated Rules system (PAR): ATPCO's automated remote rules and footnote system that provides carriers with remote access. There

is a standardization of rule interpretation in this product. The Automated Rules system can be generic. It can contain data applying to any fare class in any market via a particular tariff, carrier, or rule. It can also contain data applying to a specific fare class or fare class type, a specific market, or both a fare class plus a specific market.

BClick on a letter to see the list

batch: A unit of work containing a group of transactions that are entered and released to the file. Every batch is identified by a two alpha or numeric characters plus four (or five for rules) numbers. When you create a batch, the two-character alphanumeric is always your assigned batch ID. When a remote user creates a batch, the two or three characters are the carrier's code. The batch header specifies the prop (proposal) number, tariff, carrier, effective date of transactions, and the batch status (public, private, or incomplete). Some related descriptive terms are rules batch, footnote batch, and fare batch. See also batch processing.

batch number: A number preceded by the alphanumeric ID code of the compiler or airline and assigned sequentially by the computer. This number goes on a batch sheet or is used online to be associated with a group of updates or transactions.

batch processing: Term used to distinguish offline processing from online interactive processing.

batch sheet: The cover sheet of a computer offline job used to identify the program and the person requesting the job.

batch status: This status applies to all transactions in an online batch. Whenever you release a batch to update the master file, you

assign a status to that batch. The three status types are public, private, and incomplete. There are also implementation status terms associated with batches: hold until nightly (a batch of work to be made public by distribution in the last subscription pull of the day); next (a batch of work to be made public by distribution in the next pull of the day); or secured (released by a specified time or subscriptions pull. Department of Justice regulated fares must be secured to a subscriptions pull that includes CRSs).

BCON: Abbreviation for batch construction. Skeletals (individual records that allow for a construction to occur) used in the fare construction process.

blank screen: A function that allows new fares to be added to a fares batch.

bridgeback: The process of converting certain western hemisphere passenger international records to the domestic local and joint record format for inclusion in the domestic US/CA local and joint subscription services.

BSP: Billing Settlement Plan; the IATA entity responsible for settling funds and reporting accountable information between the travel agency and the airline, as well as for controlling accountable ticket stock.

bucket: See arbitrary bucket.

bundled normal economy fare: The lowest one-way fare available for unrestricted, on-demand service in any city-pair market.

CClick on a letter to see the list

calculate: A computer program that can add, cancel, copy, or revise

groups of fares or rates.

CAR: Cargo Rates system identifier. This system includes domestic and international cargo rate information.

CAT: Carrier Accounting Tape; file of accountable transactions sent from ARC to participating airlines.

carrier: As defined by ATPCO, a carrier is generally an airline (scheduled or chartered), but may also be a rail company or car rental company.

Cat: Abbreviation for category.

category: The structure within the rules system designed to identify various kinds of restrictive information regarding a fare. Restrictions are listed in the automated rules section of the database and are sorted by various categories of application such as day/time, season of travel, and flight numbers.

01 Eligibility02 Day/Time03 Seasonality04 Flight Application05 Advanced Res/Ticketing06 Minimum Stay07 Maximum Stay08 Stopovers09 Transfers10 Permitted Combinations11 Blackout Dates12 Surcharges13 Accompanied Travel14 Travel Restrictions15 Sales Restrictions16 Penalties17 Higher Intermediate Point18 Ticket Endorsements19 Children Discounts20 Tour Conductor Discounts21 Agency Discounts22 All Other Discounts23 Misc. Provisions25 Fare By Rule26 Groups27 Tours28 Visit Another Country29 Deposits31 Voluntary Changes33 Voluntary Refunds35 Negotiated Fare Restrictions50 Application and Other Cond

CCF Subs: An ATPCO data subscription product that provides subscribers with new carrier, city, or fare class codes and multiairport city relationships to validate before processing fares and related subscription products.

CIPS: ATPCO's Centralized Industry Proration Service.

coding conventions: A set of manual standards established to provide consistency in coding data. (A coding convention is not an actual programming edit.)

CTB: Abbreviation for Cargo Tariff Bulletin.

CXR: Abbreviation for carrier.

DClick on a letter to see the list

data application: The industry-endorsed processing laws that apply to ATPCO data for itinerary pricing solutions. Data Application creates an industry standard aligning ATPCO, data providers, and data subscribers for consistent industry-wide itinerary pricing.

data table: A table used to house rule provisions in the Automated Rules system. See Record 3.

data warehouse: A separate database dedicated to decision support. Data is transferred from transaction processing systems and integrated. It is arranged by customer, not date or transaction. It provides management information through report writers, query tools, data access and retrieval tools, OLAP servers, and enterprise information systems. It is a software architecture, not a product.

date logic: The programmatic handling of effective/discontinue dates on records as mandated by the business rules of a product (such as whether a product permits or does not permit date gaps or prevents date overlaps).

DIR/Directory: The computer system of reference data in common to nearly all areas of the company. Some examples are carrier, city, and country names and codes (found in the G level of the directory); fare classes (found in the P level of the directory); and rate types (found in the C level of the directory).

DSN: Abbreviation for Data Subscriber Notice.

DWS: Abbreviation for Data Warehouse Subscriptions.

EClick on a letter to see the list

eConnect: An interface for accessing ATPCO applications.

edit: The portion of a computer program that checks the data being entered against the directory levels or for correct coding format before the master file is affected.

edit errors: Records that do not pass the computer check.

EFA number: Abbreviation for electronic filing advice number. Also called GFS number.

EFS: Abbreviation for the Electronic Filing System.

electronic bulletin: The uploadable text portion of the paper bulletins.

exception ratings to general commodity rates: (also called premium or Class Rates) Rates expressed as a percentage of the General Commodity Rates to charge higher amounts for commodities that are difficult and costly for the carrier to handle. See alsoGCR.

FClick on a letter to see the list

FA: Abbreviation for filing advice.

FAN: Abbreviation for filing advice number.

Fare Type Matrix: A document used to determine the correct Normal or Special tag, category type code, and fare type code for fare classes.

FCN: Abbreviation for filing control number. The FCN is used in GFS to create a GFS filing and in IDMS to identify a paper tariff filing prior to subscriptions.

filing: (n) A group of revisions for fares and/or rules submitted through GFS. This submission can contain data to be presented to a government for approval. (v) The act of processing data through the GFS system.

filing advice: An instruction from a carrier annotated FA or F/A followed by a sequential reference number. See also filing advice number.

filing advice number (FAN): A reference number or numbers assigned by a carrier to an instruction (e.g., a GFS filing). A logging number assigned within the paper tariff environment by the production department to identify a transmittal or set of transmittals to the DOT.

FN, FNT: Abbreviations for footnote. FNT is preferred; however, FN is used in tables because of two-space maximum restrictions involved.

footnote: Alpha, numeric, alphanumeric, or numeric-alpha characters appended to a fare record indicating specific conditions applicable to the fare.

FROP: ATPCO's Fare Rule Output Product.

GClick on a letter to see the list

G30: An ATPCO internal directory that controls the distribution of data in subscriptions.

GCR, GEN: General Commodity Rate. A rate applying to freight that does not fall into any specific category.

general rules: Restrictions that apply to all fares; consequently, they are separate from the individual fare rules. When a general rule does not apply to a fare, the non-applicability is included in the fare rule.

GFS: ATPCO's Government Filing System. An automated system used by ATPCO to file carrier changes to corresponding governments electronically or for carriers to display or distribute. The changes can consist of fares, add-ons, footnotes, routings, and rules.

grant: See approval number.

hold until nightly: See batch status.

HOT: Hand-Off Tape; file of accountable transactions sent from the BSP to participating airlines. Generally, a HOT is structured by validating carrier, per country, per billing period, per currency, and per agency.

IClick on a letter to see the list

inclusive table: A table used to identify specific items (such as countries, cities, fare classes, and rule numbers) that will produce an

identical action or result.

incomplete: A type of batch status indicating that data contained within the batch has not been distributed in the subscription process. See batch status.

inquiry: A viewing facility that allows the display of records in the database file without updating. A carrier using this facility can view all its own records and the public records of all other carriers. An ATPCO analyst can view all records of all carriers.

Industry Sales Record: A daily process that takes the three different sales data formats (TCN 4.05, ARC CAT, and BSP HOT V20) and combines them into a single data feed.

instruction: The written description and justification to ATPCO from a publishing carrier describing desired changes to a fare rule, arbitrary, footnote, routing, or to any other product. See also filing advice.

ISR: Abbreviation for Industry Sales Record.

JClick on a letter to see the list

justification: The economic reason that a carrier wishes to make changes to its rates or fares. All filed changes must be justified either on statutory or short notice.

KClick on a letter to see the list

key: The basic information needed to uniquely identify a computer record, rate, or fare.

key fields: The fields of a record uniquely defining that record. No two records for the same Prop, Tariff, and Carrier, with identical key fields, can exist in the file.

LClick on a letter to see the list

live government: A government that has taken action on filings via the GFS system.

local fare: Also called US/CA Domestic Fares. Fares that are published for travel within the continental United States, between the continental United States and Alaska/Hawaii, within Alaska/Hawaii, between the 50 United States and Canada/Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands, within Canada/Puerto Rico/ Virgin Islands, or between Canada and Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands.

MClick on a letter to see the list

memo: A bound set of pages with a defined set of rates or fares published for the convenience of the user. A whole new memo book periodically replaces the old one that eliminates the necessity to file loose-leaf pages. Memos are not filed with the DOT but may or may not contain rates or fares that are filed with the DOT. Rates or fares in a filed tariff would always supersede those in a memo tariff when differences occur.

NClick on a letter to see the list

Native 3270 display: Refers to the IBM 3270 session mainframe screen display.

non-filed: The status of provisions in a batch that have not yet been distributed through the subscription process.

PClick on a letter to see the list

P02: International fare class level. The directory level that defines fare class combinability in the add-on construction process.

P04: International zone level. The directory level that defines the area of applicability in the add-on construction process.

PAR: ATPCO's Automated Rules system.

parameter set, p set: A group of parameters (coded instructions) that are read by batch programs to select and process data in a transaction format.

PASS: ATPCO's Partner Access Security System.

Passenger Air Tariff: A printed publication published by IATA and SITA that contains worldwide general rules, fare rules, fares, add-ons, and routings for selected carriers.

passenger type: Codes (PTCs) that specify that a passenger qualifies as a specific type, such as accompanied child, military, standby, senior citizen, or companion. Valid types are displayed on a help screen in the Automated Rules system and are listed in Appendix A of the Automated Rules user documentation.

PCO: Abbreviation for Production Control.

PFC: Abbreviation for Passenger Facility Charge.

PIPPS: ATPCO's Passenger Interline Pricing/Prorate System. An online IDMS remote system used by airline revenue accounting departments to obtain historical fare and prorate information to divide the revenue from tickets covering joint transportation. This system is an IDMS application.

PIT: Passenger International computer system identifier. This DB2/CICS system contains fares and other international passenger fares information. Input is performed via batch in-house or online by ATPCO personnel or remotely by the carriers. Output is transmitted by tapes or electronic transmissions to the carriers for inclusion into their fare quote systems. Memo print publications are also produced.

PJT: US/CA Passenger Joint Fare system identifier. This system contains fares in a "between/and/via" format when two or more carriers are participating in the transportation. Input is via online or data transmissions to ATPCO.

PLF: US/CA Passenger Local system identifier. This system contains fares in a "between/and/via" format by individual carrier and other US/CA fare-related information, such as mileage. Input is via online, batch, or data transmissions to ATPCO.

PMP: Abbreviation for Prorate Manual—Passenger.

power of attorney (P.O.A.): Permission given by a carrier for ATPCO to be its agent. The DOT or CTA must have proof of this transaction and must give ATPCO a P.O.A. number showing that it has documentation of the carrier's permission given to ATPCO. NOTE: An acronym (POA) in the Automated Rule system stands for period of application.

private: A type of batch status indicating that data contained with the batch has not been distributed in the subscription process. See batch

status.

Production Control (PCO): A department in the Data Center responsible for running production jobstreams.

prop: Abbreviation for proposal. A number to identify a group of records with a tariff. Prop 000 is the identifier used for all distributed data in the PIT, PJT, and PLF systems.

prorate: To divide interline or online revenue according to industry multilateral or bilateral agreements.

psgr type: Abbreviation for passenger type.

PTB: Abbreviation for Passenger Tariff Bulletin.

PTC: Abbreviation for Passenger Type Code. See also passenger type.

public: A type of batch status indicating that data contained within the batch has been distributed in the subscription process. See also batch status.

purge: A program that removes expired or unwanted data from the master file.

RClick on a letter to see the list

RACF: Abbreviation for Resource Access Control Facility. RACF is an IBM security tool used to protect data sets from unauthorized use.

rate: A price per kilogram or per pound for shipping freight.

rate type: A designation of the kind of rate to be charged, whether

general commodity, specific commodity, contract, or another kind of rate.

RBD: Abbreviation for reservation booking designator. Also called booking code. The prime one- or two-letter code that is used in a CRS/GDS to identify a fare in an availability display.

record: The computerized key information and rate/fare information that, when combined, constitutes one complete rate/fare record.

Record 0: General rules. Record 0 identifies the source tariff and general rule to be applied for each category (Convention 2) or the valid rule numbers sent out via ATPCO's system (Convention 3).

Record 1: Fare Class Application record.

Record 2: Category Control Segment identifier in the Automated Rules system.

Record 3: A data table used to house rule provisions.

record layout: An illustration of the data fields and their positions for a particular product.

RMAP: A system containing routing information for domestic and international fares.

RTEXT: Abbreviation for Remote Rules Text Inquiry. RTEXT is a screen mirror image of loose-leaf text pages (rules only). RTEXT, an inquiry system, provides the online ability to monitor the changes to rules text within the industry. Domestic and international tariff rules are displayed in tariff page format containing all filed/non-filed rules governing passenger air transportation and international cargo products. Multiple date versions are available in ATPCO's data products.

RTG: A Passenger Routing system identifier. This system contains both routing map and restriction data that supports the fares held in the PIT and PLF systems. Input is via online processing.

SClick on a letter to see the list

SCR: Specific Commodity Rate. A rate that applies to freight of a distinct description. These rate descriptions are assigned a number and are listed numerically and alphabetically near the front of the tariff.

sequence: A continuous or related series. Mainly used in reference to the organization of data with categories in the Automated Rules system.

SP/STP: Special Permission (CTA)/Special Tariff Permission (DOT). Reference to the approval number given by a government for an application. See also approval number.

SPA: In interline accounting, a Special Prorate Agreement.

SPA/STPA: Special Permission Application (CTA)/Special Tariff Permission Application (DOT). A submission to either the Canadian or United States government on behalf of a carrier requesting permission to action revisions on less than the governmentally required statutory notice.

special maintenance: A program that creates multiple transactions.

strikeover: A function that allows fares to be amended or canceled within a fares batch.

subs: Abbreviation for Data Subscription Service. Any ATPCO data duplicated onto computer tapes or direct transmission for mailing or

electronic transmission to subscribers of this service for use in text displays and in autopricing.

subscriber: Any company that buys automated data from ATPCO.

system assumptions: Automated Rules provisions that are assumed to apply (in a rules environment) when not superseded by specific provisions pertinent to a specific fare or fare general rule.

TClick on a letter to see the list

tariff: A database that contains data defined by system, geographic scope, and distribution process. Also, tariff is the term used for information filed with governments when a legal filing is required.

TCN: Abbreviation for Transaction Control Number. Also ATPCO's Ticket Exchange Service.

TCR: Abbreviation for Tariff Carrier Rule.

transaction: A fare record. A set of data defined in a fares batch that determines the components of a fare.

transaction file: Records in a batch that have not been updated.

UClick on a letter to see the list

unavailable tag: A tag attached to Record 1 stating that the rules are incomplete or cannot be used for autopricing.

unpublished fare: Also called constructed fare. The result of combined published fares and add-on fares.

update: To make changes to the master file.

update errors: Records in batch processing that do not pass update. The update step applies the fares to the master file. If there are difficulties, then the fare will not be applied to the master file. Instead, it becomes an update error record. Update errors occur, for example, when a carrier tries to increase a fare that does not exist, cancel a fare that is already canceled, or add a new fare that already exists.

user ID: The seven-letter user name for access to ATPCO systems.

VClick on a letter to see the list

Value Added products: These products use ATPCO resources such as the database and networks to provide refined electronic products to the airline industry.

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Life Cycle of the FareWhat is a Fare?

At the most basic level, a fare is a price for an airline ticket between two locations. The more than 100 million fares that exist today are the primary source of revenue for commercial airlines. Distributing these fares quickly and accurately is critical to the business of providing air transportation. But that’s not the whole story. Each fare also contains a large amount of associated information, including the rules and restrictions governing its use. These rules may include information

such as the time of day when a traveler can use the fare, the particular routing on which the passenger must fly, and even which type of passengers may use the ticket (such as children or veterans). Airlines, travel agencies, and online travel companies also need an automated system that can package fares with the correct supporting information. ATPCO built and continues to operate the automated system that attaches these rules to a particular fare, making it possible for airlines to dynamically alter prices as market conditions change. ATPCO’s complete set of sophisticated data management tools support this intricate fare information though its journey from inception to analysis, which we call the Life Cycle of the Fare.

The Life Cycle of a Fare

The business of air travel in the twenty-first century demands the ability to implement pricing decisions and receive feedback on how those decisions affect revenue, thereby informing future decisions. We call this cyclical process the Life Cycle of the Fare. ATPCO’s systems and products automate the mechanics of this process for air carriers, making complex pricing solutions and strategies a reality for the global travel industry.

The life cycle begins when an airline makes a pricing decision and sends fare and rule data to ATPCO, which can also input this data on their behalf. We call this part of the life cycle Data Collection. ATPCO collects fare data from 500 airlines worldwide, representing 97 percent of commercial air travel. Our Web-based platform and system tools allow airlines to package fares with their associated rules, which includes providing information on rules, routings, and optional services such as in-flight entertainment and lounge access.

Data Distribution forms the second part of the life cycle. ATPCO sends all fare data to pricing systems, online travel agents, and other vendors that sell tickets to travelers. We also send this information to governments if fares require regulatory approval. Fare distribution occurs up to eight times per day, allowing airlines to respond to market conditions as they change. As a single-source distributor, ATPCO makes the distribution process more efficient and less expensive than

when each airline distributed data to each ticketing agent. After distribution, tickets are sold and travelers fly to and from their destinations.

The revenue from these tickets presents a special challenge to airlines, who must process, audit, and collect information from thousands of tickets that include flights on multiple airlines. The processing of this information, known as Revenue Accounting, constitutes the third part of the Life Cycle of the Fare. ATPCO has created tools, most notably in cooperation with industry partners such as IATA and ARC, that process sales data without error, ensuring airlines receive the revenue they earn.

Fare information in ATPCO systems and data from our revenue accounting processes offer a wealth of market information. The process of using this data to inform future pricing decisions, called Fare Management, constitutes the fourth and final part of the life cycle. Sales data and competitors’ fare levels are merged on ATPCO’s systems into a format that analysts can use to inform the creation of new fares. ATPCO’s comprehensive database of over 90 million fares provides the most complete body of information available, aiding in confident decision-making. Once a decision has been made, fares can be added, changed, or canceled, and the Life Cycle of the Fare begins again.