The words, defined

01 Fares Terms: 7

Net fare

A wholesale fare offered to an agency with no commission built in. The agency adds its own margin and invoices the client in its own name. On the platform every result is shown as one agency price with the airline’s terms already applied.

Published fare

The public price an airline files for anyone to see and book, through its own site or any agency. It is the reference point: agency prices on the platform sit below it, and it is never altered.

Commissionable fare

A fare sold at the published price on which the airline pays the seller a commission. Whether a fare is net or commissionable depends on the airline and the fare; the platform applies the terms and shows one agency price either way.

Consolidator

A wholesaler that holds airline relationships and ticketing authority and extends fares and ticketing to travel agencies. The agency books through one partner, sets its own price, and the consolidator issues the ticket.

Markup

The amount an agency adds above its agency price to reach what the client pays. It is set by the agency outside the platform and invoiced in the agency’s name; the platform never sees or limits it.

Fare rules

The airline’s conditions attached to a fare: whether it can be changed or refunded, at what fee, by when it must be ticketed, and what the ticket includes. They open on the platform before you book and govern every later change.

Fare family

A set of fares an airline offers for the same seat with different inclusions, such as baggage, changes or seat selection. Where the airline files them, the platform shows the families side by side so you can upsell.

02 Distribution Terms: 4

GDS

Global Distribution System: the network airlines and agencies use to search availability, price fares and issue tickets. Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport Galileo are the three the platform searches together.

Amadeus

One of the three GDS. On the platform it carries the widest servicing: hold, issue, void, refund, involuntary reissue after a schedule change, EMD void and refund, seat maps and extra baggage.

Sabre

One of the three GDS. On the platform: issue, void and refund, schedule-change confirmation with the airline, seat maps and paid seats. Extra baggage and EMD refunds on Sabre go through the desk. E-tickets on Sabre bookings can be emailed to the passenger on request.

Travelport Galileo

One of the three GDS. On the platform: issue and void, seat maps, paid seats and extra baggage. Refunds and EMD refunds on Galileo are handled by the desk.

03 Booking Terms: 6

PNR

Passenger Name Record: the booking record in the reservation system that holds the itinerary, the passengers and the fare. It is created at booking and referenced through ticketing and every later change.

Pre-book PNR

A PNR created without a ticket. On the platform every booking begins this way; the airline’s ticketing deadline is shown as a countdown, nothing is charged until you issue, and the seats are released if the deadline passes.

Ticketing time limit

The deadline by which the airline requires a booked PNR to be ticketed, after which it cancels the seats. It depends on the fare and can be the same day. The platform shows it on every booking as a countdown.

E-ticket

The electronic ticket the airline’s system records against a PNR once it is issued, identified by a ticket number. It is what the passenger travels on; the printed or emailed itinerary is only its receipt.

Segment

One flight leg in an itinerary, from one airport to the next on one flight number. A return trip with a connection each way has four segments; fare rules and ticket coupons are applied segment by segment.

Booking class

The single-letter code, such as Y or Q, that identifies the fare bucket a seat is sold from within a cabin. Different classes in the same cabin carry different prices and rules; the platform shows the class with each fare.

04 After ticketing Terms: 7

Void

Cancelling a ticket inside the airline’s void window, usually the same day it was issued, as if it had never been sold; the full amount returns to your account. Available on all three GDS; a few airlines do not allow it.

Refund

Returning a ticket after the void window under its fare rules; the airline may keep part of the amount. On the platform you request a quote, see what returns and what is kept, and accept before anything moves. Self-service on Amadeus and Sabre; through the desk on Galileo.

Reissue

Exchanging an issued ticket for a new one after a change of dates, routing or passenger details, with any fare difference and fee collected. Voluntary reissues are raised on the booking, quoted by the desk inside the platform and done after you approve.

Involuntary reissue

A reissue forced by the airline, typically after it changes or cancels a flight, rather than requested by the passenger. On the platform it runs on Amadeus; on Sabre the platform confirms the change with the airline.

Schedule change

A change the airline makes to a flight’s time, date, routing or flight number after booking. The new itinerary appears on the booking; what the airline’s rules do not cover is raised on the booking and quoted by the desk.

EMD

Electronic Miscellaneous Document: the airline document issued for something other than the flight itself, such as a paid seat or extra baggage. Issued on the platform on all three GDS; void and refund of an EMD are self-service on Amadeus and through the desk on Sabre and Galileo.

Seat map

The airline’s live layout of a flight’s cabin showing which seats are free, which cost extra and how much. On the platform seat maps and paid seats are available on all three GDS, and a paid seat is issued as an EMD.