Global Distribution Systems Electronic Quality Control (EQC)

• Travel agents account for 85% of all air transportation sold in North America
• Over 96% of North American travel agents are automated with one or more global distribution systems (GDS). The GDS have become the most important part of the airline product distribution process
• Travel agent reliance on GDS for information is almost total. Screen display can be likened to supermarket shelf space for packaged goods. If a carrier is not prominently featured in GDS, for whatever reason, the product does not exist for the travel agent
• GDS displays are often wrong. On average, agents reported in a recent CASMA study that carrier fares had an inaccuracy rate of 23.8%; availability was incorrect in 20.6% of the instances surveyed; and flight schedules contained erroneous entries 14.3% of the time

A carrier having its fares, schedules, availability and "airline specific" marketing information correctly displayed in GDS, can substantially enhance its revenues, reduce its costs and increase market penetration

The information making up a carrier's GDS display reaches the systems in complex and vulnerable ways. Internally, people from unrelated departments usually have a hand in its make up, sending inputs to disparate agencies. Often, corporate organizational structure rules out central control by a single individual or section. Much can, and does, go wrong.

• Operations sends schedules to OAG/ABC who consolidate and integrate onto computer tape similar offerings from the other 710 airlines providing scheduled service before they send it to the various GDS
• Pricing dispatches a myriad of fares, rules and routings to the Air Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO), SITA and ABC who manipulate the information forwarding it to the GDS
• Reservations sends AVS messages to the systems, affecting availability status

Despite the opportunities for error, carriers often still do not empower appropriate individuals or sections with the authority to manage the airline's electronic display. They continue to rely on the vigilance of Reservations/Sales offices, persistent travel agents, or happenstance to catch GDS display discrepancies. The random nature of this type of error detection prevents recurring problems from being identified and resolved, resulting in lost revenue opportunities. A carrier must recognize it is dealing with discrete distribution systems, each approaching the same problem from different algorithmic perspectives and each with its own set of nuances.

The travel agents, under financial pressure to process each booking as efficiently as possible, and familiar with the functionality of the system they use, move through the booking process like electricity - taking the path of least resistance with no respect for your display shortcomings.

• If your fares do not "auto price", travel agents will move on to a competitor whose fares will. Auto pricing is the GDS feature most often used by travel agents (72.5%) in costing a client's itinerary
• If your connections are not built for them, agents will not find them. Agents specify connect points only 25% of the time. Without the connect points, your flights may not appear at all
• 70% of sales are booked from the first screen. On average, agents check 2.7 screen displays before making a domestic reservation, and 3.2 displays for an international booking
• If CRC opened your flight in your computer, but the AVS message did not get sent to SABRE, AMADEUS, or APOLLO, then that flight is not open for sale in those GDS. Travel agents start the booking process with an "availability" display 60.7% of the time, on average
• If ATPCO or OAG/ABC forward incorrect fares or schedules to the GDS, then those fares or schedules will stay in the systems
• If you have signed preferential prorate agreements with other carriers, but the joint fares and routings are not loaded and/or priced competitively, then the value of those arrangements are greatly diminished

EQUIPMENT

In the glow of becoming a "participating carrier" in GDS, many carriers leased CRTs from the GDS vendors that gather dust with no clear mission. These CRTs, with equipment lease and line charges in the range of $6-700 per month, per system, are often buried in the communications budget and get renewed every year without question. As part of the EQC program, The Park Group will verify your schedules, fares, AVS as well as input your DRS and HOT NEWS - obviating the need for these "agent sets".

STAFFING

In the glow of becoming a "participating carrier" in GDS, many carriers leased CRTs from the GDS vendors that gather dust with no clear mission. These CRTs, with equipment lease and line charges in the range of $6-700 per month, per system, are often buried in the communications budget and get renewed every year without question. As part of the EQC program, The Park Group will verify your schedules, fares, AVS as well as input your DRS and HOT NEWS - obviating the need for these "agent sets".

You could, but the personnel, equipment and "learning curve" costs associated with developing an EQC capability are beyond the reach of all but the largest carriers.

The Park Group EQC staff is intimately familiar with the intricacies of the GDSs, their contracts and the algorithms which they use to generate their display. Through daily contact with the GDS vendors over the last six years, we have developed valuable contacts which allow us to get to the right people quickly and get answers to your problems. Each EQC report is supervised by a senior staff member of The Park Group.

Using the proprietary Park Group software, we not only find discrepancies quickly, but it provides the comprehensive data needed to determine if a problem is a unique instance or part of a pattern. Identifying a pattern is the first step to tracing the cause of a problem. Changes in vendor software or procedures often cause recurrent errors at the GDS with consequences that are difficult to detect without the computer quality control output afforded by the sophisticated Park Group product.

The Park Group can also assist you in implementing your own system by providing training and advice on a consulting basis. We can provide the necessary hardware/software and transition you from our service to doing your own quality control.

The Park Group's EQC operations office is located in Coral Springs, Florida, just outside Fort Lauderdale.

The Park Group is an international team of transportation specialists offering comprehensive consultation and information services for transportation companies. The firm's product line includes a group of interrelated control and information software applications designed to bring large carrier information and management system sophistication, in a PC environment, to our clients.

SCHEDULE

Online Services

• Departure and Arrival Times
• Equipment type
• Effective and discontinue dates
• Inflight amenities
• Number of stops
• Competitive screen display priority
• All analyzed biweekly

Connecting Services

• Flights between your markets over relevant gateways connecting with your own and interline partners services are checked as above, and the screen display priority analyzed biweekly

FARES

Online

• Online fares and rules are checked for accuracy biweekly

Interline

• Compared monthly with interline competitors based on least expensive fares

AVAILABILITY

AVS monitored on an ad hoc basis as agreed