The International Air Transport Association today announced a three-year deadline for airlines to comply with electronic miscellaneous document standards, which would be used to track the sale of ancillary services.
IATA is targeting airlines to be 100 percent EMD-compliant by the end of 2012, while bank settlement plans have until the end of 2013 to fully implement the standards. IATA's board of governors, comprised of airline CEOs and other heads, approved the timelines at its Dec. 4 winter meeting in Montreal.
The EMD would serve as an e-coupon attached to a specific trip for ancillary purchases like checked baggage, inflight Wi-Fi and lounge access. According to IATA, the EMDs would be used on ancillary purchases made directly through an airline and via travel agencies.
In June 2008, the association published the EMD Standard. It expects the industrywide move to the standard to save airlines $2.9 billion in aggregate.
Industry suppliers have identified the EMD as the link that eventually will enable travel buyers and travel management companies to report on ancillary charges
(BTNonline, Dec. 7). There currently are initiatives to develop EMD functionality among airlines, payment system providers, technology companies and settlement providers, including the Airlines Reporting Corp. Even with the pursuit of standards underway, sources said an EMD that would facilitate settlement and reporting of ancillary charges until would not come the third quarter of 2010.