Sabre Travel Network in June began providing its fully automated QREX Plus air ticket repricing technology in the Americas, joining its semi-automated Quick Refunds and Exchanges tool and, like the systems other global distribution systems offer, using the Airline Tariff Publishing Co.'s Category 31 fare rules that provide the standards to automate the ticket exchange, refund and reissue processes.
Sabre joins Travelport GDS, which has used technology developed by Worldspan for several years, and Amadeus, which last year deployed fully automated repricing technology in the United States.
The technology reduces typical agent refund, exchange and reissue times from as many as 30 minutes to less than five, as it eliminates most manual processes like agent checks of fare restrictions, ticket eligibility and airline requirements.
The GDSs are not just providing this capability in the United States. The latest international move came this month when Travelport launched its Rapid Reprice technology in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The original beta-tester group of 15 agencies has grown to 38 in the two countries, according to Travelport GDS director of content portfolio Richard Roberts.
The U.K. and Ireland Rapid Reprice deployment is the first step in a 40-country rollout plan. Agencies in Australia, Canada, France, Israel, Italy and Mexico currently are testing the product, and there will be more international rollouts—including in the Nordics by year-end—according to Travelport regional product manager for the United Kingdom and Ireland Neil Satchell.
The company also is testing the multi-GDS product globally with some mega travel management companies. American Express Business Travel in 2007 became the first TMC to use the product on multiple GDSs in the United States
(BTNonline, June 11, 2007).
In the second half of this year, Sabre will launch QREX Plus in Central Europe and the United Kingdom, according to Sabre vice president of product marketing Neil Fyfe. Expansion of the GDSs' ticket repricing technology has been slowed by the need to integrate with each country's bank settlement plan and by some airlines' nonparticipation in ATPCo or SITA Category 31 fare rules, which allow the repricing automation and which Sabre product marketing principal Tony Hemsley called "the data bible for repricing a ticket."
Now, more than 40 airlines have filed the Category 31 rules, Hemsley said, including all U.S. legacy carriers and most major international airlines, such as Air France-KLM, British Airways and Lufthansa. About 78 percent of tickets issued in the United States are on Category 31-enabled airlines, Hemsley said.
Each provider charges additional transaction fees to process refunds and exchanges through the new automation.
Amadeus, meanwhile, is testing its Ticket Changer automated refund and exchange technology in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with plans for a rollout to 10 other countries, said director of distribution product management Rudy Daniello.
Amadeus launched the product, which has been used by airlines for several years, with agencies in 2008. It currently is used by agencies in Finland, France, the Netherlands and the United States.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Sabre's QREX story would replace the Quick Refunds and Exchanges tool.
BTN regrets the error.