Professional Documents
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Billing Service Handbook-VBP
Billing Service Handbook-VBP
Handbook
Airline Distribution
February 7, 2011
Table of Contents
i
Preface ............................................................ 1
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
iii
Preface
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
Billing Process
Introduction
Each segment in a Sabre Subscriber PNR is reviewed at end transaction to determine
which segments will be processed as bookings and credits. All segments are billed
when the transaction is made, modified or cancelled.
Any newly created, modified or cancelled segment in an individual or group PNR is
considered billing activity.
What is Billable Activity?
New Segments
When a PNR is originally created or a new segment is added to the PNR, the segment
is processed through the billing system. The segment is flagged for billing and
categorized as active or passive and online or offline. When a new segment is added
as a result of inbound teletype, such as schedule change protection, that segment is
billed as a new segment.
Modified Segments
When a segment is modified, the billing process determines how that segment is
affected. The previous and current segment status codes are compared. If the status
code in the previously billed segment is changed to a status code other than a cancel,
the segment is recorded and processed but does not impact billing. Inbound teletype
messages, such as schedule changes (for example, HK is changed to TK) and waitlist
confirmations (for example, HL is changed to KK, UC or US), are in this category.
No billing occurs on this activity as the segment was previously billed at creation and
the change in status code to the segment is a code other than a cancel. When no
billing occurs, the activity is not reported on the Billing Information Data Tapes
(BIDT).
Cancelled Segments
Answer
As ticketing data is not available, your invoice will not show fare
tiers in your Home Country or Region.
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
Introduction
For general information on the billing process, interpreting your invoice and BIDT
layout, or determining the status of your credit request, please contact Sabre
Associate Financial Services:
U.S. and Canada
1-800-892-5108
1-682-605-1137
Fax
1-682-605-9937
Credit Requests
Please e-mail or mail credit requests to the following address (for both regular postal
service and express mail):
E-Mail: [email protected]
Postal Mail:
Attn: Credit Request Analyst
Sabre Inc.
3150 Sabre Drive
Southlake, Texas USA 76092
Address Changes
For BIDT subscriptions or a change of address notification, please contact your Sabre
account manager.
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
Introduction
Sabre strives to provide our associates with easy-to-understand invoices.
This chapter defines the different elements of your Sabre invoice:
Closing Date
Remit Payment To
Payment Made Through Clearing House
Billing Address
Amount Due
Toll-Free Number
Bookings and Cancellations identified as: Offline Active and Passive in the
Home Country (as applicable), Home Region, and Rest of World; Online Active
and Passive; and Interactive Air
One-Time Billing Charges and Adjustments
Summary of Bookings, Cancels and Net Bookings
Total Charges
Invoice Elements
The following items explain the elements of your Sabre invoice:
Closing Date: The closing date is the last day of the billing month. Invoices are
mailed out by the fifth business day of the following month.
Remit Payment To: If your airline submits payment for the invoice directly to
Sabre, use the address indicated in this field. Payment is due in U.S. dollars
(USD) on or before the payment due date located on the invoice.
Payment Made Through Clearing House: If your airline pays through the Airline
Clearing House (ACH) or the IATA Clearing House, there will be a comment
stating Funds to be cleared by (ACH/IATA) Clearing House. Do Not Remit
Payment. The total amount due to Sabre will be remitted from your clearing
house account.
Billing Address: Your billing address appears on the invoice. Please notify your
Sabre account manager with any changes.
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
Amount Due: This is the total amount due at closing date, including segment
activity, applicable product charges, and any other adjustments that occurred
during the billing month.
Toll-Free Number: A toll-free number for inquiries in the U.S. and Canada
(1-800-892-5108) is listed on your invoice. Outside the U.S. and Canada, please
telephone directly to 1-682-605-1137. A fax number (1-682-605-9937) is also
listed. Our staff is available to assist you Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. in the U.S. Central Time Zone.
Bookings and Cancellations identified as: Offline Active and Passive in the
Home Country(as applicable), Home Region, and Rest of World; Online Active
and Passive; and Interactive Air: Within each applicable category the bookings
and cancellations are shown individually. Cancellations are shown as credits and
determined by subtracting the cancellation fee from the original booking fee. In
the Home Country or Home Region as applicable, charges are determined by
multiplying the rate associated with each ticketed fare tier by the quantity in that
tier.
One-Time Billing: The items in this portion of the invoice are charges or
adjustments other than booking activity.
Summary of Bookings, Cancels and Net Bookings: A summary of all bookings,
all cancels and the net bookings is shown.
Total: This number represents the grand total of all booking and cancellation
activity plus the One-Time Billing charges or adjustments. Items are shown in
USD, and all payments to Sabre must be in USD.
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
Introduction
Sabre has specific guidelines that must be followed in order to have a credit request
processed. The following guidelines indicate the types of booking activity that may
be considered eligible for credit by Sabre. In order to process the credit request,
please provide PNR detail and supporting documentation as explained in this chapter.
Eligible Credit Requests
Overview
Sabre will credit any segments that did not accurately represent the associates air
transportation services at the time that billing occurred. A segment that was valid
when booked is not eligible for credit consideration, for example a schedule change
on a segment. The verification sources are The Official Airline Guide (OAG),
requests received directly from the associate to manually add or modify flight
information, and Multi Access, Direct Access, and Direct Connect Availability.
Examples of Eligible Requests for Credit
The amount of the refund equals or exceeds 20 percent of the requesting airlines
average Sabre GDS segment fee invoice for the previous 12 months
The airline seeking credit has followed all other relevant provisions of the
participating carrier contract and Billing Service Handbook governing credit; for
example, the request for credit is made within three months from the date of the
invoice in which the booking was charged to the airline
Ineligible Credit Requests
Overview
Sabre is unable to provide credit for any segment(s) that accurately represent the
associates air transportation services at the time billing occurred.
Improper Booking by Subscriber
Activity within this category can be defined as air segments that have been invoiced
to the associate and that the associate has determined were booked with no intention
of facilitating passenger travel, ticketing or invoicing. When this type of activity
occurs, first contact the Sabre Subscriber directly and attempt to remedy the
behavior. Also advise your Sabre account manager of the suspected abuse and the
action that is being taken. Additionally, Sabre offers the Associate Booking Control
(ABC) product which can be used to remove booking privileges from any agency.
Please contact your Sabre account manager for details on this product.
Examples of Ineligible Requests for Credit
Sabre will not issue credit for any of the following types of booking activity:
Duplicate segments
Questionable ratios of passive segments to active bookings
Questionable allocation of fare tiers
Fictitious names
Open segments
Segments with status codes HX, UC, UN, NO, US, UU that have not been
cancelled by the Subscriber
Passenger names with no corresponding reservation in the carriers host system
Segments booked by agencies with 9999999 as the ARC/IATA number, or other
non-accredited agencies
Charter, Extra Section segments, air taxi, or OTH segments
Segments with confirmed or wait list status codes
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
Flight
Number
Destination
Class of
Service
Status
Code
Segment
Cost
ARC/
IATA
Country
Code
Passenger
Name
Origin
Flight
Date
Booking
Date
Number
In Party
Pseudo
City Code
Record
Locator
VIN/
AGNES
INVALID
FLIGHT
DATE
Link
Type
Reason
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
Summary Page
Requests should include a summary page that provides the total amount of the credit
requested by category and should match the detail for each category submitted.
Segment Cost and Explanation
Each segment submitted for credit should include the cost for each segment and a
reason identifying the rejection. If numeric or specific codes are used to explain a
rejection, an accompanying interpretation legend must be provided.
Guidelines for Submitting Credit Requests
Overview
Following our guidelines will be helpful in processing your credit requests. Please
ensure that:
Enough segment detail is included so the credit analyst can retrieve the Sabre
PNR
The request period is not more than three months from the invoice date
You do not submit credits for segments with future date travel as they may be
cancelled and subject to credit. Also, do not request credit for future date
segments that were subsequently cancelled
Note
BIDT will identify bookings that are cancelled and thus should not be
submitted
Credit is only requested one time per segment even if there are multiple errors on
the same segment. For example, do not submit multiple credit requests for the
same segment if that segment has an invalid flight, invalid city, invalid class of
service, and invalid date of travel
Segments booked using Sabre Direct Access or Sabre Direct Connect SellSM
are not submitted for credit; these segments are not eligible for credit
consideration as they are verified at the time of booking by an interactive session
between Sabre and the airline
Classes of service submitted for credit are not used by other areas within your
company that allow or require the Sabre Subscriber to use a unique or
unpublished booking class to facilitate passenger handling, such as frequent
traveler awards or other reduced fare codes which may be unpublished
Flights that were valid when booked are not submitted for credit if later schedule
changes invalidate the flight segment
E-mail Address
Credit requests may be sent via e-mail in standard computer format files, including
zipped format, to [email protected]. Be sure to attach all appropriate
documentation.
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
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Mailing Address
Credit requests may also be sent via postal mail service or air express to:
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
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Introduction
Sabre provides a number of cost management products, including inventory
management and point-of-sale tools designed to assist you with better management
of your booking activity. While many of the following products are offered by Sabre
at no charge, implementation of each product must be requested by contacting your
Sabre account manager in writing. Your Sabre account manager will also provide
you with additional details regarding the products. Adherence to the Cost
Management Guidelines for Usage is required.
Cost management tools covered are:
Passive Validation
Ticket Number Notification
HX Processing
Passive Notification
Claim ItSM
Name Change Restriction
Duplicate Booking Audit
Associate Booking Control
The Passive Validation feature is an auditing tool that matches manual Sabre system
bookings (status codes BK, BL, GK, GL, DS, HK*, HL* and HN) with your
published flight schedules. The Passive Validation feature audits your flight
numbers, day of operation, city pair, open segments and exclusion of specific pseudo
city codes (optional). If the segment entered does not reconcile, the Sabre system
will deny the input of that segment. An option to additionally validate the class of
service is also available. If the class of service is not reconcilable, the Sabre
Subscriber receives a warning message when the passive segment is input.
Ticket Number Notification
The Ticket Number Notification feature advises an airline whenever a ticket is issued
for travel on its service(s). This enables the airline to manage its inventory based on
ticketed passengers. The message can be transmitted using a Special Service
Requirement (SSR) or an Other Service Information (OSI) code. Ticket numbers can
be sent on individual PNRs, group PNRs or both.
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
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HX Processing
The HX Processing feature allows the airline to send an HX status code to the Sabre
PNR when the segment is cancelled directly with the airline. The Sabre system
places the PNR on a special queue for the Sabre Subscriber to take appropriate
action. An HX status code restricts pricing, invoicing and ticketing until the segment
is cancelled.
Passive Notification
The Claim It feature enables Subscribers to view and transfer ownership of a PNR
booked directly with an airline. When a passive air segment is entered, Sabre
Subscribers are automatically prompted to claim the segment directly with the
airline.
Name Change Restriction
The Name Change Restriction feature allows an airline to inhibit name changes on a
PNR once it is created. The restriction can be applied to all classes of service or
specific classes; however the product may only be applied to non-group PNRs. The
Sabre Subscriber receives a warning when inventory is sold that is restricted from
having the name changed. An error response is returned when the first attempt is
made to change a name field in a retrieved PNR. If a second attempt is made to
change a name in that retrieved PNR, the space is automatically cancelled and the
cancellation message is sent to the airline. Specific pseudo city codes may be
excluded.
Duplicate Booking Audit
The Duplicate Booking Audit feature alerts the booking agent with a prompt to
cancel when a duplicate booking exists. The Duplicate Booking Audit feature alerts
the user at end transaction of the duplication of itinerary segments in the same PNR
and also searches for the same itinerary in multiple records.
Associate Booking Control
The Associate Booking Control feature removes all booking privileges from a
specific location on a particular airline.
Reference Pages in the Sabre System
More information about the Cost Management products can be found in the Sabre
system using the following reference pages:
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
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Product Name
Passive Validation
Passive Validation
Ticket Notification
HX Processing
HX
Passive Notification
Airline Segment BK
Airline Segment GK
Claim It
Claim It
Credit Policy
Open Segments
Fictitious Passenger
Names
Duplicate Bookings or
Questionable Ratios of
Passive Segments
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
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Answer
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
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Introduction
Sabre provides a quick and efficient invoice reconciliation tool called BIDT (Billing
Information Data Tape) at a nominal cost. BIDT is produced on a monthly basis and
distributed in either a CD-ROM media or via File Transfer Protocol (FTP). BIDT
includes segment detail data and allows you to perform additional analysis of
monthly charges. Requests for BIDT information must be made through your Sabre
account manager. Requests for a BIDT subscription received prior to the 15th day of
the month will be processed by the end of the current month. Requests received after
the 15th day of the month will be processed by the end of the following month.
Media Selections
FTP
Server Based
TCP/IP
CD-ROM
Formats available:
Compressed
Non-compressed
BIDT Technical Details
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
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The following table indicates the label, length and description of each field:
FIELD LEVEL/NAME
FORMAT
START
END
LENGTH
CHAR (05)
Airline Code
CHAR (03)
NOTES
Commuter carrier
and code share
services are shown in
the references:
N*/COMMUTER
N*/COMMUTER1
N*/COMMUTER2
Board Point
CHAR (03)
11
Off Point
CHAR (03)
12
14
CHAR (01)
15
15
PNR Locator
CHAR (06)
16
21
Flight Number
CHAR (04)
22
25
CHAR (02)
26
27
CHAR (02)
28
29
Passenger Name
CHAR (20)
30
49
20
Number in Party
CHAR (03)
50
52
Booking Date
CHAR (08)
53
60
Format:
YYYYMMDD
Flight Date
CHAR (08)
61
68
In compliance with
industry standards
and applicable
regulations, Sabre
provides flight
numbers and flight
dates if they exist.
In compliance with
industry standards
and applicable
regulations, Sabre
provides flight
numbers and flight
dates if they exist.
Format:
YYYYMMDD
Cancel Indicator
CHAR (01)
69
69
1 = Segment is a
Cancel
0 = Segment is not a
Cancel
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
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Access Types:
CHAR (02)
70
71
DA - Direct Access
MA - Multi Access
DC - Direct Connect
AB - Answer Back
ST - Standard
Country Code
CHAR (02)
72
73
Location Name
CHAR (30)
74
103
30
Location of the
Subscriber
CHAR (20)
104
123
20
Parent ARC/IATA
CHAR (08)
124
131
In compliance with
industry standards
and applicable
regulations, Sabre
provides ARC/
IATA numbers if
they exist.
ARC/IATA Number
CHAR (08)
132
139
In compliance with
industry standards
and applicable
regulations, Sabre
provides ARC/
IATA numbers if
they exist.
CHAR (02)
140
141
Agent Duty
CHAR (01)
142
142
Agent Sine
CHAR (03)
143
145
CHAR (05)
146
150
Pseudo-city code of
the original creator
of the segment
PNR Type
CHAR (01)
151
151
B= Blocked Space
Group
I = Infant PNR
C = Corporate
N = None of the
Above
CHAR (01)
152
152
Subscriber channel
identification:
B = Business/
Corporate
E = Electronic
System Reservation
N = Non-ARC/
IATA Location
T = ARC/ IATA
Location
ERSP Number
CHAR (08)
153
160
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
Electronic
Reservations Service
Provider
18
identification number
Local Departure Time
CHAR (04)
161
164
CHAR (02)
165
166
AB = Answerback
CL = Claim It
DC = Direct Connect
GM = Group
Manager
RJ = Reject
ST = Full
Availability
TT = Teletype
Pending
TA = Total Access
CHAR (01)
167
167
CHAR (08)
168
175
CHAR (02)
176
177
CD = Consumer
Direct (Online)
Unit Price
CHAR(12)
178
189
12
Currency Code
CHAR(03)
190
192
VBP Indicator
CHAR(01)
193
193
B = Segment
Qualifies for ValueBased Pricing
Marketing Carrier
CHAR(03)
194
196
Filler
CHAR(83)
197
279
83
Bill To Code
CHAR(03)
280
282
Billing Service Handbook February, 2011 Confidential and Proprietary Sabre Inc.
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