RESERVATIONS

GENERAL

A ticket will be valid only for flight(s) for which reservation(s) shall have been made, and only between the points named on the ticket or applicable flight coupons. A passenger holding an unused open-date ticket or portion thereof or exchange order for onward travel, or who wishes to change his ticketed reservations to another date, shall not be entitled to any preferential right with respect to the obtaining of reservations.

CONDITIONS OF RESERVATIONS

1. A reservation for space on a given flight is valid when the availability and allocation of such space is confirmed by a reservation agent of the carrier, and entered in the carrier's reservation system. Subject to payment or satisfactory credit arrangement, a validated ticket will be issued by the carrier indicating such confirmed space, provided passenger applies to carrier for such ticket at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of a flight within the Continental U.S. to which such reservation applies, or at least 60 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of a flight to or from a point outside the Continental U.S. to which such reservation applies. Such reservation for space is subject to cancellation by the carrier without notice if the passenger has not purchased (through direct payment or other satisfactory credit arrangement) a validated ticket indicating confirmed seat(s) at least sixty (60) minutes before scheduled departure of the flight or 30 minutes prior to departure time of a flight within the Continental U.S. or earlier, if a greater time limit is specified.
EXCEPTION 1: If the passenger agrees to apply to the carrier or agent of the carrier for a validated ticket indicating such reserved space at a time earlier than the time limit specified above, such earlier time limit will be entered into the carrier's reservations system. The reservation for space of such passenger is subject to cancellation by the carrier without notice if the passenger has not applied to the carrier or agent of the carrier for a validated ticket specifying thereon the confirmed reserved space prior to the agreed time in advance of the scheduled departure of the flight to which such reservation applies.
Unless prior authorization is received, Airlines prohibits the practice of confirming reservations as follows:

2. FRAUDULENT, FICTITIOUS AND ABUSIVE RESERVATIONS -
These types of reservations are defined as any reservation made without having been requested by or on behalf of the named passenger. Additionally, creating reservations to hold or block seats for the purpose of obtaining lower fares, Upgrades that may not otherwise be available or to circumvent any of Airlines' fare rules or policies is prohibited.

3. DUPLICATE AND IMPOSSIBLE/ILLOGICAL RESERVATIONS -
A duplicate or impossible/illogical reservation includes, but is not limited to: reservations for the same passenger on flights traveling on or about the same date between one or more of the same or nearby origin and/or destination (such as JFKDFW and LGADFW or DFWLAX and DFWONT); or reservations with connections that depart before the arrival of the inbound flight.

1. Overbooking
   Carrier may accept reservations of space for specific flights in excess of available space on board the aircraft. The number of excess reservations planned by the carrier for a particular flight is based upon the anticipated booking pattern for such flight. The determination of this pattern takes into consideration current conditions which may affect the expected utilization of space on the flight as well as historical factors such as the rate of late cancellations for the flight, failure of persons with confirmed reservations to show for the flight and the absence of any record for certain reservations in the carrier's inventory of the flight. In the event that the number of persons presenting themselves with confirmed reservations for carriage on a flight exceeds the number of seats available, those passengers with confirmed reservations who are not accommodated may be eligible to receive denied boarding compensation provided in Rule 87 (DENIED BOARDING COMPENSATION).
2. Seat Allocation
   Carrier does not guarantee allocation of any particular space in the aircraft.
1. CANCELLATION OF RESERVATIONS
1. Carrier will cancel the reservation of any passenger whenever such action is necessary to comply with any governmental regulation, or to comply with any governmental request for emergency transportation in connection with the national defense, or whenever such action is necessary or advisable by reason of weather or other conditions beyond its control.
2. The Transportation Security Agency's (TSA) Secure Flight Program requires that American collect the following additional information from passengers when making a reservation to fly within, into or out of the United States and reservations for point-to-point international flights operated by U.S. based airlines:

1.      Full Name (required), as it appears on government-issued I. D. approved for use when traveling

2.      Date of Birth (required)

3.      Gender (required)

4.      Redress Number (optional)

American may cancel your reservation if the reservation does not include the required Secure Flight Passenger Data (full name, date of birth and gender) at least 72 hours prior to your scheduled departure. This cancellation policy applies to all Airlines tickets, including tickets for our flights operated by our codeshare partners.

                        Failure to Occupy Space
If the passenger fails to occupy space which has been reserved for him on a flight of any carrier and such carrier fails to receive notice of the cancellation of such reservation prior to the departure of such flight, or if any carrier cancels the reservation of any passenger in accordance with paragraphs of this rule, such carrier will cancel all reservations held by such passenger on the flights of any carrier for continuing or return space, provided such carrier originally reserved the space.

                        Carrier is not liable when it cancels the reservation of any passenger in accordance with this rule, but

 .        if such reservation was cancelled pursuant to paragraph (C)(1) of this rule, such carrier will take such action as is provided in Rule 80 (REVISED ROUTINGS, FAILURE TO CARRY AND MISSED CONNECTIONS).

a.       if such reservation was cancelled pursuant to other paragraphs of this rule, such carrier will refund in accordance with Rule 90-(E) (REFUNDS - VOLUNTARY).

                        (Applicable to reservations made in the Western Hemisphere, except in the US/Canada, by authorized travel agents.) Carrier will assess a fee of USD 25.00 for any un-ticketed reservation not cancelled prior to departure.

                        TIME LIMIT FOR TICKET ISSUANCE/PAYMENT
Passenger must apply for a validated ticket at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of the flight within the Continental U.S. to which reservations apply, or at least 60 minutes prior to the departure time of a flight to/from a point outside the Continental U.S.

                        COMMUNICATION CHARGES
The passenger will be charged for any communication expense paid or incurred by carrier for telephone, telegraph, radio, or cable arising from a special request of the passenger concerning a reservation.

                        CHECK-IN TIME LIMITS
Airlines recommends, for flights within the United States, a 90 minute advance check-in time for passengers checking baggage, and a 60 minute check-in time for passengers traveling with hand-carried baggage only. Airline recommends, for all passengers departing from the state of Hawaii, a 180 minute check-in time. Airline will cancel the reservations of any passenger who fails to present himself for check-in at the boarding pass lifting point with the appropriate boarding pass at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled or revised-posted departure time of a U.S. domestic flight, and 30 minutes for a departure to or from an international destination, notwithstanding that such passenger may have checked-in for the same flight at another location designated for such purpose. Airline will cancel the reservation and seat assignment of any passenger who is not on board and in the assigned seat of the aircraft of a U.S. domestic flight for which he holds a boarding pass at least 10 minutes prior to scheduled or revised-posted departure time.
NOTE 1: For the purpose of this rule, the boarding pass lifting point is at the point which the passengers’ boarding pass is lifted and retained by the carrier.
NOTE 2: Passengers must arrive at the airport sufficiently in advance of a flight departure time to permit completion of government formality and departure procedures. Departures will not be delayed for passengers who are either improperly documented, or are not ready to travel at time of scheduled departure. Carrier is not liable to the passenger for loss or expense due to passenger's failure to -comply with this provision. 

Free IATA GDS/ Air Ticketing Training

Supplier Central Reservation Offices

The growth of travel in the 1960s that prompted airlines to develop computerized reservation systems put similar pressures on hotel chains and other travel service vendors.  Hotels and car rental offices were receiving growing numbers of telephone calls, letters, and telexes from their customers wanting to book their services.  Hotel chains and other travel service suppliers determined that the best way to serve the consumer, and provide a valuable service to the hotels within the chain, was to develop their own central reservation offices (CROs).
    Facilitating this growth in CROs was the introduction of toll-free telephone services in the United States in the mid-60s.  Hotel chain and hotel representation company executives, with those at Holiday Inn in the lead, recognized the new telephone technology as an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage by offering greater service to the traveling public as well as their hotel properties.
    Before the development of their own computer reservation systems, telephone calls to the first hotel company central reservation offices were answered by agents who responded to room requests by looking at walls covered with "Availability Blackboards" or at massive books, which were updated by hand.  As call volumes steadily grew, these operating methods were quickly overwhelmed.

    The same factors, that had prompted airlines to develop computerized reservation systems, led executives of car rental, hotel, and other travel companies to build similar systems.  In the early 1970s, Westin Hotels and Resorts (then Western International Hotels) developed a hotel version of United Airline's APOLLO reservation system.  The result was "Westron", which was activated in December 1974.  In subsequent years Westron was licensed to seven major hotel chains and became the industry standard.

The Evolution of GDS

As recently as the early 1960s, most travelers and travel agents made their reservations directly with their chosen airline, hotel, or car rental office via letter, telex, or telephone.  The growing popularity of air travel in the mid-60s forced airlines to establish huge reservation centers to handle telephone calls and also to develop computerized systems (GDS) to accept and store flight reservations.

    When a traveler (or a travel agent) telephone an airline, the reservation agent would use a GDS terminal to book the flight.  The traveler or travel agent would then make additional telephone calls to book hotel accommodations, a rental car, and the other travel services required.

    As air travel continued to grow, calls to the airline reservation centers increased dramatically.  To reduce costs and further increase their bookings, airlines began installing computer terminals in the offices of their most productive travel agencies.  Airline managers understood it would be less expensive to have travel agents book the reservations directly into the airline systems than it would be to hire additional staff at airline reservation centers.  They also knew that travel agents were more likely to book reservations on the airline that supplied the GDS terminals.

    Then the first in a series of GDS system content expansions were implemented to meet travelers' interests in comparative flight information and price quotes from a variety of airlines.  This first enhancement was the addition of inventory and fare information for other major air carriers.  Travel agents quickly realized that their computer terminals, with which they had grown comfortable booking airline reservations, could be a convenient tool for booking other travel services as well.  Their requests for additional options prompted the airlines to add booking capabilities for rental cars and, later, for hotels, and other travel products.

    Suppliers also were enthusiastic about the opportunity to present and sell their services to the thousands of travel agents using airline reservation systems.  It became clear, however, that those systems, designed to list and sell airline flights, were not structured for easy listing and selling of other travel services.  When the capability to sell non-air travel services were introduced, GDSs functioned only as electronic lists of availability and rates, with a booking capability.  Product and service descriptions in plain, understandable English, were not available.

    Hotels, in particular, require display formats that can present a wide variety of room types, complex rate structures and detailed text descriptions that effectively portray a property.  Car rental companies face similar challenges in adequately portraying their fleets, rules, and booking opportunities.  Nonetheless, the potential of the distribution opportunity was immediately apparent and non-air supplier companies became major participants in airline reservation systems.

Introduction of GDS

A global distribution system (GDS) can be defined as a centralized and permanently upto-
date database that is accessible to its subscribers through computing terminals. A GDS
provides all kinds of tariffs and tourism services to subscribers everyday, allowing the users to
make, change and cancel reservations, as well as to print tickets and avail themselves of any kind of rights related to services and products. Traditionally, travel agencies have been the main
subscribers, with airline companies being the owners, creators, hosts or salesmen for GDSs. It
be noted that this situation has been undergoing important alterations .The GDSs constitute at the present time the evolution and natural adaptation of the traditional computer reserve systems (CRS) to the market. The origin of these distribution systems comes from the 1960s in the United States as a consequence of the inefficacy of manual systems for the control of seat availability in the wake of the growth experienced by the aviation industry .With the goal of creating an automated system for the capacity administration of their  airplanes, American Airlines and IBM developed a joint program that became the SABRE, considered the first CRS . The original purpose of these systems was to facilitate through an automated system the storage and administration processes of all the information related to flights, lodging availabilty, and schedules or prices. Beginning in 1987 and as a consequence of the increase in demand for the application of such information to other types of tourism products (e.g. hotel rooms), and of the internationalization of their operations, CRS moved towards a new and enlarged concept which we know today as the global distribution systems. Traditionally, inside the distribution channels a GDS operates as a retail wholesaler because its sales are addressed to the travel agencies. However, at the present time all the major players have developed direct access to consumers through the Internet, and as a result of this reorientation a GDS should now also be considered as a retailer.

GDS constitutes the main working tool for travel agencies, providing them all the necessary
information to carry out their job, from the moment a client asks for a service until the potential
sale and follow-through. The GDSs provides a valuable instrument for travel agencies, increasing their productivity. Moreover, this wholesale element in the distribution channel is also a very positive tool for hotel companies, airline companies, car rental business, etc. Some have argued, however, that the effectiveness of global distribution systems for hotel products has not been proven . Disadvantages of this distribution channel include utilization costs, and the ‘halo effect’ may obscure the reality of its different effectiveness for different tourism products. The rise of computerized reservation systems sponsored by the hotels themselves, with a clear specialization in this kind of tourism product, has decidedly begun to revolutionize the way such central reservation systems operate.
The GDS industry is consolidated under the control of four powerful organizations, three of
them – Galileo, Sabre, and Amadeus – comparable in dimension. The fourth element, Worldspan, keeps a certain distance from the others. Beyond these exist another five systems: Abacus Distribution Systems, Axes International Network,GETS, Infini Travel Information, and TOPAS. Parallel to these companies, however, whose origins are in the airline industry, another ninety some regional reservation systems which emulate the original GDSs have important coverage. These regional systems (RICIRMSs – Regional Integrated Computer Reservation Management Systems), according to Buhalis’s denomination , constitute a strategic tool for the small and medium-size companies of the tourism sector.
These new developments in the organization of the tourism industry confront the GDSs with a
panorama to which they must respond. The GDSs will have to develop new strategies that will allow them to continue being the nucleus of tourism distribution. To reach such a goal, providers of GDSs should understand, among others things, that they must: continue to evolve their technological experience; reduce utilization costs; simplify the utilization processes; enlarge the products and services range; establish strategic alliances with the new competitors; and develop a more effective relational marketing policy with travel agencies; etc.

Types of Travel & Tourism

Travel and tourism provide services of all types for both inbound and outbound travellers, and have become one of the world's fastest growing industries. International travel and tourism are the world's largest export earner and an important factor in the balance of payments in most nations. The market is increasingly diverse, covering not only traditional sunshine tourism and business trips but also many new types of travel that have developed in recent years. Tourism has become one of the world's most important sources of employment. It covers a wide range of jobs, including all branches of the travel industry, hospitality in hotels and restaurants, entertainment and recreation, as well as the tourist attractions in a particular region. But the areas of work include ………

Travel Agencies , Tour Operators

Tourist Boards and Tourist Information Centers 

Transport Companies

Tour Guides & Tourist Attractions.