Skip to main content
MORE

NDC Bookings in Trams Back Office

  • Updated

We're working closely with our GDS partners to make NDC bookings interface seamlessly with Trams Back Office. Currently, NDC bookings made in Amadeus and Sabre interface to Trams Back Office. Travelport+ (Galileo) is finalizing their specifications related to NDC bookings.

NDC bookings interface to Trams Back Office with the submit-to Supplier, and the airline as the vendor.

**Important Note: When using Trams Back Office with NDC, you must be on Trams Back Office version 4.11.00.011 or higher and Download.exe version 4.11.00.029 or higher.

Update (March 27, 2023): Travelport has announced that they will enter NDC booking as passive segments in the GDS. They have not yet provided sample records for testing, but based on the information available, NDC bookings will interface as expected. We will update this article as more information becomes available.

In this article

About NDC

Traditionally, ticket numbers are assigned by the GDS, and the GDS reports the ticket numbers to the airline and to ARC/BSP.

NDC changes the way the tickets are issued. Instead of the GDS issuing the ticket, the PNR information is transmitted to the airline, which in turns issues the ticket, ending the details back to the GDS.

One of the features of the NDC process is that the airline has the option to settle the payment through ARC/BSP, or to process the payment itself and bypass ARC/BSP.

Trams tracks bookings as either being submitted through ARC/BSP (submit to ARC/BSP) or directly with the vendor (submit to Supplier). Based on how the airline settles the NDC booking. The GDS interface information includes information about how ticket is to be settled, TBO assigns the appropriate submit-to option to the booking.

Tickets that the airline settles through ARC/BSP will be submit to “ARC/BSP”. Tickets that the airline processes payment directly will be assigned the submit to “Supplier”.

For more information about how airlines process payments under NDC, please contact your GDS provider.

Preparing Trams for NDC bookings

There is no extra setup required to interface NDC bookings, though you may wish to consider entering default commission rates in your Trams Vendor Profile for airlines that participate in NDC. More information about how commission is calculated on NDC bookings is provided later in this article.

Commission on NDC bookings

It's important to note that the normal default commission rules apply to NDC bookings as other supplier bookings.

Specifically, if a commission is specified in the GDS accounting information, that amount will be shown in Trams. Trams calculates the commission in the following order:

  1. Commission specified using an override entry in the PNR.
    (See the Interface guides for Amadeus, Sabre, Worldspan, Apollo, and Travelport+ for specific formats for entering commission overrides)
  2. Commission amounts included in the automated GDS accounting information from your GDS.
  3. The default commission rate specified in the airline's vendor profile.
  4. The global default commission rate set up under Utilities > Global Defaults > Taxes.
NOTE: We have observed that NDC bookings often lack commission details in the automated accounting information. Therefore, we recommend entering a default commission rate in the Trams airline vendor profile or entering a commission override remark in the PNR.

Voided NDC bookings

Sabre generates void messages for NDC content, so voided tickets will interface automatically. NDC tickets issued in Amadeus, Apollo, Travelport+ (Galileo), and Worldspan may need to be voided manually in TBO.

Refunded NDC bookings

Refunded NDC bookings interface to Trams automatically.

Special considerations for specific GDS users

Based on feedback from our users, we've found that the following steps may be helpful when invoicing NDC bookings.

Amadeus

Client interface IDs must be entered using the format RM*AN{interface ID}. PNRs using the alternative format for client interface IDs, AIAN{interface ID} do not include the interface ID in interface records.

Sabre

Client interface IDs must be entered using the format 5.S*AN{interface ID}. PNRs using the alternative format, DK{interface ID} not not include the interface ID in the interface records.

IMPORTANT: If your agency uses six- or seven- character DK numbers, they need to be expanded to match the full 10-digit interface ID as shown in the Trams Back Office (TBO) client profile. For example, DK number 0010001 would need to be entered in the PNR as 5.S*AN001000001.

Interface (IUR) records are issued automatically and will appear in the agency's DWLIST, but there may be a delay between submitting the PNR for ticketing and when the IUR is generated.

 

Article Revision History
Date By Summary of Changes
2023-03-27 TS Updated information related to Travelport passive segments.
2023-04-12 TS
  • Expanded information relating to description of NDC.
  • Updated information related to voiding NDC bookings in TBO.
  • Sabre: Clarified IUR creation and timing.
2023-04-19 TS Updated Sabre interface ID information regarding use of 5.S*AN and using 10-digit interface IDs.

Related articles