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Air Operations Manual
Air Operations Manual
To
Recommend Standards on Interface
of
Airlines Computer Reservation System(CRS)
and
Departure Control System (DCS) of the Handling
Agents.
New Delhi
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Chairman
Member
Member
Member
Member
The Committee co-opted Sh. Shyam Sharma, GM (IT) Air India and
Sh. M. M. Narula Dy.GM(IT) Indian Airlines to assist in the
deliberations of the Committee.
2.
Air India
Indian Airlines
Jet Airways
Air Sahara
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offers value added facilities like through check-in of both Domestic &
International Passengers on Indian Airlines and other carrier flights,
Tele check-in, City check-in, Return check-in and Boarding Control for
flights. The DCS package of Indian Airlines is also used to handle
check-in of other airlines by downloading the Passenger List into the
Indian Airlines Host.
In addition, Indian Airlines Departure Control
system also has other standard features like Payload Control,
Production of Load Sheets as per IATA standards etc. Indian Airlines
in their future plans for enhancing Departure Control activities are
examining the SITA CUTE proposal for their Metro locations.
Simultaneously, they have planned to enhance the present Departure
control by implementing Thermal Bar Coded Bag Tags & Boarding
Pass, Automatic Gate Control and Baggage Matching facility at these
airports. Additionally, Indian Airlines is maintaining a Data Warehouse
for the complete Reservation & Departure Control activities.
Jet Airways uses IBM computer systems provided by SABRE and Air
Sahara uses Unisys family of mainframe provided by SITA. Both
these computer systems are based in USA and provide the hosting
services for Reservations and Departure Control requirements of these
airlines.
The SITA communication network provides SABRE
connectivity to all Jet Airways offices in the country and the system as
used by Jet Airways conforms to IATA standards in order to
automatically converse with other CRSs of other global distribution
systems and exchanging passenger data as may be required between
the airline and the booking agents. The DCS portion of the SABRE
system also satisfies ICAO requirements by providing Jet Airways with
positive passenger baggage match, automated weight and balances
etc.
Similarly the reservation and departure control system of Air
Sahara using SITA GABRIEL for reservations and SITA DCS for
departure control system fully comply with the regulations prescribed
by IATA.
The details of the existing systems in each of the above airlines are
mentioned in the sections I, II, III and IV of Attachment A.
4.
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5.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee is of the view that the standards for interface between
Airline Computer Reservation System and Departure control system
operated by Handling Agents at airports should be in line with those
established by International Air Transport Association (IATA),
International Government Agreements and Local Regulations or Bilateral Agreements. Taking into cognizance the existing systems
available with the Airlines in India and for making a uniform CRS-DCS
control activity and introducing therein the functioning of the Airport
Management Authorities the following standards are recommended for
the system together with its modalities of operation :-
A.
from
Computer
Reservation
to
Departure
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3.9
Guideline
Committee
for
Establishment
of
Airlines
Operators
Sd/(K. GOHAIN)
Chairman
Sd/(S. C. AHLUWALIA)
Member
Sd/(M. S. V. RAO)
Member
Sd/(A. K. RASTOGI)
Member
New Delhi
18th March 2003.
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ATTACHMENT A
Foreign Airports
CUTE
Domestic
DomesticN/W
N/W
MUSE
IDS
Local
DCS
CRS
Travel
Agents
SITA
SITAN/W
N/W
P1024
TCP/IP
AntiVirus
DCP
Reservation System
Domestic Firewall
Layer 3
Switch
TCP/IP
CRS
P1024
Internet Firewall
Other
Airlines
TCP/IP
Frame Relay
P1024
UDLC
DCP
PRERANA
Rev Management
DCS System
Indian Airlines
System
Member
Service
TCP/IP
Center
Internet
Internet
ABC
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10
through
the
in-house
developed
Booking
Engine,
Communication Protocol:
P1024 Type A
- SITA/IATA Host-to-Host
UDLC
X.25
Frame Relay
TCP/IP
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
I.1 Reservation System:
Air India uses Unisys 2200/5222M mainframe system (RES) for
carrying out its Passenger Reservation activities. The system is
connected to more than 3000 terminals all over the world and has
real time links with CRSs such as Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus,
Abacus etc. as well as with the computer systems of various
airlines worldwide using host-to-host links through the SITA
network.
The system stores flight schedules for AI and large number of other
airlines for various sectors of travel of interest to AI passengers. It
controls flight/date wise seat inventories, helps AI reservation staff and
travel agents to plan the itinerary of the passengers, makes booking in
the system in the form of Passenger Name Record (PNR) and issues
Ticket(s) for the names created in the PNR. The links with other airline
systems enable the itinerary to comprise of both AI as well as other
airline flights in fulfillment of the passengers travel plans.
The system also generates Passenger Name Lists (PNLs) for various
Departure Control Systems, which are the starting points for doing
computerized check-in at various Airports. This USAS based
Reservations System ? rich in functionalities and of the highest
quality, is in use by many leading airlines of the world and service
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11
code
share
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12
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13
h) MIS Reports:
Air India RES generates various MIS reports; some of them are as
follows:
-
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14
trends.
The Government policies and economic trends affecting
travel plans also play a pivotal role in the forecasting of trends. The
Automated Revenue Management has an inbuilt forecast for each
future flight/date. This can be viewed for an individual flight and
date.
I.2
Passenger Check-in;
Boarding Card and Baggage Tag printing with barcodes;
Baggage Reconciliation;
Automated Boarding Control;
Load Planning and Weight & Balance.
I.2.1
a)
Passenger Check-in:
DCS receives the passenger information from Reservations
system through a WAN link between RES and DCS. The flight
initialization activity consists of downloading the PNLs
(Passenger Name List) from RES system to the DCS, 8 hours
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15
b)
c)
Check-in of
surname;
d)
e)
f)
Passenger upgrade/downgrade/offload;
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
multiple
passengers
with
same
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16
b)
Crew Check-in:
With the help of crew roster obtained from Inflight Services
Department,
Cabin Crew are checked-in by the boarding
number and baggage tags are issued to each crew for their
baggages which are subsequently used for baggage
reconciliation.
Similarly, Advance Passenger Information
System (APIS) is processed for crew bound for US and
forwarded to US Customs.
c)
d)
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17
f)
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18
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Final manifest is printed for Customs and PIL for Cabin Crew
containing hostess-wise passenger manifest with meal
preference.
API (Advance Passenger Information) is prepared and sent to
US Customs for passengers traveling to USA by scanning their
passports and visas by using special passport readers provided
by US Customs.
h)
World Tracer:
World Tracer is comprehensive airline baggage tracing and
handling system for lost or mishandled baggage. In order to
provide better customer service, Air India participates in SITA
World Tracer system. An Internet access to this service has
been provided to the customers by Air India to access the most
current information regarding their mishandled baggage.
I.3
AI as an agent handling other airlines flights:Airlines handled by AI send their PNLs to AI RES as Type B
messages eight hours before departure of flight and then
transferred to DCS. As at above the Flight Initialization program in
DCS process these messages for the flight and creates the
necessary flight/passenger records for Check-in (CKI). After checkin, flight closing transaction will send necessary close out messages
to the concerned airline for their flight handling. Presently, AI
handles a total of 30 airlines at 9 airports in India.
I.4
AI as a handling agent handling all flights at Cochin Airport:CIAL has authorized AI as the sole handling agent to handle all
airlines' flights at Cochin for both domestic and international
sectors. AI has acquired the necessary infrastructure to handle all
the flights in its DCS system. As mentioned in above items 7.1 &
7.2, same check-in procedure is being carried out for AI for other
airlines respectively. In order to enable Simultaneous check-in at
the origin and the down line airports by AI and the handled carriers
(in this case Indian Airlines and Jet Airways), the ARTICA system
of
DCS adopts the concept of block seat allocation to avoid
duplicate seat allocation.
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I.5
Use of EDIFACT for Through Check-in:AI uses IATA EDIFACT messaging standard (Ver. 94:1) for carrying
out through check-in on other airlines, whereby passenger is given
boarding passes by AI at the origin station and his baggage is
tagged up to the final destination. In this process the passenger is
not required to check-in at the transfer Airports. The DCS of AI
Interacts on a real time basis in the EDIFACT format with the
computer systems of participating carriers. For example, a
passenger travels from BOM to SIN on AI and SIN to SYD on SQ,
can be through checked-in to SYD in SQ system while checking in
at BOM for SIN on AI flight. In this process two boarding passes are
issued one for BOM-SIN on AI system and another for SIN-SYD for
SQ flight and the baggage tag will be printed with SYD as the
destination. AI system automatically sends the passenger record to
the SQ system with boarding information for necessary processing
in the SQ System. This saves lot of time for re-check-in of the
passengers and efforts for baggage handling at SIN.
As far as EDIFACT is concerned, the hardware/software platform
on which DCS is hosted is immaterial since the EDIFACT message
processing follow well defined protocol that is independently
implemented in the two computers. The access to AI host for DCS
application is from SITA network on P1024 Type A Link over SITA
P1024C Protocol. The airlines have to exchange information like
HLD (High Level Designator) value, TCID (Terminal Cluster ID)
and Layer 5 address for Test and Production links. Also, they
have to apply for production link with SITA.
AI has implemented IATCI, Inter-Airline Thru Check-In using
EDIFACT message standards with Singapore Airlines at Mumbai &
Delhi and EK at Delhi,& Madras. Further, testing for EDIFACT link
has been completed with Indian Airlines, Jet airways and MH . Also,
AI has initiated the process of testing EDIFACT with KE and BI.
Presently in Air India, EDIFACT message processing helps in
handling passengers with two out-bounds as also the PNRs with
important elements like Frequent flier etc.
I.6
Economic Viability for using ARTICA DCS:Air India has its own infrastructure to handle departure control
activities at all Indian Airports where Air India not only handles its
own flights but also other foreign carrier flights. At Cochin Air India
has all the necessary infrastructure in terms of equipment and
communication to handle flights of all carriers including domestic
carriers Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.
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21
I.8
I.9
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22
II.
II.1.2
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23
II.1.5
Passenger Lists
The lists of passengers booked / waitlisted / Cancelled on a
flight of specific date can be obtained. All Indian Airlines offices
can display all type of lists, while travel agents can display the
list of passengers booked by them only.
This has a facility to obtain specific type of list viz. passengers
travelling over a specific segment or into or out of a specified
city or list of bookings made from a specific office.
II.1.6
Fares
Indian Airlines uses Pre-constructed fare(s). The fares for
domestic / International sectors are stored in the system
database. The promotional fares in various currencies are also
kept in the database. The amendment / deletion of fares and
discounts are being maintained by Central Space Control.
System has facility to keep various type of fares and discounts
applicable from time to time.
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II.1.7
Automated Ticketing
System provides the facility of automatic fare computation
based on pre-constructed fares, while doing booking, based
upon sector, class and currency of the payment. On demand it
prints the ticket having all travel details along with amount and
mode of payment, on associated ticket printer at the booking
office. This facility is available for travel agents also. Presently
this is being used for domestic sector travel only. There are
plans to implement Auto ticketing for International Sectors in
near future.
System prints the break-up of sector fare with details of Basic
fare and applicable Taxes.
II.1.8
Flight Information
Information on delay, departure terminal or deviation of
individual flights is stored in the system. Display of such
information is reflected, while taking availability, schedule
display, booking and retrieval of PNRs etc.
II.1.9
Teletype Processing
The Teletype messages of Passenger Reservation Messages
are switched for automatic processing into/from the system
addressed to other airline offices. Messages in valid format
create and do amendment of PNRs. Messages in invalid format
are not processed by the system and are placed on various
queues for manual handling.
This facilitates the bookings made on Indian Airlines System by
other airlines / CRS and acts as a fallback facility for CRS
having Host to Host high speed connectivity with IC System
II.1.10
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25
the
passenger
in
understanding
about
his
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26
Code Share
The system has feature to HOST Code Shares Flights in the
Inventory.
Presently, Indian Airlines has Code Share facility
with Air India, Sri Lankan, Kazhakistan, Kirgisthan and
Uzbekistan.
The inventory of specific flights has separate
classes designated with specified number of seats, to be
booked by Air India. Similarly Indian Airlines can also book on
Air India Code Share predefined flights in specified classes.
This inventory is controlled by the operating airline through AVS
messages automatically.
27
visa,
passport,
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28
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29
Agra
Bhavnagar
Imphal
Madurai
Rajkot
Agatti
Dimapur
Jorhat
Tejpur
Aizwal
Bhopal
Jamnagar
Mangalore
Silchar
Chandigarh
Gwalior
Kullu
Tirupati
Amritsar
Bhuj,
Khajuraho
Portblair
Tiruchirapalli,
Dehradun,
Jabalpur,
Puttaparthi,
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31
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32
This facility
another host
interrogation.
on another
required.
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The system generated automated Load & Trim Sheet has approval
from DGCA for A320 aircraft in Indian Airlines fleet.
II.10 FUTURE PLAN FOR DCS
Indian Airlines held detailed negotiations with SITA to enhance the
Departure Control activities at six-metro airports, i.e. Delhi, Mumbai,
Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad under control of Indian
Airlines by implementing SITA CUTE system (Lease/purchase
options)for Domestic and International wings. This includes DELHI
International wing but excludes Mumbai international as the same has
already been implemented.
It is proposed to install three CUTE Core
and three CUTE Lite servers to meet IAL requirements at these
airports. This proposal is under examination by Indian Airlines.
Simultaneously, Indian Airlines has planned to enhance the present
Departure Control system by implementing Thermal Bar coded Bag
tags & Boarding Pass, automatic gate control and baggage matching
facility at these airports.
With the implementation of above, Indian airlines will be able to offer
full DCS functionalities to all Airlines operating through all Domestic
Airports of IAL operations.
Indian Airlines is also exploring the possibility of implementation of Bio
Matrix Security System for airport.
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34
II.10.1
II.10.2
II.10.3
MULTIHOSTING
Indian Airlines System is designed to fully Multihost other airlines
that are defined as HOST or Sub-HOST in such a way that, each
airline works in its own partition independently. Each hosted airline
is allocated their Central Space Control, to exercise control of its
own flights. They have their own separate database for their
security reasons.
All the features mentioned above can be
supported for the Hosted Airlines.
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o
o
o
o
o
o
PROTOCOLS
Communication Protocol
o
o
o
o
AX.25
SDLC
IBM SNA Token Ring
P1024 through external device
Application Protocol
o LU 6.2
o HOST to HOST on AX.25 (EDIFACT for CRS and other Airlines)
o SITA HOST to HOST (for SITA Hosted Application)
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36
III
Jet Airways uses the CRS (Computer Reservation System) and the
DCS (Departure Control System) provided by SABRE.
Both the
systems are fully integrated together and hence the data transmission
between them is as such transparent to Jet Airways. The complete
system is hosted and maintained in SABREs Data Center in USA.
The SITA communication network provides SABRE connectivity to all
Jet Airways offices.
This is in the form of 9.6 Kbps leased data
circuits. There are two types of connectivity that Jet Airways presently
uses. In the first type, VIDECOM brand Dumb Terminals are used as
front end with ALC data communication protocol. In the second type,
PCs are used as front end with X.25 protocol. Both the CRS and DCS
systems are accessible from any terminal.
Almost all the problems faced with the system are due to poor
communications infrastructure.
SITA does not provide any uptime
commitment on the last mile (the cable run from the nearest
telephone exchange to the Jet Airways office) and virtually all the
disruptions are due to cable faults or exchange related issues. Any
downtime of the data circuits adversely affects the airline schedule,
results in passenger dissatisfaction and contributes to crowding of the
terminal facilities thus creating a safety issue.
Reliability of the data circuits would improve a lot, if fiber optic
based connectivity were to be extending to all the airports.
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37
IV
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38
ATTACHMENT B
2.2
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39
and shall provide the latest joining figures. The format of the
ADL follows that of the parent PNL: if the PNL is full name, the
ADL will be full name; if the PNL is special requirements only,
the ADL will be a new numeric summary of joining load and in
addition will list names of any new passengers with special
requirements.
The PNL and ADL shall follow the formats
specified herein to allow being directly accepted by Departure
Control Systems. When any aspect of a passenger record
(changes / adds / cancels) causes an ADL, the related
passenger information on the ADL reflects all the data in its
current active status, as it would have appeared on a PNL.
2.3
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40
Guideline
for
Committee
Establishment
of
Airlines
Operators
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41
3.4
3.5
Baggage Tag
It is recommended that while carriage of baggage, members use
baggage tags and procedures as specified in IATA Resolution
Conference, Resolution 743, which states the application of
carriage of baggage, various definitions, type of bag tags,
common specification of the bag tag and issuance procedures.
Optional information as required by the airlines can be added on
the Bag Tags.
3.6
Through Check-in
Through check-in standards are covered under the guidelines of
the standard departure control system AHM91 as defined
above.
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3.7
3.8
3.9
Flight Closeout
The standard for flight closeout is to be established by the
member airline as defined under IATA procedures. The IATA
standards would be part of passenger acceptance, Boarding
Control and Load control recommendation as given above.
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43
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44