US (east)/AS Interline ticketing

Aug 20, 2002
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www.usaviation.com
As most readers of this forum know, US East (037) has interline e-tkting with several carriers (AA, US, CO, NW and others); one carrier lacking is Alaska Airlines. While US East and AS have a standard interline ticket/bag agreement with each other, US has, for several months now, been unable to sell tickets on AS. Alaska's availability displays have been supressed in SABRE.

The reason is that AS has apparently gone all electronic* and will not accept paper tickets from US. (Invol reroutes and NRSA are excepted). When this situation first came about, I expected that IET (interline e-tkt) would soon follow, but it has not. Does anyone know what the delay is?


*Imagine if US went all e-tkts: What would the agents do who now just "VCR:pRINT:C1/2" everytime they cant get an E-tkt BP? :shock: :D
 
IET is very expensive to implement as it requires a lot of programming on both carriers.. although Alaska and US are both on the same Sabre Legacy system, they aren't connected that easily. And there aren't many points to connect AS to US-East, so financially its not worthwhile, especially with the merger.

So what is going on now is US IT is upgrading the EDS/Shares IET hubs / pipes to match the US-East IET network so that the cut-over will be seemless, as HP doesn't have the same amount of IET or Edifact agreements that US-East presently has.
 
*Imagine if US went all e-tkts: What would the agents do who now just "VCR:pRINT:C1/2" everytime they cant get an E-tkt BP? :shock: :D

I love it when the agents don't even try fixing it, instead just printing flight coupons that often have nothing at all in common with what's actually being flown...nothing a pen and some staples can't fix. :)

So what is going on now is US IT is upgrading the EDS/Shares IET hubs / pipes to match the US-East IET network so that the cut-over will be seemless,

Tempe IT doing something that'll be seamless...yeah, that'll happen. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
HP doesn't have the same amount of IET or Edifact agreements that US-East presently has.

Why am I not surprised? :p

On the subject of IET, I would guess further agreements are on hold pending SHARES changeover (even though I am sure it's on the wish list for *A partners.)

Off topic: any further word on the rumor that - at some point - Amadeus will be the preferred CRS for Star Alliance carriers? (Of course, that doesn't mean that US will use it! :lol: ;)
 
Off topic: any further word on the rumor that - at some point - Amadeus will be the preferred CRS for Star Alliance carriers? (Of course, that doesn't mean that US will use it! :lol: ;)
The star alliance tech comittee has formally announced that they will eventually want all members to use Amadeus and afilliated programs. Right now every airline contracts on a carrier by carrier basis for their GDS. Many carriers will have to spend a lot of time and money to switch over. It will not be quick and it will probably end up as a decade long program.

If Amadeus give the alliance a good price then we will switch just for the savings.
 
I love it when the agents don't even try fixing it, instead just printing flight coupons that often have nothing at all in common with what's actually being flown...:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Some of the "work-arounds" I've seen are v e r y creative. If the agent had only put as much effort into learning how to do it the right way!. :rolleyes: