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Glossary for the airline industry

From A-Z, this glossary covers definitions and explanations for common airline industry terminology.

fare origin

The initial point of a pricing unit.

fare owner

The organization that contracts with ATPCO to file fares, rules, and other data in its own files under its own control.

fare quotation

The primary purpose of a GDS, this process involves bringing together schedule, inventory, and fare and rule data to price and display itineraries.

fare record

A record in the Fares system that contains the actual fare amount, tariff, carrier, market, fare class code, routing, rule number, footnote, and other information.

fare rule

The automated rule provisions for specific fare classes. The term can refer to rules governing published fares (grouped by categories) or to fares that are contained in the text of a rule (Fare By Rule). The term is used to differentiate between this type of rule and a General Rule.

fare selection

The process by which the subscriber or pricing system determines which of the ATPCO fare records are applicable to the itinerary; a prerequisite of this process is the determination of the primary portion for each fare component.

fare type

A symbolic identification of the characteristics of a fare class that provides a way to group similar types of fares. It is directly connected to the rule provisions.

Fare Type Matrix

A document used to determine the correct Normal or Special tag, category type code, and fare type code for fare classes. (See Appendix B of the Automated Rules Subscription Documentation).

fare-related data

Data that includes or supports airline fares. It may include data for fares, rules, general rules, government filings, routings, add-ons, constructions, directories, fuel and insurance fees, surcharges, service fees, ticketing fees, optional service fees, baggage fees, taxes, PFCs, sales data, audit data, prorate data, and meta fare data.

fare-related services

An optional service that is associated to a specific fare and based on the reissue or refunds that are available for that fare. For example, a passenger may want to pre-purchase the opportunity to change or refund the ticketed itinerary.

FareManager

A web-based application that provides access to all ATPCO's applications, including Fares, Rules, Footnotes, Routings, Market View, Optional Services, and PIPPS.

FareManager Rules system

The only worldwide database of automated passenger fare conditions, this system permits inquiry and maintenance of the rules and conditions that must be met for a passenger to quality for a particular ticket price. It can contain data applying to any fare class in any market via a particular tariff, carrier, or rule. It can also contain data applying to a specific fare class or fare class type, a specific market, or a fare class plus a specific market.

FCN

Filing control number. The FCN is used in GFS to create a GFS filing and in IDMS to identify a paper tariff filing before subscriptions.

fee component

The end points of the travel associated with a carrier-imposed fee as determined by Carrier-Imposed Fees (Record S1) processing.

field

A specific area on a user interface screen where the user can enter data.

fifth freedom

Flights that carry traffic which originates and terminates in countries other than the transporting carrier’s home country, regardless of whether the flight stops in the home country.

filed

1. A status assigned by the system to records that have been filed through GFS; the only records that can be viewed by other carriers in the inquiry mode. Once filed, records are also sent in the next transmission of Subscriptions. See also unfiled data.

2. A tariff filed in GFS and presented to a government who accepts official filings via GFS.

filing

(n) A group of revisions for fares and rules submitted through GFS. This submission can contain data to be presented to a government for approval.

(v) The act of processing data through the GFS system.

filing advice

An instruction from a carrier annotated FA or F/A followed by a sequential reference number. See also filing advice number.

filing advice number

1. A number given to a filing that has been processed through GFS. This number is created using the date of submission and a unique number assigned by the system. It provides information on the date the filing was submitted and can be used for controlling and tracking purposes. Also called GFS number.

2. A reference number or numbers assigned by a carrier to an instruction (such as a GFS filing). Obs.

3. A logging number assigned within the paper tariff environment by the production department to identify a transmittal or set of transmittals to the DOT.