Connection fares: How-to

The Connection fares sub-module allows to create and browse connection fares for scheduled flights.

A connection fare creates a connection between 2-5 scheduled flights according to the connection fare route and class and will give you the opportunity to book between destinations that you don't have direct flight connecting them and also to give a separate pricing for each leg.

Each connection fare is set for a class‚ route and dates. After creating the fares‚ the system relate it to the scheduled flights with the relevant class and route‚ and will reflect on the availability menu (AVL) and website booking engine.

Actions can be preformed on this sub-module :
New Click on New to create a new record.
View Click on a record to view the record.
Filter Filter the results on this screen and create a customized report.


How to create a connection fare setup?

1. First, we need to create regular fares in the system.
   In order to do that, go to the Marketing module, and then create the relevant fares.
   You should create a fare to each leg in the connecting fare that you want to make available in this setup. Please note that only in the case of connection flights setup, fares can set to be inactive, and the system will recognize them only for the connection flights. So the activity/pricing of the fare is irrelevant in this case, as long as the fare exist in the system and the fare dates are available. Also, please note that it's highly recommended for fares to be set with the fare type of "OW/RT combination.
   
   Fares example
   
   
2. After we created the relevant fares, we will move on to create flight series for each leg.
   Go to the Operations module, and then click on the new button to add a new flight series.
   Same as fares, you will also need to create a new flight series for each leg that you want to have in the connection flight setup.
   Flight Series example
   
   
3. After you created fares and flight series, it's time to create the connection fares in the system. Go to the Marketing module, and then click on the Connection fares sub-module.
4. Click on the New button:
    
5. Tick the relevant check-box: Active / Show on web / Show to Agents.
6. Specify a name for that connection fare that describes it the best. Please note that this name will appear in the search results of the Availability screen (AVL) as the class name (both for CRS and website users).
7. Sell From / Sell To: Specify the dates period of which this connection fare will be available for selling.
8.  Service From / Service To: Specify the dates period of which this connection fare will be operational.
9. Add the relevant routes for this connection fare. Click on the green "+" button to add additional routes.

Example of a connection fare setup

We have two flight series in the system (that we created as described in previous steps):

• Flight #101: ZNZ - ARK
• Flight #102: ARK - DAR

Passenger wants to book a flight from ZNZ to DAR.
We set a connection fare in the system, in order connect between both flights.

This connection fare should look like this in the system:

Once everything is properly configured as mentioned above, the route of ZNZ-DAR will now become bookable:

How to make a round trip setup for connection flights?

The process of creating a round trip setup for connection flights is similar to the standard process (of regular fares), however, it's important to clarify that if you would like to have a return trip using connections, you must create two different connection fares.

For example, if you would like to have the route ZNZ - DAR as a round trip using connection fares, you will need to create the following:

Outbound:

• Flight #101: ZNZ - ARK
• Flight #102: ARK - DAR
  

Inbound:

• Flight #103: DAR - ARK
• Flight #104: ARK - ZNZ
  

 

Unable to book a connection flight?

If you are unable to book a connection flight such as the above sample booking, please make sure to verify the following:

1. You have created and activated regular fares (E.g. ZNZ-ARk  and  ARK-DAR)
2. You have create flight series (E.g. ZNZ-ARK  and  ARK-DAR)
3. Timezone for each destination is correct (Operation Administrations > Destinations)
4. Flight timings (STD & STA) are correct and make sense
5. Classes are available for each route and allocated correctly to the connection fare
6. Every leg can be booked separately (E.g. ZNZ-ARK and  ARK-DAR)
7. The layover time between the arrival and the departure doesn't exceed the "Max Layover time (minutes)" value (Administrations module>Company Settings).
8. If you are booking via agency that uses API - note that unfortunately, connection fares are currently not compatible with API

Lastly, if none of the above resolved this issue, please try to update the flight series cache in the system.
In order to do that, simply go to the Operations module, and then choose the relevant flight series from the list (repeat this step for every flight series that is relevant for this connection fare setup).

Within the flight series screen, mark all the flights (by clicking on the top checkbox) and open the action menu. Choose the "Update flights cache" action:

 

You are more than welcome to open a support ticket if you have any additional questions or concerns regarding this process.