Requirements for maintenance of flight series, service loads, fares and classes for GO7 customers with W2 subhosting integration – GO7 PSS Support

In this article, you will find a list of simple configurations that you need to follow to ensure that your regular daily actions in modules such as aero CRS Flight Series, Service Loads, etc., do not unintentionally result in the cancellation of your flights in GDS.

The schedules are imported to SMS5 (W2) and then to GDS via SSIM files (schedule files), which are generated by GO7 and automatically uploaded to SMS5. If a schedule is not included in the SSIM file of GO7 (whether intentionally or by mistake), then such a schedule gets canceled immediately in SMS5 and then in GDS. This means that all PNRs in GDS also get canceled and will receive a cancellation message from our system. We identified that in the majority of cases, this is not the intention of our GO7 customers to cancel the schedules in GDS. Therefore, below, we provide the scenarios that must be avoided to prevent the accidental removal of schedules from the SSIM file:

Do Not Remove GDS Distribution Channel from Flight Series Currently Having GDS Distribution ON: Deactivating the GDS distribution channel from a flight series will remove it from the next SSIM file. Therefore, it will be canceled in SMS5 and in GDS, and all GDS reservations in this flight series will be canceled.

Do Not Replace Your Current Service Load with a New Service Load if Its IATA Identifier is Empty, AND Never Remove the IATA Identifier from the Service Load Used for Flight Series Distributed in GDS: Without an IATA identifier, SSIM records will not be generated (as aircraft type information is a mandatory part of SSIM records). This means that the flight series will disappear from your next SSIM file and will be canceled in SMS5 and in GDS. We strongly recommend that you add the IATA identifier to all your existing service loads and make it a part of your standard procedure for creating a new service load.

Do Not Remove Mapping for GDS in Class Settings (Class Code / W2 Code): If the mapping is removed from one of the classes, the flight series will be removed from the next SSIM file and will be canceled in SMS5 and in GDS. Please remember that if you decide to introduce a new class for GDS distribution, you must enable mapping for it as well.

Do Not Deactivate GDS Distribution on Class Level (Do Not Mix with Item 3 Above): If you make a change in the flight series that may result in deactivation of GDS distribution for all classes, the flight series will be removed from the next SSIM file and will be canceled in SMS5 and in GDS. Whenever you update a class distributed in GDS, make sure the "Enable on GDS" option remains activated.

Do Not Remove GDS/LDS Connection Code from a Destination Used in One of Your Flight Series Activated for GDS Distribution: If the GDS/LDS connection code is removed from a destination, the flight series will be removed from the next SSIM file and will be canceled in SMS5 and in GDS. Please also remember that this is relevant for newly introduced routes for GDS distribution - you must ensure that the IATA code is in place for each destination used in the new flight series.

What if you indeed decided to close the flight series for distribution in GDS (W2) only, but you still keep it operational in GO7 and you do not want to have GDS PNRs cancelled?

If you need to close the flight series for distribution in GDS (W2) only but still keep it operational in GO7, and you do not want GDS PNRs to be canceled, please reach out to the GO7 support team before you deactivate distribution for GDS channel. Inform them about the specific flight series (route, flight number) you want to switch GDS distribution for, and our team will make necessary adjustments to prevent the cancellation of flights. After receiving confirmation from our team, deactivate GDS distribution in the regular way. The flight series will be removed from the SSIM file, but due to the extra configuration done, it will not be canceled on our side (the sales will be closed), and existing PNRs will not be affected.

What if you really want to fully cancel a flight series in GO7, as you decided not to operate it?

If you decide to fully cancel a flight series in GO7, deactivate the flight series in the regular way. The flight series will be excluded from the SSIM file, and the schedules will be canceled in SMS5 and GDS. GDS agents will be informed about the cancellation.

As you are already aware, fare filing for GDS distribution is done outside of GO7. However, fares defined in GO7 are used for issuing internal tickets for GDS (W2) reservations. Therefore, it is mandatory to ensure that for any class/route distributed in GDS, there is at least one OW fare available for the Worldticket travel agency. During the initial setup, our consultants from the GO7 implementation team ensure that such fares are properly assigned to the travel agency used for distribution. However, later at the operational stage, it is important that the airline team, while taking care of pricing adjustments, follows a few rules relevant to proper W2 distribution.

Do not deactivate a fare corresponding to the class that is mapped with a GDS class if it is the only existing fare for the GDS mapped class. At least one fare needs to be activated for every class mapped with a GDS class and available for the Worldticket agency. If you decide to stop W2 distribution on the route, deactivate GDS distribution on the flight series level to avoid confusion for GDS agents.
Do not assign a brand to a fare if there is no other fare for the same class/route. Brands are not supported for GDS distribution. If a brand is assigned, new bookings will be rejected in GDS immediately after being created. Therefore, it is mandatory to ensure that there is a fare not connected to a brand available for the Worldticket travel agency.

Another action, which you should be careful with in order to exclude possible issues with GDS reservations is Booking transfers.

Regarding booking transfers, do not perform booking transfer actions in relation to GDS bookings. In such cases, the new date/flight will not be reflected in GDS, and incoming messaging from GDS will stop, making it impossible to fix such bookings. It is supposed to be the GDS agent who originally issued the ticket to reaccommodate passengers, especially in cases of involuntary rebooking (flight cancellation).

If you have any doubts about requirements, defined in the article, we kindly ask you to contact GO7 implementation team.

Comments