Flight booking system glossary

Lemax is a web based travel agency software that automates your sales, marketing, operations and finances. With our integrated flight ticket booking software, our customers are able to book flights directly from within Lemax interface.

Airline consolidator

An airline consolidator is a wholesaler of airline tickets, sometimes described as a broker. Airlines make tickets available to consolidators at significant discounts and special conditions to those available to the general public. Consolidators seek to reach more niche markets, and are able to offer discounts and fare flexibility that is relevant to the target group. Consolidators enter contracts with major carriers to sell at reduced prices to niche markets, the main benefit being that fares through consolidators will be lower than published rates available from the airlines themselves.

IATA Code

IATA Code is a unique code for airport and city. Some cities have the same IATA code as their airports (for example ZAG is IATA code for City and Airport in Zagreb)

PCC

Pseudo city code. Unique code for agency in GDS (across GDS). Used in all GDS to identify tour operator.

One letter code in ticket class

One letter code next to ticket class defines class more specifically. The codes can have different meaning depending on airlines

Example:

A – First Class Discounted
B – Economy/Coach – Usually an upgradable fare to Business
C – Business Class
D – Business Class Discounted
E – Shuttle Service (no reservation allowed) or Economy/Coach Discounted
F – First Class
G – Conditional Reservation
H – Economy/Coach Discounted – Usually an upgradable fare to Business
J – Business Class Premium
K – Economy/Coach Discounted
L – Economy/Coach Discounted
M – Economy/Coach Discounted – Usually an upgradable fare to Business
N – Economy/Coach Discounted
P – First Class Premium
Q – Economy/Coach Discounted
R – First Class Suite or Supersonic (discontinued)
S – Economy/Coach
T – Economy/Coach Discounted
U – Shuttle Service (no reservation needed/seat guaranteed)
V – Economy/Coach Discounted
W – Economy/Coach Premium
X – Economy/Coach Discounted
Y – Economy/Coach
Z – Business Class Discounted

SOTO

In travel management the abbreviation SOTO stands for sold outside, ticketed outside. This refers to an airline ticket that has been bought and issued from a country that doesn’t feature in the travel itinerary, e.g. if a UK traveller buys their ticket in the UK but they’re travelling from New York to Los Angeles.

LCC

Low-cost carriers.

FSA

Full-service airlines.

GDS

Acronym for Global Distribution System.  It is a computerized network system owned or operated by a company that enables transactions between travel industry service providers, mainly airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and travel agencies. The GDS mainly uses real-time inventory (for e.g number of hotel rooms available, number of flight seats available, or number of cars available) to service providers. Travel Agencies traditionally relied on GDS for services, products & rates in order to provision travel-related services to the end consumers. Thus, a (GDS) can link services, rates and bookings consolidating products and services across all three travel sectors: i.e., airline reservations, hotel reservations, car rentals.

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