Amadeus describes its new ticket-exchange system, which it
made available to all of its U.S. agent clients on July 14, as a tool that
enables travel agents to save time, provide better service and sell more.
As enticing as those promises are, agents might be most
interested in Amadeus’ assurance that the system will have the effect of
“virtually eliminating debit memos related to exchanges.”
Shelly Younger, manager of settlement services for ARC, has
examined the new Amadeus exchange tools and used softer language but likes the
system’s potential.
“Yes, it would have a direct impact on potentially reducing
debit memos for Amadeus users,” she said.
Amadeus Exchange Relief offers agents three servicing
options for ticket exchanges.
Using the free “Do It Myself” option, agents enter the
ticket-exchange information manually but with the assistance of a step-by-step
guide that interacts with the passenger name record.
The first of two fee-based options is “Do It Automatically,”
in which agents provide basic information about the ticket exchange, which the
software processes.
The top and most innovative option is “Do It for Me,” in
which agents submit the exchange to a specially trained Amadeus employee for
processing, the only GDS program of its kind, according to both Amadeus and
Younger.
Amadeus COO Vic Pynn declined to say how much these tools
will cost but did say that “Do It for Me” would be the more expensive option.
Agents can use the automated option for free until Sept. 30. “Do It for Me” has
a charge immediately, though it is half off until Sept. 30.
Amadeus beta tested the new system for six months before its
release.
“We needed to come up with a product that had the ability to
reduce the pain of exchange and debit memos,” Pynn said.
To offer the “Do It for Me” service, Amadeus trained a dozen
staff members based at call centers in Argentina and Costa Rica whose sole job
is handling ticket exchanges.
Amadeus will guarantee the exchanges for agents who use
either of the paid options; if any of those transactions result in debit memos,
it will be Amadeus, not the agent, that is on the hook.
Those guarantees, Younger said, coupled with the system’s
enhanced interface, should provide a substantial reduction in ticket-exchange
debit memos for customers.
Combined, exchanges and refunds accounted for just 12% to
14% of $138 million worth of debit memos issued by airlines in 2014, according
to ARC. But Younger said that because of the complexities involved in
exchanges, “they take up a larger portion of time to research.” Partial
exchanges and exchanges on international tickets can be especially complicated.
ARC data show that agents are far more likely to delay
payment on debit memos issued on exchanges and refunds than for other types of
transactions; 55% of the dollar value of unpaid exchange or refund debit memos
were more than 180 days old as of July 14. ARC was unable to decouple exchanges
and refunds within its data.
For all unpaid debit memos, just 23% of the value was on
memos issued more than 180 days ago.
It’s not just Amadeus and Younger who are bullish on the new
system. Tonia Valentine, a corporate travel adviser for Aladdin Travel in
Winston-Salem, N.C., said she spends up to 30 minutes processing complicated
ticket exchanges. After participating in a beta test of the Amadeus Exchange
Relief system, Valentine said those transactions can now be handled in just a
couple minutes.
“It has taken a lot of the burden off me,” she said.
After attending an Amadeus Exchange Relief webinar last
week, Susan Garza, vice president of operations for Uniglobe Travel, said the
“Do It for Me” option “looks pretty remarkable.” How much she will use the
service depends on the cost, she said.
Still, on the question of whether Amadeus Exchange Relief
will steeply curtail exchange debit memos, travel industry lawyer Mark Pestronk
said the devil is in the details. GDS providers, he said, often find ways
around the guarantees they provide against debit memos on ticket purchases.
Pynn, though, said Amadeus plans to stand fully behind its guarantee with the
new system.
“I do not see exceptions,” he said.