Automatic Ticket Exchange and the New Airline Rules

[Originally published May 1, 2020 on Deem.com.]

You may have read in our earlier blog from our CEO, John Rizzo, that he believes this unique, slowed state of business travel due to the coronavirus pandemic can “…help us be a better industry and fix some suboptimal practices.” In fact, some of the early impacts on the travel industry from COVID-19 include highlighting the gaps in data that TMCs use to track their travelers and manage their programs.

One such gap is that companies have not been able to get reliable, real-time data on their travelers – an issue now exacerbated by the massive increase of rescheduled or cancelled trips and refund requests. Combined with reduced staffing at TMCs, there may be many travelers still being listed as in a different destination from their true location. And of the cancelled trips, many of those non-refundable tickets initially belonged to travelers who have since lost their jobs through furlough or layoff. This leaves companies with potentially millions of dollars in lost budget, resources they could use to extend business operations longer through this uncertain time.

Airline ticket cancellations and name changes

Since 9/11, the traveling public has seen many changes to the rules of flying. In the U.S., most travelers have adapted to activities like removing shoes to pass through TSA check points and showing photo ID that matches boarding passes. Passenger name changes used to be just part of traveling, but the heightened security measures introduced after that notorious day resulted in stricter controls for most travelers. Ticket name changes went from just requiring more time and resources to not optional at all for most travelers.

As the U.S. Department of Transportation reminds companies and travelers of the airlines’ obligation to provide refunds to travelers in the wake of significant events like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and now COVID-19, the industry is also looking at how to handle the new offerings around ticketing name changes. Travel industry media are reporting that some of the airlines are starting to loosen their restrictions on traveler cancellations and name changes.

Delta, with partners Virgin Atlantic and Air France-KLM, and American Airlines are now allowing free name changes without the formerly required waiver codes (with a few restrictions.) At the time of writing this article, United is allowing self-service for name changes through its own portal, for now, still requiring a human touch for each ticket changed.

As the airlines are modifying their restrictions in their fare rule filings, cancelled tickets can now be reassigned to a new traveler when the time comes to plan another trip. That’s great news for businesses. Even better news is that reclaiming unused ticket funds can be automated through Deem’s platform.

Automatic Ticket Exchange from Deem

The Automatic Ticket Exchange (ATE) feature is already available in Deem’s Work Fource offering. This automated solution makes rebooking, rescheduling or refunds of cancelled tickets streamlined and efficient. And the unused ticket shows up immediately when cancelled, making funds ready to be applied to new trips right away. ATE reduces processing time and removes human data entry errors, as it automatically recalculates complex fares, taxes and penalties for domestic and international flights. As the airlines increase their flexibility with ticketing rules, reassigning unused tickets to new passengers can also be handled automatically through the platform.

“Your unused ticket funds get applied without anyone having to think about it,” said Brenda Semrow, Deem’s senior travel domain expert. “Any unused ticket that applies will be automatically attached as a form of payment without any additional input needed from the user. Everything is stored in the PNR and the TMC will be able to issue the ticket from an auto-priced, guaranteed fare.”

Even if TMCs or direct customers haven’t been using ATE thus far, the feature is available any time. Whether an existing Deem user or new to the platform, a customer can upload a CSV file of all their unused tickets and start using ATE right away – even if the tickets were purchased before the company adopted the Deem solution. When a ticket exchange is successful, a new ticket number and notification are issued to the customer.