Plan Standards Strategic Partnerships Program

Plan Standards Strategic Partnerships Summary

The Plan Standards Area of Involvement derives from one of the five management boards established by Resolution 009 under the Passenger Standards Conference (PSC), which combines the activity of the Passenger Services Conference and Passenger Tariffs Conferences. The Passenger Standards brochure (pdf) outlines the Conference structure as well as standards adoption and development procedures. Each management board is an airline-only group overseeing the strategy and direction of standards development and implementation within a specific business domain. 

Each board will also have an advisory forum, where Strategic Partners can meet with board member airlines to discuss issues around standards development and implementation. The Plan Standards Board manages the development of standards concerning any interaction between airlines and other parties for the purpose of exchanging information about which services are intended to be made available and to whom; and the management of any corresponding reference data. 

Benefits

• Participation in the relevant group(s) below. 
• Access to the Architecture and Technology Standards Area of Involvement, including all groups within it.

Activities

The Plan Standards Board oversees standards covering many areas of distribution, and will establish working groups to develop proposals for standards regarding business processes and data exchange. Strategic Partners may send senior level delegates to the Advisory Forum of the Plan Standards Board and send technical experts to any groups created by the board where specific standards are developed. Working groups under each board may be created or disbanded by the board at any time, but an up-to-date list of active groups is available online. Access to meetings and working groups are subject to individual group terms of references.

Airline Product Management Working Group

The Airline Product Management group is responsible for matters concerning airline product management, including product catalogue, service attributes, product lifecycle, airline profile and product taxonomy.
Members of these groups should have experience and day-to-day involvement in offer creation, product definition and product management, distribution, offer and order optimization and/or sourcing products from third party transportation operators.

Industry Coding Working Group

The Industry Codes group is responsible for the assignment and availability of industry codes for airline designators, accounting codes and prefixes, location identifiers, baggage tag issuance codes (i.e., resolutions 762,763,767 and 769). The group explores changes to industry coding systems to support sustainability and evolving coding requirements while enabling digital identity to provide fully transformative future-proof solutions.
Members of the group should have experience in areas covering industry coding regimes and systems such as scheduling, distribution, industry data exchange and messaging, industry affairs and interline.

Minimum Connect Time (MCT) Working Group

The MCT group is responsible for the presentation, application and transfer of MCT data between airlines, data aggregators and system providers, including the associated business requirements for schedule creation/publication and distribution processes, while optimizing the MCT application standards to benefit carriers.
Members of the group should have experience in day-to-day management of MCT application in systems along with established IATA processes.

MCT Data Exchange Working Group

The MCTX working group develops business requirements and maintains implementation guides for data exchange for MCT messaging standards (Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM) Chapter 8).

Schedules Publication Working Group

The Schedules Publication group is responsible for matters concerning Airline schedule data standards, used by airlines, GDSs and supporting systems, including the associated business requirements for schedules creation/publication, distribution processes and formats maintained within the SSIM. The group recommends amendments to IATA codes in particular the aircraft types, passenger terminal indicators, region codes and UTC-local time comparisons while also manages meal and inflight service codes and service type codes as part of the SSIM standards.
Members of the group should have experience in day-to-day schedule publication processes with a strong knowledge of industry standards .

Schedules Data Exchange (SDEX) Working Group

The SDEX working group develops business requirements and maintains implementation guides for data exchange for scheduling messaging standards (SSIM Chapters 2-5 and 7).

Slot Messaging Working Group

The Slot Messaging group is responsible for matters concerning information exchange and standards related to airport slot/schedule coordination between airlines, airport coordinators and facilitators maintained within the SSIM.
Members of the group should have experience in day-to-day slot management and technical administration including filing, reporting and schedule coordination.

Slots Data Exchange (SLOTX) Working Group

The SLOTX working group develops business requirements for data exchange and maintains implementation guides for slot messaging standards between airport coordinators and airlines (SSIM, Chapter 6).

Note: Strategic Partners must join the Plan Standards, Shop Order Pay Standards, Settlement and Accounting Standards, Architecture & Technology, Common Use, Customer Experience & Facilitation, Ground Operations and/or Baggage Services areas of involvement in order to attend the Passenger Standards Conference as an observer. 

Focus Areas

• Airline product management
• Industry coding
• Minimum Connect Time
• Schedules publications
• Slot messaging

Designed For

• Travel management companies
• Online travel agencies
• Global Distribution Systems (GDSs)
• Technology providers

Please view the full list of Strategic Partnerships Program benefits (pdf).