Thanks for your input. ^
I have an issue with one subject as follows ...
Originally Posted by oneworld4
... Viajero asked whether a change is planned to oneworld Explorer fare’s 20 sector limit. The simple answer to that is yes – and we believe all other RTW fares face the same issue. The reason is that the technological standard adopted by the airline industry (through IATA) for electronic tickets cannot handle tickets for more than 16 sectors. The industry moves fully into an era of electronic tickets only from June. Tickets already sold by then for journeys of 16 to 20 sectors would of course remain vaalid. We are working on a formal announcement now, and this should be posted soon. While Viajero and a number of other FTers may use Explorer for journeys of between 16 to 20 sectors, you are in a very very small minority. The new restriction will impact on a tiny percentage of customers. ...
You know, I represent one part of those "Tiny Percentages" (no doubt also many more FT members as well) and it annoys me to be 'brushed off' like that.
In any case, why should mandated e-ticketing be an issue that restricts products to 16 segments at all? According to a well respected and very knowledgeable FT member who regularly posts on the FT
oneworld forum, the answer is already technically available. See this post:
- Linked PNR's
Originally Posted by
number_6
IATA is mandating a very simple solution for the >16 segment problem: all IATA airlines must support linked PNRs by mid-2008. Many do now already; even AA has had this capability for years (but most Aagents are unfamiliar with it). The ticket can be arbitrarily long, split into 16 segment PNRs.
Moreover ...
Originally Posted by oneworld4
... Even so, it’s a shame anyone should be impacted. Over time, as technology advances, we hope this industry-wide restriction will be eased. ...
Given the above information and the fact there's only a 1 or 2 month hiatus between the IATA mandates regarding E-tickets and linked PNR's coming into effect, why even consider changing the rules to restrict to products 16 segments at all?