Sabre users throughout the USA and is planned
`for release in Europe during 1997.
`
`Sabre pricing
`
`like many GDSS, comprises two
`Sabre pricing,
`(i) equipment rental and service
`main elements:
`charges, and (ii) volume related credits. A separate
`pricing schedule is agreed with each user, which
`is designed to encourage bookings made via Sabre.
`There are two inter-linking Components. First,
`there is the cost of the equipment and associated
`network usage: second, there is the booking fee
`credits that Sabre rebates to the subscriber via a
`productivity based agreement (PBA). These com-
`ponents are described in more detail as follows:
`
`9 Costs The equipment rental and service charges
`vary according to several factors such as: the
`number of computer terminals or PCs required
`by the user, the operating system running in
`the user’s PC, the number of remote locations
`that require access to Sabre, the type of ticket-
`ing used, the level of functionality required,
`the storage space within Sabre allocated to the
`user, the software products implemented and
`the amount of training needed. These factors
`are all taken into account and a monthly fee
`calculated.
`
`PBA Against this monthly fee is set the PBA.
`This is a booking target that is set by Sabre in
`conjunction with the subscriber and is reviewed
`every three months. The PBA is the vehicle
`used to share the booking fee income derived
`by Sabre from other airlines, for bookings orig-
`inating in Sabre. The greater the number of
`segments booked of all products, i.e. air, hotel,
`car, etc., the greater is the credit given by Sabre
`to the subscriber. There are, as one would
`expect, a few ground rules that the subscriber
`is expected to observe. A good example is the
`non—allowance of passive segment. Subscribers
`may not create a booking in an airline system
`using some other form of communication, e.g.
`telephone or other GDS, and then duplicate
`the booking in Sabre. Such passive segments
`will not count towards the PBA target. Never-
`theless, it is quite possible for the cost of the
`entire system to be off-set completely by the
`PBA credits.
`
`Sabre’s integration technology
`
`Sabre runs within a surprisingly varied number of
`different technical environments. The software is
`
`available, not only in the IBM and IBM—compatible
`world, but also in the Apple Mac world. Sabre has
`a technical team whose job it is to make the system
`work in whatever environment the customer wants
`
`(within reason of course!). In Spain, for example,
`there is a customer who accesses Sabre via an in-
`
`house DEC VAX minicomputer using two differ-
`ent terminal networks:
`(i) dumb DEC terminals,
`and ("') Sabre PC terminals. In this configuration,
`each type of terminal has access to both the DEC
`minicomputer and also the Sabre system.
`In the straightforward IBM—compatible world,
`Sabre runs in an environment with a file server
`
`and one or more workstations. The type of PC
`needed to run Sabre will vary with the product
`used. Sabre for DOS is less demanding on the
`workstation, which can be a 286 or higher. Sabre
`for Windows requires a 386 or 486 workstation
`PC with at least 4 Mb of RAM and a mouse. The
`server in each case needs to be a 386 or 486 with
`at least 4 Mb of RAM and a minimum of 80 Mb
`
`of hard disk space running under Novell Netware
`Version 2.15.
`
`Sabre Europe has introduced Pentium PCS as
`the primary hardware platform for Windows 95
`users. The hardware is assembled and provided
`by the Dell Computer Corporation. A range of
`models is available from the minimum — a Pentium
`
`P100 processor with 8 Mb RAM, 1.2 Gb hard
`disk, quad speed CD—ROM and PCI video with 1
`Mb of RAM, to the maximum — Pentium P133
`processor with 32 Mb RAM and other devices.
`
`WORLDSPAN
`
`This leading GDS (Fig. 4.16) has its origins in
`two of the world’s most important CRSs, namely
`Delta Airline’s Datas II and TWA/Northwest’s
`
`PARS. These two reservation systems combined
`their resources and skills in 1990 to form World-
`
`span Global Travel Information Services. The
`resulting company is now owned jointly by Delta
`Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, Trans World Air-
`lines and ABACUS Distribution Systems PTE Ltd.
`Incidentally, ABACUS is one of the largest GDSS
`
`DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
`
`151
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 161
`
`

`
`W%RLDSPAN
`
`Figure 4.16 Worldspan logo
`
`in the Far East and its owners include Singapore
`Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Dragon Air. ABACUS
`and Worldspan each have a cross share—holding
`in each other’s companies.
`\X/orldspan’s world
`headquarters and host computer are both co-
`located in Atlanta, USA. This computer handles
`1.2 billion messages globally in a peak month
`(an average of 1,377/s), stores an average of 7.8
`million international PNRS and has a data base of
`
`over 85 million fares. The organization has two
`systems development centres in Kansas City and
`Fort Lauderdale.
`
`With operations in 45 countries, more than
`15,000 sites around the world, 8,000 of which are
`in the international arena, Worldspan is truly a
`global GDS. Its Europe/Middle-East/Africa (EMEA)
`region alone comprises 33 countries and is home
`to 29 independent Worldspan offices. The cent-
`ral market development activities, along with
`other support activities, such as finance, sales and
`marketing, the region’s central help desk and tech-
`nical support functions, are located in the inter-
`national division at London’s Heathrow airport.
`Over 6,600 travel agencies in the EMEA area can
`book from a total of 414 airlines, 40 car rental
`companies, 165 hotel chains, 29,000 hotels and
`38 special travel service suppliers including cruise
`lines, railways, ferries and tour operators, all of
`which are available via Worldspan.
`Since its inception in 1990, Worldspan has grown
`by over 550 per cent. This is especially significant,
`bearing in mind the company’s niche marketing
`strategy. This strategy may be summarized as com-
`prising two major elements:
`(i) the provision of
`customized systems, rather than fixed products;
`and (ii) an emphasis on the mixed leisure/business
`travel agency market, rather than, for example,
`having a primarily business travel focus as do many
`other GDSs.
`
`Worldspan has always focused on providing its
`customers with bespoke systems, tailored to indi-
`vidual and specific business needs. This has resulted
`in the development of over 83 unique customer
`systems, outside of the central host GDS applica-
`
`152 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM
`
`tion. Now that Worldspan is firmly established as
`one of the world’s leading GDSS and the niche
`marketing programmes of the past few years have
`been successfully completed, other new distribution
`channels are being considered. Prime examples
`include the corporate market and on—line serVices_
`Worldspan is in a strong position to consolidate
`product offerings and exploit the emerging techno-
`logies of these new distribution channels, mainly
`because of: (a) its wide exposure to so many differ-
`ent customer requirements within the global travel
`business; (b) the unique customer solutions that
`have been successfully developed and delivered;
`and (c) its global network, which supports many
`different communication protocols including the
`Internet (see Chapter 5).
`So,
`there is an opportunity for Worldspan
`to pick some of the common functions that run
`through all of its bespoke customer developments
`and construct key generic products that have a
`wide appeal to the travel and tourism market. In
`the short term, therefore, Worldspan remains a
`substantial transaction processor; however, in the
`medium to longer term, the company’s strategic
`focus is likely to shift so that it becomes even more
`of a technical partner for its customers. As a tech-
`nical partner, Worldspan is in a strong position
`to provide consultancy and expertise in areas such
`as: helping customers to choose the best PC for
`their in—house departments, setting up an Internet
`site, distributing head office functions throughout
`an enterprise or establishing a strategic direction
`for a customer’s technical environment.
`
`Supplier connectivity
`
`A good starting point for a walk—through of any
`GDS functionality is to consider the way in which
`suppliers are connected into their global network.
`This really breaks down into two main areas:
`(i)
`there are the suppliers that have been connected
`to the central host system for many years and pro-
`vide the global dimension to the Worldspan service,
`and then (ii) there are the local suppliers that are
`connected in their countries of origin. Because both
`types of supplier are key to Worldspan’s utility
`within several key user markets, it is important that
`you understand the supplier side of this major GDS
`before we consider the end—user functions.
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 162
`
`

`
`Central supplier systems
`In terms of central host connectivity, it is widely
`recognized that all the four main GDSS provide
`virtually the same levels of connectivity. Although
`some differences remain, generally speaking, all of
`the four major GDSS offer similar supplier inter-
`face functions. Some of the smaller airlines favour
`the particular GDS with which they are formally
`associated and deny some marginal functionality
`to other GDSS. However, airlines are becoming
`much more clearly focused on their core products
`and key competencies, which are the provision of
`airline seats to a globally distributed customer base.
`Airlines, and consequently their associated CRSs,
`are becoming much more relaxed about providing
`full functionality to any major system that can sell
`more seats on their aircrafts, thereby maximizing
`group revenues.
`This levelling of the GDS playing field also
`extends into the area of host participation. Besides
`the basic level of participation entitled AccessPlus,
`which provides last seat availability on over 134
`airlines, Worldspan offers its host airline CRSS
`the following levels of participation:
`
`9 Airline Source This is the highest level of par-
`ticipation that is available to airline customers.
`It features a real—time communications link
`
`between the participating airline’s CR5 and
`the Worldspan host computer. Each time a
`user, e.g. a travel agent, requests an availabil-
`ity display that involves a segment from the
`participating airline, an interactive on—line dia-
`logue takes place.
`In such cases Worldspan
`provides the user with a transparent response
`from the participating airline’s CRS. This
`enables the user to view availability as though
`they were connected directly to the participat-
`ing airline.
`Direct Sell This allows Worldspan users to
`access a participating airline’s CRS directly and
`hence its inventory. It therefore allows users
`to view inventory status interactively in real-
`time, just as though they were themselves con-
`nected to the carrier’s CRS. This means that
`
`is stored within the Worldspan PNR. This is
`known as Positive Acknowledgement.
`Direct Access This is a real—time link between
`
`Worldspan and the participating airline’s CRS,
`which is slightly more sophisticated than Direct
`Response. This provides the end user with true
`last seat availability.
`Direct Response This is the most basic level
`of participation and provides the other airline
`system with the ability to return an acknow-
`ledgement message, including a PNR locator.
`This message may be generated either: (a) from
`a manual teletype entry, or (b) from an auto-
`mated computer response. When the locator
`reference is
`received,
`it
`is placed into the
`Worldspan PNR.
`
`If you compare these levels and types of participa-
`tion with other GDSS included in this chapter, you
`should see that they are all very similar. This illus-
`trates the comment I made earlier emphasizing
`the increasing levels of co—operation among airline
`CRSS.
`
`In terms of hotel and car systems, Worldspan
`also provides the kinds of linkages and connect-
`ivity one would expect of a global GDS. The
`Worldspan host computer is both: (a) connected
`directly to the computer systems of the major hotel
`chains; and (b) connected to hotel
`industry
`switches, such as Thisco and Sahara. This web of
`inter—connectivity is masked from the end user by
`the Worldspan back—end system. This decides the
`optimum routing for reservation messages and also
`standardizes the responses from each of the dif-
`ferent supplier systems used.
`All the user does, for example, is to select a
`hotel property from a list of those available on the
`system and enter a service request, e.g. an avail-
`ability display for a particular room type. The
`back—end system then decides whether to: (a) route
`this message via a direct connection to the hotel
`system, or (b) route the message via the relevant
`hotel switch. Once a response is received it
`is
`displayed to the user in a standard format.
`
`they may directly decrement the airline’s seat
`inventory prior to ending the transaction. The
`participating CRS generates an acknowledge-
`ment record including the PNR locator, which
`
`Local supplier systems
`What really differentiates one GDS from another
`are two critical success factors:
`(i) the range of
`local supplier systems available to customers, and
`
`DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
`
`153
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 163
`
`

`
`Local suppliers
`
`Central core suppliers
`
`Other suppliers
`
`Ferry
`companies
`
`Rail
`
`companies
`
`Airline
`CRSs
`
`Hotels and
`switches
`
`Car rental
`companies
`
`X25
`UNICORN
`
`RAMP
`
`USA
`0 AT&TACCUNET
`
`0 Frame Relay
`
`Worldspan network
`International
`ALC
`0
`O X25
`0 Frame Relay
`0 Dial~up
`
`Worldspan
`switch host
`(Atlanta)
`
`Internet
`
`booking engine
`
`Agency
`Web site
`
`Internet
`server
`
`Dial-up
`
`Gateway
`server
`
`Travel agency
`branches
`
`Client's PCs
`
`Wor|dspan’s subscribers
`
`Figure 4.17 The Worldspan GDS network
`
`Multiple
`travel agency
`head office
`
`Consumers and
`
`travel agents
`
`(ii) the distribution network that the GDS uses to
`reach its customers. It is these two areas that have
`
`been the principal focus of Worldspan’s attention
`over the past six or seven years. Let’s take a closer
`look at the first of these two critical success factors
`
`— the way in which Worldspan connects into what
`are often called non—core local supplier systems.
`As previously mentioned above, the core sup-
`plier systems are those that provide Worldspan
`users with access to airline bookings, hotel reser-
`vations and car rental services. All of which are
`
`connected into the main host computer located
`in Atlanta. This large and powerful main—frame
`
`computer provides end users around the world
`with all of the functions normally provided by a
`GDS and is described above in the section on
`
`central supplier systems.
`Worldspan’s approach to connecting into
`non—core supplier systems is a decentralized one.
`This means that non—core suppliers are connected
`into the Worldspan network (Fig. 4.17) in the
`countries in which their systems are located. End
`users may then access these supplier systems via
`the Worldspan communications network with-
`out having to be routed via the host computer
`in Atlanta. The two principal areas where many
`
`154 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 164
`
`

`
`non-core supplier systems have been interconnected
`into Worldspan are ferries and rail companies.
`\X/orldspan’s relevant GDS product for each is as
`follows:
`
`. Ferry Source Ferries are a good example of
`locally connected supplier systems. Most lead-
`ing ferry company systems are connected into
`Worldspan’s X25 network. Worldspan’s ferry
`booking function provides users with direct
`access to the leading ferry companies’ own host
`systems. Ferry Source is available to any
`Worldspan DOS Alliance customer on the X25
`network who is also an account holder with
`
`the ferry company accessed.
`These ferry systems use the UNICORN
`standard for information and booking mess-
`ages to communicate with Worldspan (see TTI
`in Chapter 1 for more information on UNI-
`CORN). This means that travel agents may use
`their PCs to connect into any one of the ferry
`systems available using a common language,
`i.e. a common GUI. Participants include Stena
`Line, P&O European Ferries, Hoverspeed, Brit-
`tany Ferries, PSCO North Sea Ferries and Moby
`Lines.
`
`links to
`Rail Access Worldspan has several
`rail service computers around the world. In
`many cases access is limited to users within the
`country in which the rail company operates.
`However, increasing use of overseas rail services
`is being planned and developed by Worldspan.
`Rail host connections are therefore effected in
`
`two ways: (i) a direct connection to the Worldspan
`host main—frame computer in Atlanta, or (ii) a
`local connection into the Worldspan network
`in the country of origin. Centrally connected
`rail suppliers support the integration of non-
`air reservations into a single Worldspan PNR,
`along with other air segments that may be
`part of the same booking. However, bookings
`made via locally connected non-air hosts must
`be filed separately from airline PNRS within
`Worldspan.
`Because access to rail systems is core to
`Worldspan’s business in Europe, discussions
`are being held with most major rail operators
`throughout the area. The current situation, as
`at early 1997, is as follows:
`
`— Belgium For the past two years, Worldspan
`has been providing access to Societe Nationale
`des Chemins de Fer Belges SNCB — Belgian
`railways, for Belgian users only. This enables
`agents to check timetables, book rail journeys
`and issue rail tickets.
`France Subscribers will soon be able to
`access Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer
`
`Francais (SNCF) and enjoy similar function-
`ality to that available in Belgium.
`USA All Worldspan users have access to
`Amtrak, the USA national rail network, which
`is directly connected to the Worldspan host
`system in Atlanta. Worldspan is currently
`the only approved GDS in the UK that can
`issue Amtrak BSP tickets. Amtrak tickets sold
`
`by IATA licensed travel agents in the UK may
`therefore be settled via the UK’s BSP process
`(see Chapter 7 for more information on BSP).
`Canada Also connected to the Worldspan
`host computer in Atlanta,
`is Canada’s Via
`Rail network. Reservations are effected using
`standard airline entries that can also support
`Via ticketing.
`Germany The Fly Rail service (a German
`domestic service),
`is available to German
`users of Worldspan only.
`UK In the UK, users may access the Euro-
`pean passenger service (EPS) Tribute system
`for trains that use the channel tunnel for
`
`to Paris, Brussels and other Euro-
`travel
`pean destinations. The link to EPS is effected
`via a special
`terminal connected to the
`Worldspan network (although this is planned
`for upgrade in 1997). Access to the UK’s
`domestic train services
`is available via
`
`Worldspan’s link to the FACETS computer
`in Nottingham (see Rail
`in Chapter 3 for
`more information).
`
`Looking to the future, Worldspan is investing
`substantial resources in enhancing its ability to
`interconnect with even more local suppliers. The
`vehicle for this strategy is a general purpose com-
`munications interface system that has been devel-
`oped by Worldspan under the code name of
`‘Project RAMP’, i.e. the Regional Applications and
`Messaging Platform. RAMP is an important new
`development
`that
`forms the infrastructure for
`
`DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
`
`155
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 165
`
`

`
`Worldspan’s future supplier distribution strategy.
`It does the same kind of job as Sabre’s ELVA,
`Galileo’s NVP and Amadeus’s START/SMART/
`
`Estoril products. However, RAMP has one very
`important feature - it is based on the Internet’s
`’ communications protocols. This is one of the key
`reasons why Microsoft decided to use Worldspan
`as the booking engine for its Expedia web site.
`RAMP is discussed in more detail in Chapter 5,
`which also includes an in—depth discussion of
`Microsoft’s Expedia.
`
`WorIdspan's host functions
`
`The Worldspan GDS provides its users with a rich
`set of information and booking functions. These
`are distributed by a global network that links travel
`agents’ PCs with the Worldspan host computer
`and other supplier systems. However, before we
`consider the distribution network, it is critical that
`you gain a sound understanding of Worldspan’s
`end—user functions. After all, it is these core func-
`tions that are distributed across the various end-
`user networks:
`
`0 World File (client profiles) A client profile
`consists of those details that describe a travel
`
`agent’s customer in terms of flight preferences,
`personal contact details and corporate informa-
`tion. The storage of these client profiles may
`be either at the local workstation level or on
`
`the Worldspan host main—frame. The advantage
`of the host option is that the profile is available
`from any authorized user around the world.
`World File profiles may be used by travel agents
`to create and populate PNR fields automatic-
`ally that can save a great deal of time during
`the customer booking process.
`Airline schedules and availability This shows
`flights for all participating airlines in an unbi-
`ased display that conforms to the regulations
`set by the UK’s Department of Trade and the
`European ECAC (see Chapter 1). The flights
`are shown in the order of ‘best trip’, i.e. least
`flying time first.
`o Airline fares Worldspan’s international fares
`data base comprises 85 million fares of which
`50 million are for the European area alone.
`Each day Worldspan processes an average of
`750,000 fare changes. Also shown for each
`
`156 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM
`
`fare is the text describing each rule and its asso.
`ciated routings that have been filed with the
`authorities in each case. The Worldspan fare
`products that are available on the system are;
`— Money/Saver This product automatically
`displays fares in low to high sequence.
`— Low Fare Finder
`Identifies and books the
`lowest fare applicable to a booked itinerary,
`— Ultimate Fare Search
`Instantly displays fares
`for the travel dates specified.
`the travel
`— Power Quote With this tool,
`agent does not need to have prepared an
`itinerary as part of a PNR. With simply the
`from/to city pairs specified, the system will
`find the lowest fare.
`
`Power Pricing A key component of Power
`Quote is known as Power Pricing — Worldspan’s
`low fare finder. Given an itinerary, created
`as part of a PNR for a passenger, it will find
`three alternative lower priced options.
`SecuRate Air This is a product that offers
`participating carriers and subscribing travel
`agents an electronic means of creating, man-
`aging and distributing a wide range of nego-
`tiated fares. These fares are proprietary to a
`specific travel agent and may not be viewed
`by others.
`Hotels Worldspan provides its users with access
`to large and sophisticated hotel
`information
`and booking systems. This is supported by high
`speed links to hotel switches and hotel com-
`puter systems themselves. Because of its inter-
`dependence with the hotel industry, Worldspan
`is a member of HEDNA (see Chapter 1 for
`more information on HEDNA). The relevant
`Worldspan hotel—related GDS products are:
`— Worldspan Hotel Select This feature allows
`the travel agent to View detailed rate informa-
`tion, availability displays, amenities informa-
`tion and confirmed bookings for over 182
`hotel chains and 26,000 properties. Access
`Plus links users directly into the reservation
`systems of 67 hotel companies, thus allowing
`instant confirmation numbers to be obtained.
`
`(i) the hotel default
`Other features include:
`record — this allows each travel agency user
`to tailor his/her own hotel reservation screen
`
`so that certain pre-set defaults are always
`shown at the outset of a booking (examples
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 166
`
`

`
`of defaults are the number of nights, dis-
`tance from airport and the rate plan code);
`(ii) Worldpoint — a geo-locating product that
`provides accurate distance and direction para-
`meters to and from hotels and reference
`points such as airports, railway stations and
`local attractions (the locators are based on
`longitude and latitude grid references); (iii)
`Electronic Rate Update — allows hotel asso-
`ciates electronically to update hotel property
`rates dynamically. thus ensuring the accuracy
`and availability of all rates offered by the
`hotel associate, within the Hotel Select pro-
`duct; and (iv) Negotiated/SecuRate — special
`hotel rates negotiated by travel agents can
`be entered into the Hotel Select display by
`the hotel concerned. This information is of
`
`course agent specific and saves additional
`phone calls by the agent that would norm-
`ally be required to confirm rates for certain
`customers during the booking process.
`Worldspczn Hotel Source This provides an
`interactive,
`real—time
`seamless connection
`to the databases of participating hotel asso-
`ciates. The display shows up to the minute
`room and rate availability, rate rules, reser-
`vation displays, services and other informa-
`tion. This enables the travel agent to make
`hotel bookings directly in the system that is
`used to maintain the property’s inventory
`of rooms.
`'
`
`0 Cars The Worldspan main-frame host com-
`puter also links directly into 40 of the world’s
`major car rental company systems. The services
`offered are:
`-
`
`— Worldspzm Car Select This feature supports
`user—friendly fill—in masks that facilitate the
`entry of fields, such as vehicle code options,
`rate variation, rate categories, car selection
`by hire company, price or vehicle type and
`the MoneySaver function. Access Plus pro-
`vides last car availability for reservations
`with more than 40 leading car companies
`world-wide, i.e. 90 per cent of the car rental
`market,
`including the Association of Car
`Rental Industry Systems Standards (ACRISS)
`members. ACRISS recently elected Worldspan
`an honorary member. Access Plus provides
`a direct
`link into the internal reservation
`
`systems of the participating car rental com-
`panies, thus supporting rate verification and
`instant confirmation numbers.
`
`Car Point—Of—Sale This feature enables car
`companies to load rates according to agent
`identity or geographic location. Rates are
`tailored according to the identity or physical
`location of the subscriber, thereby preventing
`the offer of un—saleable rates, i.e. rates that
`are available in the USA but not in, say,
`Holland.
`
`Single entries made by
`Airline reservations
`the agent at the Worldspan terminal PC allow
`up to 12 air segments to be booked. Seats that
`have already been booked may be cancelled
`as necessary and subsequently re—reserved. Air,
`non-air and combined air/non-air PNRS can be
`
`booked. PNRs may be retrieved by passenger
`name, PNR file address, flight, departure air-
`port name or departure time.
`Queues Users may access Worldspan’s auto-
`mated queue control system to schedule time
`dependent actions that need to be carried out
`on customer PNRs. The Queue Record Search
`facility, for example, allows all PNRs for a
`specific airline, date, flight or other determin-
`ant, to be accessed using a single entry.
`Tickets and travel documents Tickets, board-
`ing passes, complete itineraries and invoices
`may all be produced using the Worldspan sys-
`tem. These are requested by specific client name
`or flight segment and can be customized with,
`for example, specific PNR data and important
`remarks to clients. Additionally, the following
`are also supported:
`— ATB2 Worldspan has recently completed
`Beta testing of its automated support for
`the printing of ATB2 tickets,
`i.e. a com-
`bined airline ticket and boarding pass. This
`will be rolled out in the UK and other mar-
`
`kets as required. The ATB2 control soft-
`ware, usually known as a driver, will support
`two print hoppers and therefore two types
`of ticket: (i) an airline ATB, or (ii) a rail or
`ferry ticket.
`Electronic ticketing Worldspan has been
`supporting e—ticketing for some time in the
`USA. This makes it straightforward for e-
`ticketing to be implemented in international
`
`DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
`
`157
`
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`

`
`markets on an ‘as needed’ basis, i.e. as needed
`by the airlines in each market. Worldspan
`simply records those segments within a PNR
`that are available for e—ticketing. However,
`although a physical ticket is not printed in
`advance for the customer, a pass is pro-
`duced at the airport check—in that allows
`the traveller to go through security and cus-
`toms. That just leaves the issue of how to
`provide the traveller with the ‘conditions of
`carriage’ as agreed by the world’s airlines
`at the Warsaw Convention held several years
`ago. An issue that has yet to be resolved
`satisfactorily.
`Satellite ticket printing (STP) and WorldSTP
`This allows reservations made in one loca-
`
`tion, e.g. a travel agency, to be queued for
`ticketing at another, e.g. the customer’s own
`office. In fact this can be done across inter-
`
`national geographical boundaries, which in
`Europe is particularly important. At
`the
`remote location, e.g. the customer’s office,
`the only actions required are to:
`(a) dial-
`into the Worldspan network, and (b) enter
`a couple of command entries to verify the
`IATA licence number. No in—depth know-
`ledge of how to use Worldspan is required
`at the ticketing location. The ticket printers
`used are the T1810 or T1830.
`
`Other information systems There are many
`other information related functions supported
`by the Worldspan GDS. Examples include HELP,
`which covers Worldspan entries, functions and
`current formats. The INFO topic provides users
`with explanations of Worldspan functions in
`a clear and easy to understand language. Fin-
`ally,
`there is
`the Global Reference System
`(GRS), which provides a virtual encyclopaedia
`of information topics, including:
`— Worldspan Travel Suppliers {W/TS) This
`provides product
`information and educa-
`tional services related to the travel industry.
`Examples include theatre tickets, travel insur-
`ance, rail information, cruises and tours.
`Vacation Source by Travel File This allows
`users to interrogate the Worldspan data base
`using simple fill-in screen templates and
`thereby retrieve information on a variety of
`subjects.
`
`INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM
`
`— TIMATI C Worldspan’s electronic Version
`of the renowned travel information manual
`providing details on subjects ranging from
`health to visas as well as many other import_
`ant facts essential to international travel_
`Travel Guides This provides the user with
`tourist information on specific countries_
`Taxes A complete list of taxes that are
`applicable to airline travel may be retrieved
`and displayed by country.
`Computer—Basecl Instruction (CB1) A com
`prehensive self—tutorial program for all World.
`span functionality.
`Worldspan Indexing An indexing system
`that allows users to access any topic in the
`Worldspan system rapidly, e.g. GET—SHO\X/
`provides the user with details of theatre ser.
`vices world—wide.
`
`WorIdspan’s client functions
`
`The users of Worldspan are invariably travel
`agents. They use their workstations (Fig. 4.18),
`usually called client PCs,
`to connect
`into the
`Worldspan network by means of several different
`gateway protocols. But, more on the gateway later.
`Let’s first of all consider the client PCs, each of
`which is connected into the Worldspan distribution
`network by several gateway software products.
`These client PCs run on a variety of platforms,
`i.e. different operating systems, and use special
`Worldspan control software to deliver customized
`end—user functions.
`
`The first and most basic of these platforms was
`Microsoft DOS. Whereas the functions discussed
`
`in the previous section are supported on plain
`old dumb terminals connected to the Worldspan
`host main—frame computer, with DOS, clients func-
`tions could begin to be decentralized. Some func-
`tions were therefore added to the Worldspan DOS
`client when the PC began to replace dumb ter-
`minals in travel agencies. For example,
`there is
`the FareDeal capability. With FareDeal, fares nego-
`tiated by the travel agent may be stored within
`the Worldspan PC as a separate data base under
`direct user control. When a fare is highlighted,
`it may be converted easily into a booking by
`FareDeal with just a few key strokes required of
`the user. The booking is then ready for processing
`
`Apple, Exhibit 1021, Page 168
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`

`
`Examples include robotic programs that per-
`form routine quality assurance checks, auto-
`matic low fare scanning systems, applications
`that make a set of different GDS screens
`
`look identical and interfaces to corporate
`computers.
`ScriptPro This is virtually a programming
`language that may be used to develop custom-
`ized applications for end—user travel agents.
`The use of scripting to automate repetitive
`functions and keyboard entries can reduce
`errors and increase the speed of service.
`Travel agents can: (i) write the scripts them-
`selves,
`(ii) receive consultancy advice from
`Worldspan on how to write scripts, or (iii)
`instruct Worldspan to develop customized
`scripts especially for them. A library of com-
`monly used scripts now exists within World-
`span and users can adapt many of these for
`their own purposes.
`Several added—value pro-
`Optional functions
`ducts are