AR Inter Airline Settlement

Overview

IAS refers to Inter Airline Settlement. This is a specialist sub module within AR that is only applicable to the airline industry. IAS is used to automate the process of the settlement through IATA for passengers carried under other airline's ticket carrier codes. The diagram describes the process flow used by IAS.

A passenger travelling from London to Sydney would have to decide a route, including any stop offs required, then purchase a ticket. The journey may involve three airlines - one to fly out from Heathrow to Hong Kong, another from there to Brisbane and one from there to Sydney. The passenger would have purchased only one ticket but three airlines were involved. Each airline would want paying for its participation in transporting the passenger to his final destination. This is the essence of Inter-Airline Settlement, that all airline tickets are transferable and a great deal of cross charging across airlines is required.

Many of the world's leading airlines are members of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This is a Clearing House which monitors and processes transactions between member airlines.

Airlines which are not members of IATA or which prefer to settle specific accounts directly between themselves can enter into a bilateral agreement. These are referred to as Bilateral Accounts and fall outside the control of the IATA agreement. However, they are included in the system to meet the requirements of Inter-Airline settlements.

NOTE The menu path shown is the default for the system. Your company may have customised menu options, so the path shown may not be accurate. Please contact your system administrator for details.