Sup ply Net work s Resp onsi ble For Air Trav ellin g

The purpose of this document is to examine the structure of the networks responsible for air travelling. We talk about various network component s with focus on flight delay component as it costs a lot to airlines. At the end we Air Traveling Supply Networks

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Contents
Networks and process responsible in ticketing phase...................................3 Communications with the providers 3 Internal network of the ticket providers / GTS................................3 Purchasing networks.......................4 Challenges in the Ticketing process from Supply networks perspective. .4 Networks responsible for airport facilities..............................................5 Networks in side the Airport Buildings..........................................5 Networks supporting boarding process............................................6 Challenges at Airports from Supply Networks perspective......................6 Challenges at Airports from Supply Networks perspective

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Map of the Air Traveling Ticketing Networks.Figure 1

Networks and process responsible in ticketing phase

Communications with the providers
Airline travel process has complex networks behind it. We as a customer interact with only the frontline of this network system. The statement remains true for the every phase of the process of a travel by air. The very first connection a customer has with the network is described below(see Figure 1) he or she searches between on-line resources such as travel reviews, blogs, airline ticketing websites, and others references and off-line resources which are travel agencies and word-of-mouth references. Customer can book tickets in two ways: do it on-line or do it through the tangible service provider.

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Ticketing transactions Available Information Ticketing transactions are the Off-lineAs shown in the diagram, the agents On-line agents Airlines 100% Air Ticketing customers tickets Network and face of the
customersdo not have an access to the networks behind it. Networks behind the entire system are analyzed below.

Internal network of the ticket providers / GTS

Airlines are the final service providers, and they are holding tickets, which is the tangible image of the travelling service. Nowadays, Airlines post all 100% of their tickets into specifically designed Global Ticketing Distribution Systems (GTS). Some tickets may be preserved by Airlines for some special purposes, but even when a future passenger purchases a ticket on an airlines website, he or she buys it though the GTS. GTS is a global platform which charges certain fees from the Airlines to post available tickets in their system. The GTS usually does not charge any fees from online agents, but doing so GTS platform creates free access and encourages visitors traffic to the website. Airlines are benefitted from GTS system because customers who will not buy tickets directly from airlines websites are also connected to GTS via agents.On- line and off-line agents use GTSto sell tickets , because of their B2B / B2C marketing business models. The GTS is not a single available platform. There are number of the world wide working systems. The block, which illustrates GTS in the Figure 1, presents
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logos of the currently available platforms. Those are created by groups of Airlines, except Sabre, which is created solely by American Airlines. Those GTS platforms communicate in between themselves and are the members of IATA - International Air Transport Association.

Last minute cancelations due to: bad weather, crew did not arrive, Aircraft technical problems, political issues.

Improper billing

Network needs to respond to these issues. There are governing bodies and policies in place which set rules and regulations. IATA is an international industry trade group of airlines which is responsible for price setting of the international airfares. Airlines had been granted a special exemption by each of the main regulatory authorities in the world to consult prices with each other through this body.However, because of the complexity of the networks, these policies must bemonitored and updated on the regular basis. Below is a list of possible responsible parties which can help improve the network: Website administrator
Internet service providers Offline Agents Banking System

Purchasing networks
After the initial process of choosing the flight is done we, as customers, just do the payment, but behind this process number of networks are there. The payment which is made on-line immediately involves on-line banking system, credit card services providers and on-line payment web services. The whole process is enabled by internet service providers and electricity service providers. In the case of off-line purchase the banks are involved, connectivity plays critical role, because the purchase must be recorded into the GTS in order to book the ticket to take it out of circulation. Integration of this ticketing system is also with the call centers and ATMS.

Airlines Externalities Global Travel System

Networksinvolved at the Airport level

Challenges in the Ticketing process from Supply networks perspective

The process of ticketing is well defined but still because of the networks failures and human intervention there can be problems in the process. List of problems are identified below.

Networksresponsible for airport facilities

Airport infrastructure is a critical part of the air travel.As demand for air transportation continues to grow, it will become increasingly difficult toaccommodate the resulting traffic levels without significantly
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Problems due to websites not working Overbooking followed by all the customers showed up

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expanding airportinfrastructure. However, many larger airports are already constrained in their ability toexpand, and surrounding communities often strongly resist the construction of additionalrunways. Networks responsible for well-functioning airports are given below.

Service Breakdown Strike Flight Congestion V.I.P Movement Bomb Threat

The issues are covered by work of different partners, as we list them before, but the content of each of the issue is broad enough to make all the partners of the supply network on this phase to be involved in the resolving process.

Networksin side the Airport Buildings

The service which customer expects to receive inside the airport is widely supported by many players of the network (Figure 3). Map of the AirportServices Network. Figure 3

Networks supporting boarding process

The boardingprocess takes place at the airport facilities. This process might look simple but involves complex system of networks. Issues such as : Weather delays, technical issues, overbooking can disrupt smooth boarding process. Figure below shows the netorks responsible for the successful boarding process. Map of the Airport Boarding Networks. Figure 4

Challenges at Airports from Supply Networks perspective

Coming back to the risk management, we have named some possible issues which may distract the smooth process of the traveling service delivery such as:
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