Legacy Standards
AVLABL
Used widely within the UK market, the AVLABL electronic data interchange message format has been designed to enable travel providers to distribute pricing and availability data to the wider travel market where it is typically used to populate ‘Package Holiday cache’ repositories. Further details concerning the data fields provided within AVLABL are available within the TOPAS standard which provides the basis for the delivery of the data in additional formats as agreed by service partners.
The usual approach for message creation is to produce a data file once a day which has a ‘full’ availability export. This is supplemented with ‘update’ files during the day, depending on the processing and data transfer capabilities of the AVLABL originator and receiver(s).
Delivery is usually implemented through secure file transfer protocols based on a ‘poll and pull’ approach by the AVLABL receiver.
Whilst AVLABL is still widely used, its importance is diminishing as highly accurate dynamic search engine technologies have emerged in recent years.
There is no charge for the use of this standard. If you require further details concerning AVLABL, please contact Phippa Barrett the TTI administrator.
REScon
REScon stands for ‘Reservation Confirmation’ and is a recommended format for travel agent’s systems to capture booking information direct from the tour operator.
Travel agents no longer need to create and maintain complex screen maps for each tour operator and the transfer of data is immediate, transparent and secure.
The REScon format was developed jointly by the major tour operators and travel agents for use on any computer system and has been successfully installed by Cosmos and Co-op Travelcare, where it has made life much easier for both sales and support staff.
REScon is an industry wide technical standard for transferring full booking details between computer systems. It is endorsed by the travel industry’s standards body, the Travel Technology Initiative, and is available to everyone in the travel business. What’s
more, it provides a sound base for other important developments, such as printing invoices, ATOL receipts and travel tickets.
TOPAS
TOPAS provides a standard for the transmission of availability data between tour operators and travel agents or intermediaries (e.g. data vendors). The information can be used by travel agents to locate availability more quickly, reducing cost of sale and increasing turnover.
Data can be provided by a tour operator for a single travel agency or intermediary, or concurrently by one operator to several agents or intermediaries and allows recipients to compare like-for-like data from different tour operators making it easier to get the best available deals.
TORIX
The TORIX messages were created by a TTI working party of major tour operators to provide a structured alternative to the legacy Viewdata distribution channel for booking packaged holidays. Torix is capable of supporting B2C and B2B with a focus on the latter.