HitchHiker Software has received the official certification from the Amadeus IT Group for loading tariffs directly into the Global Distribution System (GDS).

Published: 11 Jun 2008

HitchHiker Software has received the official certification from the Amadeus IT Group for loading tariffs directly into the Global Distribution System (GDS).

According to a release, HitchHiker's visualFares XML Feed for Amadeus, which has been on the market for approximately two years now, allows consolidators and airlines to load tariffs into Amadeus within a very short time-span without the usual manual intervention of having to go over the US-establishment ATPCO.

Sascha Nau, Marketing Director, HitchHiker said, "The obtained certificate portrays a long-term cooperation, thus guaranteeing our customers stability, dependability and compatibility in terms of data management. The goal of visualFares XML Feed for Amadeus is one of quick and efficient fare-loading of net fares and specials so that consolidators and airlines are able to react to competitor's prices at lightning speed."

"With visualFares XML Feed for Amadeus we've reduced the time to market to an unprecedented minimum. After consulting our customers, it is presumed that 80% of time is saved by using visualFares XML Feed," Nau said.

Loading tariffs with visualFares XML Feed for Amadeus is achieved by following steps: Net fares are loaded using HitchHiker's visualFares Entry and then sent to HitchHiker; HitchHiker then automatically converts the data to the format required by Amadeus and transfers it to the Amadeus Host, which in turn loads the data at multiple daily intervals at specific times into the GDS.

However, according to HitchHiker, visualFares XML Feed for Amadeus is not only fast, it offers above all several further advantages over other fare loading variations to the GDS:

- ATPCO is basically optimised for Published Fares. However, with visualFares XML Feed for Amadeus HitchHiker has optimised processing and loading for net fares. Consequently, tariff particularities can be displayed in a better and more detailed manner without any unintentional loss of data or pertinent information.

- By entering the tariffs into HitchHiker's visualFares Entry, they are not only available in the XML format but are also made available in other formats such as Stadaf, HTML and/or RFF for example. The tariff only needs to be entered once and after that you are able to offer your distribution partners the data in any of the aforementioned formats.

- Airlines and consolidators who have outsourced data entry for net fares or are planning to do so can take advantage of our full-fledged-service which we offer together with its Belgian partner Gateway. This service includes complete incorporation, updating, conversion and exporting of tariffs into Amadeus or other third-party systems.