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Ready for latest IATA standards in revenue accounting
Sirax AirFinance Platform from Lufthansa Systems advances paperless processes
While the airline industry has achieved 100% electronic ticketing and is driving e-freight, many airline processes still depend on paper. The IATA projects Simplified Interline Settlement (SIS) and Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD) aim to further reduce the volume of paper documents leading to higher efficiency. With the Sirax AirFinance Platform, Lufthansa Systems will provide one of the first revenue accounting solutions to comply with SIS and EMD. For most airlines needing to deploy the new standards, it is more cost-effective to switch to the proven Sirax AirFinance Platform rather than to invest in their existing legacy systems. Sirax customers receive the new upgrades without additional costs within the scope of their maintenance service agreements. IATA estimates that over 200 tons of invoices and supporting documents are being shipped between airlines around the world each year to support the airlines' interline billing and settlement process. SIS will remove paper from the entire process. Every Passenger, Cargo, and Miscellaneous billing will be completely electronic. The IATA standard is scheduled to become mandatory in 2012. Sirax, the revenue accounting module of the Sirax AirFinance Platform, will be able to produce and receive the new electronic billing format by the end of 2010. As the new format is already validated for correctness by the IATA SIS portal, Sirax streamlines processes for interline billing significantly enabling Sirax customers to achieve considerable savings while switching to the new industry standard. For example, the paperless process reduces shipment costs and shortens the invoice-processing cycle. In addition, automated processing of invoices and high data quality eliminates today’s industry practice of manual data capture and data correction. The EMD project is part of the “IATA Simplifying the Business” initiative, in which Lufthansa Systems is a preferred partner. The Electronic Miscellaneous Document replaces paper documents such as excess baggage tickets, tour orders, and prepaid ticket advices with one standard electronic document type. This results in less processing time, more accuracy and faster revenue collection.
According to IATA, EMD represents USD 2.9 billion in annual savings for the industry. In addition airlines can offer more services to passengers, e.g. airport transfers, wifi access, lounge access and various in-flight services. IATA sets a target of 100% industry capability by the end of 2012, and 100% usage of EMD in IATA distribution systems by the end of 2013. Sirax will enable its users to exploit the full potential of this new document type from the very beginning. Following the sales-based philosophy, Sirax automatically matches daily sales and uplift information to identify exchanges and refunds as well as to track the usage status of EMD-coupons associated to a certain flight coupon. Moreover, this new document type will be integrated into the relevant core processes of Sirax, hence providing the same accuracy, flexibility, and completeness the user is accustomed to for existing document types. Apart from SIS and EMD compliance, Lufthansa Systems' Sirax AirFinance Platform fulfils all demands made of a modern revenue accounting system by optimizing the whole process of back office accounting. The highly automated system speeds up the accounting process and reduces operating cost by up to 45 % and total costs in revenue accounting by more than 35 %.
Integrated approach increases efficiency in crew management
Lufthansa Systems NetLine/Crew optimizers are a key part of the IOCC PlatformManaging crews and their shifts is a complex job. A host of legal, contractual and operational regulations need to be observed, and the sheer number of crew members in a large network airline makes it impossible to do without a sophisticated IT solution. The portfolio of Lufthansa Systems contains some of the most advanced crew optimizing solutions available on the market. However, simply doing crew planning on a stand-alone basis does not automatically lead to the best possible result for the airline. In case of last minute changes, planners need to find solutions that resolve the problem without interfering with other areas of flight operations. This is the advantage of Lufthansa Systems’ Integrated Operations Control Center (IOCC) Platform. The crew optimizers work well within the NetLine/Crew crew management solution, however they really shine when used as part of the IOCC Platform. In the first phase of crew planning, rotations are planned that reflect the necessary regulations but have not been assigned to actual staff members. During this phase, planners aim to create robust rotations that generate minimal costs such as hotel and transportation expenses. NetLine/Crew Pairing xOPT from Lufthansa Systems generates a cost-efficient yet stable set of rotations. By checking various scenarios, the planner finally arrives at the best possible solution. This rotation is then assigned to individual crew members. Airlines can choose to follow the principle of fair assignment using NetLine/Crew Fairness xOPT which treats all crew members equal in terms of flight hours, overnight stays and overtime. By using NetLine/Crew Preferences xOPT, certain staff members can be given priority for popular routes or less overnight stays. The big advantage of the crew optimizers is their flexibility when it comes to last minute changes due to sick crew members or operational irregularities. Once all functionalities are available, crew controllers will be able to find the best possible crew solution based on the recovery plan generated for the aircraft rotation. In this case, using the IOCC Platform, crew controllers can access all relevant data and assess solutions with respect to their impact to the company as a whole. It is this comprehensive view across departments that provides a clear economic benefit to the airline. The idea of an integrated view on solutions enables managers of all departments to work with each other rather than just following their individual goals. The IOCC Platform from Lufthansa Systems promotes efficiency and optimized solutions to operational challenges. But it also provides better service to passengers due to minimized impact of irregularities – and satisfied passengers mean money well earned.
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