Advance Passenger Information (API) should be always provided when a passenger is travelling on any Qatar Airways flight number. Customs agencies require storing travel details in the PNR for all adult, youth, infant passengers. All QR offices and Travel Agents should enter this information in compliance with the requirement of the immigration authorities.
 
The data elements for the transmission of Advance Passenger Information are defined as follows:

•          Travel Document Number
•          Issuing State or Organization of the Travel Document
•          Travel Document Type
•          Expiration Date of Travel Document
•          Surname/Given Name(s)
•          Nationality
•          Date of Birth
•          Gender
•          Visa Number
•          Issue Date of the Visa
•          Place of Issuance of the Visa
•          Other Document Number Used for Travel
•          Type of Other Document Used for Travel
•          Residence Address (Address, City, State/Province/County, Postal Code, Country)
•          Destination Address (Address, City, State/Province/County, Postal Code)
•          Place of Birth
•          Country of Primary Residence

The following documents have been defined as travel documents:

•          Passenger Passport
•          Passport Card
•          Identity Card
•          Approved non-standard identity documents used for travel

SSR APIS Requirements

Secure Flight Passenger Data Information (SFPD)

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of USA is collecting Secure Flight Passenger Data for flights that overfly the continental United States. 

Secure Flight is a program that enhances the security of domestic and international commercial air travel through the use of improved watch list matching. 

When passenger travels to/from or via territory of USA, the airline has to submit name (as it appears on government-issued ID the passenger plans to use when traveling), date of birth, gender and  redress number (if applicable) to Secure Flight, which uses it to perform watch list matching. This serves to prevent individuals on the No Fly List from boarding an aircraft and to identify individuals on the Selectee List for enhanced screening. After matching passenger information against government watch lists, Secure Flight transmits the matching results back to airlines so they can issue passenger boarding passes.

Travel To & From Canada on QR Operated Flights

While flights to and from Canada have always required SRDOCS info to be updated in PNR which is later transmitted to Canadian regulatory bodies, due to QR flights to & from Canada overflying US  airspace at times, it has become necessary for QR to provide the same DOCS/DOCA/DOCU information to US authorities (TSA) as  well.

As IATA has not mandated the requirements similar to SFPD flights to USA where ticketing will be restricted if information not updated, airlines need to request customers on a voluntary basis to provide this information at the time reservation/ticketing to avoid any penalties. Please ensure same is updated in PNR for all passengers travelling on QR flights to/from Canada.

Note:

SR DOCS - For primary travel document information (e.g. passport or identity card)
E.g.  SSR DOCS BA HK1 P/GBR/012345678/GBR/30JUN73/M/14APR09/JOHNSON/SIMON/JEAN PAUL/H/P1/S3

SR DOCO - For secondary travel document information (e.g. visa or redress number)
E.g.  SRDOCO BA HK1-MANCHESTER GBR-V-17317323-LONDON GBR-18JUN04-USA-I/P1/S3

SR DOCA - For address information (either residence or destination address depending on customs requirements)
E.g.  SRDOCA BA HK1-D-USA-301 PARK AVENUE-NEW YORK-NY-10022/P1/S3

Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) is a method to document the sale and track usage of charges (e.g., residual value, miscellaneous or excess baggage charges) and is the sole solution for all fees collected outside a ticket.

Types of Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD)

Depending on the Document Type, the EMD may be required to be associated (EMD-A) with an e-ticket flight coupon(s) or Standalone (EMD-S).

Standalone Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD-S)

A standalone EMD is issued for a residual value or the collection of miscellaneous charges that are not lifted with an e-ticket.

Associated Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD-A)

An associated EMD is issued for the collection of miscellaneous charges and excess baggage charges that are lifted at the same time as the e-ticket coupon.

Reason for Issuance Code and Reason for Issuance Subcode

Reason-For-Issuance-Code (RFIC) defines which group of services an EMD belongs to and is compliant with the IATA standard. An RFIC can have multiple Reasons-For-Issuance-Sub-Codes (RFISC) which is airline-specific.

List of Reason for Issuance Codes (RFIC)

Consumed at Issuance

Reasons for Issuance Sub-Codes FFPC, CANX and CSXB are consumed at issuance. The status of such EMD is changed to “F” as soon as it is issued.

EMD Coupon Status Indicator

Each EMD has an associated coupon status indicator, which enables to identify status of each coupon of the EMD.

Electronic Miscellaneous Document

An Electronic Miscellaneous Document contains the following data elements:

• Identification Elements
• Service Details
• Pricing Calculations
• Others

Validating and Interline Rules

Associated Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD-A) issued on QR (157) stock or plate are non-interlineable, as well as cannot be issued in-connection with e-ticket validated on OAL stock or plate. Similarly, any EMD-A issued on OAL stock or plate is not acceptable for any QR service.

Note:
In case of Code-share operation all EMD should be related to operating carrier and not marketing carrier.

EMD Implementation

Qatar Airways has implemented EMDs for travel agencies and are now able to:

• Issue Group deposits and down payments;
• Issue QR Holidays deposit;
• Issue excess baggage (weight and piece concept);
• Process Animal in Hold and Pet in Cabin requests;
• Process carriage of Sports Equipment requests.

In accordance with IATA directives, EMDs will replace virtual Multi-Purpose Document (vMPDs) which will no longer be in use after 31 December 2013.

EMD issuance and acceptance is described in detail in the EMD Distribution Guidelines for Travel Agencies provided by Amadeus as part of their training programme. As of September 2013, this has been rolled out in total of 65 markets namely:

Electronic Ticket (e-ticket) is a document which tracks sale and usage of passenger transportation without requiring the issuance of paper documents, while all the data relating to passenger's itinerary, fare, class, payment, TFCs, coupon status as well as historical records of all actions is electronically stored in the database of validating carrier.

Travel Agent's Priority in Selection of QR/OAL as the Validating Carrier

The validating carrier shall be any BSP/ARC/EDIRECT/e-TAT Airline participating in the itinerary or a BSP/ARC/EDIRECT/e-TAT Airline acting as the General Sales Agent in the country of ticket issuance for any airline participating in the itinerary, provided that:

• Fare Basis rules do not restrict usage of selected validating carrier
• A valid interline electronic ticketing agreement exists between validating carrier and each carrier participating in the itinerary. In case of code-share flight, a valid interline electronic ticketing agreement between validating carrier and operating carrier must exist as well.
• Generally, QR does not prohibit plating of full OAL carrier itinerary on Qatar Airways (157) document (stock or plate). However any violation of plating/sales restriction in Fare Basis rules is not permitted.
• It is also not permitted to use 157 stock or plate in case that at least one OAL carrier participating in the itinerary can be used as validating Carrier

Coupon Sequence and Use

The Qatar Airways ticket is only valid for transportation as shown on the e-ticket, from the point of origin via transferring/stopping point to the final destination. Flight and baggage coupons shall be honored only in sequence. The ticket will not be accepted for transportation and will lose its validity if all the coupons are not used in the sequence. Refund or exchange/reissue/revalidation of e-tickets erroneously accepted out of sequence will not be permitted.

E-Ticket Validity

Contract between an airline and a customer which is valid for a maximum period of 12 months from the date of issue for the specified journey. The outbound flight must be taken within 12 months from the date of issue .The inbound flight(s) may be no longer than the actual fare validity permits however the ticket validity is independent of the fare validity.

Fare Validity

Fare validity is defined as the maximum period within which travel can be performed for a given fare. For each fare, validity is driven by the maximum stay rule (Category 7) of the fare rule/condition. Any fare governed by a maximum stay rule may however be upgraded to a higher fare level with longer maximum stay (never to exceed the 12 months of ticket validity) with payment of applicable fare difference and change fee. In case of combination the most restrictive fare rules will be used.

Voluntary Extension of Validity

For non-changeable fares, travel validity extension is not permitted. It implies that validity extension to the next higher level (including upgrade to higher fares/cabin) cannot be made even by payment of the additional fare.

For changeable fares, travel validity extension is permitted by payment of fare difference to a fare with longer travel validity. It implies that validity extension to the next higher level can be made only by payment of the additional fare provided change is permitted. In case of mixed class fare the most restrictive rule applies, e.g. if any component is non-changeable, travel validity cannot be extended.

Important Ticketing Instructions:

• E-tickets are security, value, accountable & legal documents and must be issued and treated as such
• Interline & operating carrier must hold valid interline electronic ticketing agreement with Qatar Airways
• All sectors must be e-ticket eligible and published on Amadeus Neutral Availability
• Coupons being reissued or refunded must show all previous coupons with final status
• E-tickets not handed to passengers for any reason must be completely voided on same day as the Date of Issue shown on e-ticket
• Qatar Airways e-tickets are not transferable from the passenger named thereon to any other person
• All Fare Calculation boxes must show Neutral Unit of Constructions (NUCs), except of e-tickets issued purely for domestic transportation, where local selling currency can be used
• No paper ticket can be issued on QR/157 stock or validated on QR/157 plate
• The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requires that Passenger Name, Date of Birth and Gender to be present in Passenger Name Record (PNR) as Special Service Request (SSR) using SSR code SFPD. This is known as Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD). If this data is not present in the PNR at the time of ticketing, the ticketing transaction will be denied.

Note:
157 E-ticket can be voided latest before midnight of Date of Issue.

Airlines have changed their baggage allowance and charges in accordance with IATA Resolution 302 which is effective  01 April 2015 the most significant carrier(MSC)  is the Marketing carrier.

This new system has removed industry standard baggage allowance and charges and introduced new rule of the Most Significant Carrier (MSC) which applies for interline journey. Each carrier can now publish its own rules.

Most Significant Operating Carrier

For journeys not covered by the US itineraries, the Most Significant Carrier (MSC) is the Operating Carrier as follows:

•  For a travel between two or more Tariff Conference areas:
   The carrier performing carriage on the first sector that crosses   from one area to another
•  For a travel between all three Tariff Conferences:
   The carrier providing carriage on the first sector that crosses   between TC1 and TC2
•  For a travel within a Tariff Conference area:
   First carrier that crosses from one sub-area to another
•  For travel within a Tariff Conference sub-area:
   The carrier performing carriage on the first international sector
•  For travel within a single country:
   The first Operating Carrier on the checked portion

Baggage Rule to Apply

• If different, apply provisions of “Most Significant Carrier” (MSC).
• In case of code-share flights this will be the Operating Carrier, unless that carrier publishes a rule stipulating that it will be the Marketing Carrier.
• If MSC does not publish its provision, apply the rule of the Check-in carrier
• If the Check-in carrier does not publish its provision, apply Operating carrier's provisions sector-by-sector

US Itineraries (US Exceptions)

• If passenger is booked on domestic single interline e-ticket, the baggage allowances and fees of first carrier apply throughout the itinerary
• If passenger is booked on domestic single interline e-ticket with marketing code-share flight number shown on first sector, the baggage allowances and fees of such carrier apply throughout the itinerary
• If there is a stopover on a domestic itinerary with multiple carriers, the baggage allowances and fees that apply at the beginning of passenger's itinerary apply to the entire itinerary, regardless of whether there are any stopovers in the itinerary
• In the case of a passenger US domestic & international itinerary composed of more than one ticket, the individual baggage allowances and fees will apply
• Baggage rules for international single e-ticket interline and code-share itineraries apply as follows:

• 1.  If the first segment of an e-ticket is not a code-share flight, then the airline operating that segment determines the baggage fees and allowances that apply throughout that passenger's journey.
• 2. If the first segment of an e-ticket is a code-share flight, then the marketing carrier for that segment determines the baggage allowances and fees that would apply on all the remaining flights on that e-ticket.

• The carrier for the first flight on the e-ticket is free to decide if rule of Most Significant Carrier apply or if the baggage allowances and fees of first carrier will apply.

Non-acceptance of MSC Rule by Carriers

There may be non-US carriers, like some Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) which do not apply MSC rule.

Overview

If there is a Link Down situation or segment synchronization gap, some QR segments can be rejected by UC/US/UN/NO status.

Procedure Description & Illustration

Action Required:

1. Reinstate whether rejected by UC/US/UN/NO and QR office to revalidate e-ticket (irrespective if e-ticket was issued by QR or Travel Agent). For OAL documents, Travel Agent has to liaise with OAL for reissue / revalidation.

2. If you are unable to reinstate ticketed PNRs, please contact local QR office / Contact Centres who will endeavor to get it reinstated.

Requests for assistance with reinstating of such types of PNRS will be rejected if:

1. There is no GK/GL segments visible on the face of the PNR

2. Segments booked using incorrect booking practices

Qatar Airways and code-share & interline partners have established minimum intervals, which must allow passengers to make a connection between flights at an airport or city. These intervals are called Minimum Connecting Times (MCTs) and default based on various considerations, e.g. online (intraline) or interline connection, terminal or airport change, combination of domestic or international sectors, flights to specific territories, etc.

According to industry practice, MCT is guaranteed in following scenarios:

• Seats have been sold from QR online (intraline) or interline availability.
• All segments have been ticketed on one document, subject that all applicable Fare Basis allow ticketing on one document. Segments have been either booked from intraline/interline availability or MCT has been verified manually.
• In case of feeder service ticketed on separate document of same validating carrier (issued in connection with prime itinerary), where Fare Basis rules do not allow ticketing on one document. Segments have been either booked from intraline/interline availability or MCT has been verified manually.

Any of the following scenarios  do not guarantee  MCT  and it is the sole responsibility  of passenger  to connect  on onward flight :

• Segments sold separately and MCT is not adhered.
• Segments ticketed  on separate documents of different validating carriers.
• any tampering leading to MCT violation.   

Any onward misconnection due to above MCTviolations shall be treated as  voluntary change.

• All applicable re-booking/no show/cancelation penalties and ADCs must be collected from passenger.
• Flight interruption manifest, involuntary Re-validation or exchange consdiering airline fault is not permitted.

Passengers ticketed on OAL documents shall be dealt by respective OAL,validating carrier . In case there is no OAL validating carrier or GHA at the airport of misconnection and QR has ATO/GHA at such airports , it is possible to assist with e-ticket exchange by QR ATO/GHA office. subject that :

• All Fare Basis Allow exhcnage by QR.
• Endorsement and control of affected coupons is granted by QR.
• All applicable penalties and ADCs have been collected from passenger.
• Inward or Outward flightat the airport of misconnection is any QR flight.

Qatar Airways reservation & inventory system is able to offer, when available, immediate confirmation of flights and booking classes required. This confirmation would be based on availability calculated on Origin & Destination (O&D) logic.

Availability of booking class for particular O&D connection is based on Point of Commencement (POC) decision.

Origin & Destination is considered as continuous journey from point of Origin to point of Destination. Simply, where the passenger begins and ends his or her journey. O&D can be distinguished into three specific scenarios:

• 1 .Local O&D which involves a single nonstop leg (DOH QR DEL).
• 2. Online O&D as a portion of the journey that traverses QR network (IAD QR X/DOH QR BKK). Includes certain code-share itineraries, where QR flight is operated by code-share partner airline.
• 3. Trip O&D is regardless of airlines involved and includes interline segments (ATL DL X/MAD QR X/DOH QR DXB)

When QR segments are sold together in this way or on point-to-point basis (if seats are available on O&D level), they are known as married segments. If segments are married together in PNR, it may not be possible to cancel, price or ticket a segment individually and will be treated as one unit by the GDS/CRS. Marriage Segment Control prevents using flight connections to sell local flights that would not be available if requested outside that connection. QR Revenue Management System (RMS) is capable to identify bypass practices and rejects any cancel request in case the remaining proportion of the O&D is not available. Similarly any bypass of point-to-point sell is detectable by RMS and rejects any onward/inward sell request in case of unavailability of seats on O&D level.

Some variations on the above basic availability controls are possible and are based on individual O&D nature and specification:

• While seamless availability offers equal number of seats available for every booking class and O&D, non-seamless availability calculation, which is very rare, is excluded from such equal seat offer.

• O&Ds constructed from flights with different cabin composition may have booking class mapped between various cabins

• Segments booked with connection more than 23 hours 59 minutes are considered as stopover, hence O&D logic and MSC does not apply.

Qatar Airways strictly forbids agents from creating Speculative bookings with a hope that a Name Change request will be entertained at a later stage. Qatar Airways considers this as an abusive practice which not only prevents genuine passengers the right to reserve a seat as well as a loss to the Airline.

In general Qatar Airways does not allow a name to be changed on an existing PNR. The PNR would need to be cancelled if ticketed/un-ticketed and a new reservation is to be made using the current availability. In instances where a Name Correction is required, it should be done by contacting your nearest Qatar Airways Ofiice.

Name correction shall be understood as correction of passenger's surname (family name), first name, middle name, title or PTC due to spelling mistake or missing part of name (e.g. missing middle name).

Name change shall be understood as complete change of passenger's surname (family name), first name, middle name or any/all combination of them. This process is limited only to cases where passenger legally changed it. Any other scenario is restricted for passengers booked on QR flights, codeshare or interline itineraries and/or ticketed on 157 stock/plate.

Name correction / Name change before a ticket is issued:

• Passenger’s first name and middle name can be now corrected up to 3 characters by QR or Travel Agent, this count of 3 characters is combined total and shall not be understood as 3 characters for first name and another 3 characters for middle name.
• Title of passenger and space character in the name correction is included in total count of 3 characters.
• Addition, deletion or change of PTC, DOB or Infant can be processed by booking source as well and shall not be included in count of 3 characters.
• For any excess in count of 3 characters or request to modify surname (family name), please contact QR offices for assistance. 
• Request for name change for case where passenger legally changed surname (family name), first name, middle name, title or any/all combination of them, will have to be supported by official certificate (legal document).

Name correction / Name change after a ticket is issued:

• For requests related to name correction as well as addition, deletion or modification of Infant in ticketed PNRs booked exclusively on QR operating flights, please contact QR offices for assistance.
• Request for name change for case where passenger legally changed surname (family name), first name, middle name, title or any/all combination of them, will have to be supported by official certificate (legal document).

Note:

• "Name correction" or "name change" for PNRs created from FFP Privilege Club profile are restricted at all times.
• Swapping of names is not permitted.
• E-tickets must be reissued once a Name corrections request has been actioned or else risk cancellation for non-adherence to Qatar Airways requirements.
• Itineraries involving code-share and interline scenarios cannot be accommodated at all times. New PNR will have to be booked and ticketed according to availability and Fare Basis. It is not possible to swap seats between original and new PNR. Segments associated to wrong name will have to be cancelled to avoid no-show and e-ticket with wrong name shall be presented for refund. Please contact QR for further instructions.

Reasons Causing No Show :

• Passengers, booking offices and travel agents failing to cancel unwanted reservations.
• Missed connections due to flight delays
• Customers holding invalid personal and/or travel documents
• Communication mishandling
• Passengers holding reservations for more than one reservationfor the same services requirement "multiple or duplicate" bookings.

Consequences to and Itinerary in case od No show :

• In case a customer is a no-show on a flight then all down-line segments of that itinerary are cancelled. Certain regulatory exceptions apply.  

No show applies for the following scenarios:

• A passenger who fails to use reserved accommodation for reason other than misconnection.
• A passenger is denied check in due to not having passport, valid visa etc. in order to be transported.
• A passenger fails to show to the flight before the gate is closed unless delay is due to connecting flight being delayed where in the entire itinerary is present on one or conjunctive QR document(s).
• A passenger fails to change/cancel his/her reservation 3 hours prior to departure.
• Any re-booking made within 3 hours prior to departure or after departure of flight as shown in the e-ticket will be considered as a No-show.

For a scenario where in the original reservation is cancelled prior to No-show condition, but the new reservation are made after departure of the flight (as mentioned in e-ticket coupon) QR Reservation and Ticketing Staff may perform a manual transaction to avoid the collection of No-show fee.

No-show charge:

The charge made by reason of the failure of a passenger to use reserved accommodation, either through failure to arrive at the airport at the time fixed by the carrier, or through arriving improperly documented or otherwise not ready to travel on flight.

No-show on online checked-in passengers:

For bookings that are created in a non-Amadeus GDS system, a customer after having performed an online check-in may later decide to cancel his/her reservation (s) 3 hours prior to the departure of a flight. Under such a scenario although the agent has cancelled the reservation, the passenger will not be offloaded from a flight and is subsequently termed as a No-show passenger. Travel agents (especially non-1A system users) will be required to contact the nearest QR office or a Contact Centre agent who in turn will liaise with the respective airport personnel to ensure that the passenger (s) is offloaded from Qatar Airways Departure Control System (DCS) and subsequently segments can then be cancelled by the agent within their respective GDS.

Non-compliance to the above requirement will result in an ADM being raised.

Whenever segments are to be cancelled, rebooked or refunded 48 hours to 3 hours prior to departure, Travel Agent should check if e-ticket coupon :

• Airport Control  "A" - Control of the coupon has been sent from QR Reservation System Either to departure Control System or to Other Airline  (operating carrier of code-share flight  or interlinecarrier).
• Checked in "C" - PAssenger is checked in and entitled to board the aircraft.

Some GDSs may show A status or ARPT, in such case it is recommended to verify with the nearest QR Office or Customer Contact Center on whether the coupon has been checked-in.

In case coupon has been checked-in, passenger will have to be offloaded prior rebooking, reissue or refund. Simple segment cancellation will not offload passenger from check-in system and will treat passenger as no-show. In such case Travel Agent may be at risk of receiving ADM due to no-show.

How to offload passenger?

• If passenger did online check-in, then offload will have to be done via qatarairways.com. 
• If passenger did airport check-in, then offload will have to be done by airport team.

Important note 

• Offload can be done latest by 3 hours prior to departure, in order to rebook, reissue or refund e-ticket.
• E-ticket will lose its validity and will be suspended should offloading occur in less than 3 hours prior to departure. In such case, e-ticket can`t be rebooked, reissued or refunded and a new e-ticket will have to be purchased.
• In case of refund, Travel Agent has to ensure that all coupons being refunded have been changed to R (RFND) status.

Applicability - Changes (Re-issuance)

Before Departure

Change penalty before departure will be charged or no-show charges (if any) and the ticket needs tp be reissued with applicable fare difference (if any).

When voluntary change occurs irrespective of the outbound or inbound flight of the journey the fare will be recalculated applying new fares/rules (adhering to the new AP condition) in effect on the date of the reissue.

After Departure

Change penalty after departure will be charged or no-show charges (if any) and the ticket needs to be reissued. New fare will be recalculated using fares in effect on the date when the original ticket was issued. Highest penalty charges among the changed fare components will be applied.

Change Scenarios - General Conditions

• Changes are applicable only if the fare rule allows change of reservation
• Change fee applies per transaction
• Change / no-show fee must be coded as XP in the tax field
• In case of no-show only one fee will be charged, either no-show or change fee whichever is higher
• For no-show scenarios please refer to no-show definition
• Revalidation is not permitted on QR Market fares (published, private and paper fares). For any change scenario ticket reissuance is mandatory irrespective of any ADC or NO ADC. 
  Exception – For group PNR’s tickets issued by travel agencies with passive segment using GDS other than Amadeus; revalidation is permitted to associate a ticket number to group PNR. Any ADC collection, ticket has to be reissued adhering to the group policy.
• Re-pricing rule: New ticket has to be equal or higher than previous ticket fare value and RBD unless;
  a. There is a change in Fare Break Point where the new route results in a lower fare.
  b. Change in seasonality / week day / weekend fares
• The residual amount in both above cases (a & b) can be refunded to the passenger through the original form of payment or EMD as transportation credit voucher.
• Penalties (Change / No-show / Re-issuance charges) will be applied as per the highest of all changed fare component(s).
• Penalty charge applies for Adult, Child and infant occupying a seat. Charge (including No-Show charge) will not apply for infant’s not occupying a seat. This implies that child and infant occupying a seat will pay the same change / cancellation penalties as adult passenger.
• If a passenger is denied check-in due to not having passport, and/or valid visa in correct order to be transported - applicable change penalties and no-show charges has to be collected.
• For non-refundable fares if the passenger is a no-show and the fare rule allows changes with no-show penalties, then reissuance to new travel date is permitted (within ticket validity) after collecting the applicable penalties however refund of any residual value on such tickets will not be permitted.

Change Fee - Collection Scenarios

1.     Date Change is done for Outbound only.

Example: If O/B change fee is USD 100 and I/B is USD 125, highest fee of changed fare component(s) (USD 100) will apply for the transaction.

2.     Date change is done for Inbound only.

Example: If O/B change fee is USD 100 and I/B is USD 125, highest fee of the changed fare component(s) (USD 125) will apply for the transaction.

3.     Date change is done for both direction in one transaction.

Example: If O/B change fee is USD 100 and I/B is USD 125, highest fee of the changed fare component(s) (USD 125) will apply for the transaction.

4.     If Change of Reservation is Not Permitted in a pricing unit:

In a combination of fares scenario, if one of the changed fare components does not allow Change of reservation: No change of reservation allowed for that fare component only.

Example: For scenario of O/B before departure of flight, O/B fare component rule do not permit Changes and I/B fare rule allows changes, possible change is only for I/B fare component.

Voluntary Upgrades / Downgrades / Upsell / Downsell Scenarios:

• A change of reservation may result in voluntary upgrades / downgrades (between cabins) and inventory upsell / downsell (within same cabin). “Difference in fare calculation” for such scenarios will be from Origin to Destination (OnD) as per the applied Fare Break Point on the ticket. Segment based upgrade / downgrade / upsell / downsell within a fare component of a journey is not permitted (e.g. OnD LONBKK journey, upgrade required on LONDOH only).

Voluntary Upgrades:

• Upgrade between Cabins: (Y to J/F, J to F) at any time within the ticket validity fares can be upgraded to any fare in the higher cabin on OnD basis.
• Reissue and change fee will not be applicable however additional tax(es) (if any) have to be collected.
• If the voluntary cabin upgrade happens within 3 hours prior to departure of flight no-show penalty will not be charged. No-show charge applies if the change is made after departure of flight as shown on the e-ticket coupon.
• If the reissued ticket is subsequently changed the conditions of the reissued fare will be applicable.

Inventory Upsell within same Cabin:

• Any time within the ticket validity the fare can be reissued to any higher fare in the same cabin, and then the fare will be recalculated from the point of origin provided the conditions of the higher fare have been met and applicable difference in fare is collected.
• Reissue/change fee will be applicable.
• No-show penalty applies for 3 hours prior to departure of flight.
• If the reissued ticket is subsequently changed the conditions of the reissued fare will be applicable.

Voluntary Downgrades: 

• Between Cabins: (J/F to Y, F to J): At any time within the ticket validity fares can be downgraded to any fare in lower cabin and then the fare will be recalculated from point of origin provided conditions of the lower cabin fare have been met.
• Reissue and change fee will be applicable.
• If the voluntary cabin downgrade happens within 3 hours prior to departure of flight no-show penalty will be charged.
• If the reissued ticket is subsequently changed the conditions of the reissued fare will be applicable.

Inventory Downsell:

Within same cabin is not permitted in all scenarios including change in fare break point.

Combination of Fares:

• Highest penalty of all fare components within the changed pricing units of the ticketed journey applies. After identifying pricing units on the ticketed journey that contains “changed fare components”, the highest charge amount of all changed fare components within those pricing units will be applicable.
• Itinerary with multiple pricing units (end-on-end combinations/side trips): “Change of reservation not permitted” condition applies specifically to the pricing units having fare components with changes not permitted.  Respective penalties for other pricing units apply.

System Date Range Limitation:

• Reservation can be made for a maximum of 360 days from the date of issue. For such journeys if the inbound date of travel is beyond 360 days (out of system date range).
• First change of reservation will be permitted free of charge for the inbound fare component irrespective of the change of reservation condition in the fare rule.
• Endorsement box should mention “1FOC for travel date out of system date range”.
• Once the travel date is within the system date range ticket has to be re-issued availing 1 FOC. The change must always be to a date later than the original booking and more than 360 days from the issuance of the ticket. Otherwise FOC change does not apply and ADM will be raised for incorrect application. This exception will not be applicable if fare rule allows any free change of reservation.
• This process has to be handled manually as this is out of ATC scope.

Applicability - Cancellation / Refund

Before Departure

For fully unutilized ticket the amount paid will be fully refunded including tax(es) after deducting the cancellation charges (if any) as per fare rules provided the fare is refundable.

After Departure

For fares which permits refund after departure.

For partially utilized ticket the refund will be the amount equal to the difference between the fare paid and the OW applicable fare for travel between the points for which the ticket has been used less any cancellation fees. If one way fare is not available or published on the inventory mentioned on the ticket then deduct next available OW in higher RBD for which the journey has been performed.

If applicable OW fare plus cancellation fees exceed the actual collected base fare for the journey, the base fare paid remains non-refundable. All unutilized coupons flown based tax(es) including YQ/YR will be refundable for such scenarios.

For tickets which are used beyond Point of Turnaround and out of sequence – No Refund permitted.

Cancellation / Refund Scenarios - General Conditions

• If a fare is non-refundable then no part of the Fare + YQ/YR will be refundable.
• Charge applies for Adult, Child and infant occupying a seat.  Charge (including No-Show charge) will not apply for infant not occupying a seat. This implies that child and infant occupying a seat will pay the same change / cancellation penalties as adult passenger.
• Change / No-show Fee collected under XP in the tax field will remain as non-refundable.
• Both No-show and cancellation fees will apply (if any) as per the fare rule.
• For no-show scenarios please refer to no-show definition.
• Where a ticket is issued with a combination of at least two fare basis, (e.g. Promotional fares combined with a Flexi fares) the most restrictive rules will apply.
• If a passenger was denied check-in for not having valid travel documents (Passport, Visa, etc.) – all applicable cancellation and no-show fees should be collected.
• Refund will be refused if the application is made after expiry of the ticket validity. 
• If a ticket has been reissued multiple times and finally submitted for cancellation, the highest cancellation fee / non-refundable amount among all the reissued fares will apply.

Cancellation Scenario on Combination of Multiple Fare Basis

Totally unutilized tickets - Passenger is No-Show on O/B:

• E.g. Cancellation fee applicable will be USD 175

• E.g. Cancellation fee applicable will be USD 100

Partially utilized tickets - Passenger is a No-Show on I/B:

• E.g. Cancellation fee applicable will be USD125

• E.g. Cancellation fee applicable will be USD 175

Non-Refundable Fares Scenarios

• For non-refundable fare, no part of the fare + YQ/YR will be refunded. If YQ and YR has to be refunded as per local government's regulatory requirement, supporting documents have to be submitted for approval and fare rule and coding should reflect as YQ/YR refundable.
• If a ticket is issued with non-refundable fare(s); unutilized coupon's flown based tax(es) are refundable.
• If non-refundable fare is reissued to a refundable fare, YQ/YR will be processed as per the new fare condition and only the base fare of the original non-refundable ticket remains as non-refundable.

Adding and Changing Segments to an Existing Reservation

There can be numerous reasons why a passenger requests to make changes in his/her itinerary. All changes to reservations should be handled as if these were original requests for reservations. Amending reservation office carrying out amendments must verify if passenger holds any other reservations as well and if so, determine if they are still needed.

In order to give QR opportunity to resell all unwanted seats, minimize no-shows and maximize revenue, all such unwanted space (O&D) must be cancelled immediately.

As QR is in O&D environment, all amendments leading to new O&D must be followed. This include but is not limited to cancellation of old O&D and followed by:

• Rebooking or rerouting of entire O&D
• Rebooking or rerouting of particular flight from O&D
• Cancelling
• Upgrading of entire O&D to higher cabin (revenue and redemption upgrade)
• Upgrading of particular flight from O&D to higher cabin (revenue and redemption upgrade)
• Booking additional sectors to O&D resulting in new O&D
• Amendments leading to stopovers
• Amendments leading to side-trips and being ticketed separately
• Combinations of above scenarios

Booking additional sectors or side trips which finally do not affect existing O&D, do not require cancellation of old O&D. Any new side-trip being ticketed separately and irrespective of any or nil effect on existing O&Ds, should be booked and ticketed in separate PNR with cross-reference remark containing reference RLOC.

In order to harmonize Qatar Airways (QR) reconfirmation policy network wide and to further simplify travel on QR, the existing Reconfirmation (RR) policy is abolished effective 22nd April 2014.

Qatar Airways does not require reconfirmation on all routes we are operating. 

Refund is the repayment to the purchaser of all or a portion of a fare, rate or charge for unused carriage or service.

If a ticket is non-refundable, no part of the fare and surcharges (YQ/YR) will be refunded. However for markets where YQ & YR has to be refunded as per local government's regulatory requirement, supporting documents have to be submitted for approval and fare conditions should reflect this.

• If a ticket is issued with non-refundable fare(s); unutilized coupon's flown based tax(es) are refundable.
• If non-refundable fare is re-issued to a refundable fare, YQ/YR will be processed as per the new fare condition and only the base fare of the original non-refundable ticket remains as non-refundable.

However there are instances wherein ticket refund requests for restricted documents are entertained due to some unavoidable circumstances as given below.

1.     Passengers holding confirmed QR tickets may not be able to travel on flights due to following reasons:

• o    QR flight is delayed and passenger arranges an alternative flight on his/her own and not the option provided by QR
• Failure to operate a flight reasonably accordingly to schedule and aircraft changes
• Passenger or one of his/her close relative get sick prior to flight departure – a medical certificate is required to be submitted.
• Failure to operate a flight due to extraordinary events or circumstances classified under Force Majeure or Act of God. These conditions include but are not limited to flooding, extreme weather conditions, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, volcanic eruption, war, political unrest, strike, riot etc. A QR Commercial Policy will be issued to cover extraordinary event/circumstance and serve as basis to authorize refunds.
• Some customers may not get visa to enter Doha. Qatar immigration authorities can deny visa to Qatar Airways customers.

2.     Ticket refund may also be necessitated due to system/printing related errors.

3.     Passengers declared as "blacklisted" are not allowed to travel on QR flights. Ticket is suspended in such cases, ticket and other costs are refunded to these passengers.

In situations where your passenger misses a flight as a result of QR’s fault, the no-show charges will not be applied upon verification of such situations.

To facilitate processing of refunds, see below table which defines the type of tickets and the corresponding refundable or non-refundable nature of taxes, surcharges and fees.

* Refund fee may apply  

Refund validity of ticket is 12 months from date of issue for fully unused ticket; and 12 months from the first uplift date for a partially used ticket.

Note:

Refund of tickets beyond 12 months is only allowed in the following situations:

1) Local law / regulatory requirements: When local regulatory requirements take precedence over Qatar Airways Ticket Refund Policy, local station finance is authorized to process the refund on such scenarios without any subsequent approval.

2) Refund in case of death: Legal heirs of the deceased will be refunded after valid documentation (Death certificate or copy etc.) is verified.

Please coordinate refund requests to your local Qatar Airways office.

Refunds in another Country

With the implementation of electronic tickets (E-tickets) and other instruments such as Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMDs), the existing electronic environment now offers much more flexibility towards processing of refunds in countries other than point of sale (POS).

Some countries have regulations in place that prohibit sales made in those countries to be refunded in other countries. Where such regulations exist, Qatar Airways will continue to ensure compliance.

Restrictions to refund outside the country of sale are implemented in the following countries namely:

• Algeria
• India
• Greece
• France/Benelux
• Brazil
• Morocco
• Nigeria
• Tunis
• Iran
• Malawi
• Eritrea
• Sudan

For tickets issued effective 15th June 2013, revalidations are no longer permitted. For any change scenario ticket reissuance is mandatory irrespective of any ADC or NO ADC. 

Exception – For group PNR’s tickets issued by travel agencies with passive segment using GDS other than Amadeus; revalidation is permitted to associate a ticket number to group PNR. Any ADC collection, ticket has to be reissued adhering to the group policy.

Schedule change is a planned change or cancellation of a flight which occurs more than 24 hours prior to departure.

Circumstances may require Qatar Airways to make schedule changes after publication of our schedules. When a QR flight is rescheduled, Qatar Airways will advise all booking offices that have made changes in reservations on the flight and the details of such a change. However conditions may apply for an affected flight on the day of departure.

Schedule change may be a change in the arrival or departure times, flight number, class of service involving a change in a booking designator, frequency of operation or the airports served. According to nature of schedule change appropriate action is required by booking office.

Any ticket requiring to be reissued due to Schedule Change must be endorsed “INVOL DUE SKCHG”

Schedule change policy is applicable for customer holding confirmed reservations and who have purchased a ticket prior to the schedule change taking place. If customer is holding confirmed reservations but who have yet to purchase a ticket, rebook the customer onto another flight at the applicable fare.

General Rules Applicable for Schedule Change

If OAL carrier has to be selected as an alternative as per Schedule Change policy then valid Interline Electronic Ticketing agreement with such carrier, as well as operating carrier must be in place. Policy applies also to Group and Tour Operators business where a deposit has been collected and a contract has been signed between QR and the customer/agent. Policy applies also to Tour Operator allocations where space already been sold at the time the schedule change takes place. The TO has 7 days in which to add the sold names to the allocation. Further sales should not be made after schedule change notification. Confirmed Privilege Club, AD and Prize Winners bookings are also covered by these procedures.

Responsibility of Validating Carrier

Qatar Airways Schedule Change policy applies only to any QR and OAL flight issued on 157 (QR) stock or plate. If passenger holds two separate 157 e-tickets issued “in connection” (e.g. prime & feeder itinerary) and schedule change occurs on one of such 157 e-tickets then this procedure also applies. Qatar Airways schedule change policy does not apply to any QR or OAL itinerary issued on OAL stock or plate and irrespective if schedule change occurs on QR flight or not. Passengers holding e-tickets issued on OAL stock or plate shall contact their Travel Agent or respective validating carrier.

STPC Entitlement due to Schedule Change on QR Operating Flights

STPC will be provided at QR’s cost if the passenger has a connection time which is within 08-24 hours’ time range and there is no other shorter connection available between QR to QR flights at Doha.

Procedures for Schedule Change on 157 E-tickets

In most of the Qatar Airways Schedule Changes, Qatar Airways will offer alternative connection for the passenger. However, if this connection is not suitable for passenger, there is always number of alternatives available. These options should be offered to the passenger only in case that passenger does not agree with initial alternative provided by Qatar Airways.

Advance Seat Reservation (ASR), is applicable on all sectors of Qatar Airways flights. ASR however is not a guarantee since the type of Aircraft may change.

Non-smoking policy applies on board all QR aircraft.

Passengers are expected to report at the airport check-in desk well within the flight closure (90 minutes prior) after which time these reserved seats may be released and given to other passenger.

For medical cases or passengers travelling with carrycot, specific seats are allocated.

Emergency exit row seats cannot be assigned in advance as these seats are under Airport Control and are offered to able-bodied adults (above 18 years) who appear to be capable of operating or assisting with the operation of the evacuation.

Following category of passengers will not be allocated Emergency Exit row seats:

• Children and infants (whether accompanied or not)
• Incapacitated passengers
• Expectant mothers
• Passengers who are elderly and frail
• Deportees or prisoners in custody
• Passengers with falcons
• Obese passengers

Seat Assignment Guidelines:

Special Service Requirement Code
Use the code SEAT when requesting, cancelling or changing seat selection and advising a Member a boarding pass has been issued.

Location Codes

Specific Seat Numbers
When specific seats are included in the entry, the seat number must be continuously entered with no separators. All seat numbers must include three characters in any alpha-numeric combination.
E.g.: ST/33A

Equipment / Aircraft Change
Circumstances may require Qatar Airways to make schedule changes after publication of our schedules. “Schedule Change” means any modification to the operation of a flight, some of which may require passenger notification. The booking office receiving a schedule change advice is responsible for taking action to advise the passenger(s) of the changes involved.

Infants Requiring Baby Bassinet
Allocation of Bassinet Seats (BSCT):
Reservation for bassinet seats can be made in advance provided an infant is travelling with the adult.

Assigning Seats for Incapacitated Passengers
As a general rule, Qatar Airways shall ensure that passengers with reduced mobility are not allocated, neither occupy, seats where their presence could:

• Impede the emergency evacuation of the airplane
• Impede crew in their duties
• Obstruct access to emergency equipment
• Escorts (attendant) shall be given seats immediately adjacent to the passenger they are escorting
• The assignment of seats may also be subject to medical requirements
• Blind or deaf passengers travelling with service dogs should be assigned seats which allow space for the dog, near a floor level exit but which do not impede access to it
• Where possible accommodate near toilets and exits provided with chutes
• If crutches, canes and similar walking aids are stored in a special location in the cabin, users of such aids should be assigned seats nearby, to permit quick access to the aids when needed
• Passengers with stiff legs, fractured legs in plaster, paraplegics, etc. should be accommodated in seats allowing the maximum space for their comfort, or space for leg support devices with the least possible disturbance to passengers in the adjacent seats. Limbs in plaster casts should not obstruct the aisle or emergency exits
• Persons with a disability affecting only one side of their body (hemiplegics, artificial limb, arm or leg in cast, splint or brace, etc) should be seated in an aisle seat with the unaffected side of their body towards the aisle to facilitate mobility in cases of emergency.

Group Seating
Wherever possible, groups of passengers with reduced mobility shall be seated in subgroups in order to enable a rapid flow of other passengers during an evacuation. Escorts must be seated with the passengers they are escorting.

Assigning Seats for Passengers with Falcons
Passengers with falcons should be seated in the rear of the cabin, not adjacent to families with children or infants or on rows directly next to emergency exits.

Assigning Seats for Unaccompanied Minor / Young Passenger
Unaccompanied minors / Young passengers are seated in specific areas of the aircraft (aisle seats) to enable the crew to keep an eye on them.

FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN TRAVELING ON THE SAME FLIGHT BUT IN A DIFFERENT CABIN

There are instances when a parent or guardian may require travelling in a different compartment on the same flight than that of the child. In such situations the child shall be treated as if they were being accompanied by an adult. Whilst providing details in connection with carriage of such types of customers we would like to reiterate that this policy is not marketed and should only be offered when a parent/guardian expresses a wish to travel in a different cabin from that of their child/children.

Guidelines

In case the child travels in a different cabin from that of an adult on the same flight.

• The child must be between 5-11years or more of age.
• A child traveling in a different cabin less than 5 years will not be permitted to be seated alone unless accompanied by an adult 16 years of age and above in the same cabin as that of the child.
• Create a PNR for both customers in the desired class of travel.
• TCP (cross reference) both PNRS (additional information should indicate the class of travel for the adult/child. See example below:
  E.g. OS QR TCP2 R/L ABCXYZ DOH/XXX TRAVELLING IN J CLASS
• Request an appropriate meal for the child (CHML)
• Recommended seating arrangements at the time of reservation is as follows:The child if travelling in Economy should be seated closest to the Premium Cabin (Preferably the 2nd row of the Economy Cabin).
• The child must not be seated on a window seat when an adult male passenger is seated in the center or aisle seat.
• QR shall endeavor to do all possible to assist with desirable seating arrangements during pre-flight editing, check-in and boarding if the above was not possible.
• Child fare applies.
• Parent or guardian must be courteously reminded at the time of reservations/check-in that movement onboard the aircraft is permitted from the Premium Cabin to the Economy Class Cabin but not the other way around.
• Since the child is accompanied by the parent or guardian during all of these stages i.e. Check-in, Security, Immigration-Customs, Boarding, Transit (where applicable), Arrivals, Baggage claim there is no
  intervention required from any QR ground personnel.
• For information related to lounge Access in case the child is in Economy class then please refer to the Ground Services Manual – Premium Lounges.

Ticketing Time Limit (TTL) is one of the techniques used within the Revenue Integrity Flight Firming process to encourage the issuance of a ticket against a PNR, or else cancelling the un-ticketed reservation after an appropriate length of time has elapsed to make the seats available for sale again.The appropriate length of time is determined by company’s rules based on assessment of various factors such as market conditions, desirable level of inventory clearance and customer’s expected value of business based on RBD booked.

TTL ensures efficient ticketing and use of Qatar Airways (QR) inventory. Bookings which do not have legitimate ticketing details entered into the PNR by the deadline specified generally result in no passenger travelling, leaving an unoccupied seat which would have otherwise generated revenue for the airline.

Ticketing Time Limit Process

QR has defined a set of TTLs applicable for a combination of classes and date ranges prior to departure. QR use the Amadeus Revenue Integrity (ARI) robotics to assign TTLs to PNRs.

Ticketing Time Limit Application

TTL message will be inserted requiring issuance of ticket by a certain deadline. The booking is auto cancelled if not ticketed at TTL expiry. A TTL message will not be inserted in cases where instant ticketing is required as per defined business rules and hence immediate ticketing would be essential, else risk of cancellation without any TTL.

While inserting TTL, the weekend off observed by respective markets would be considered.  However, for bookings created within 5 days of departure would not be subject to the above rule. This is to prevent TTL falling very close to departure and to ensure flights are cleared in time.

In the event a ticketing deadline is stipulated in fare rules, the rule will take precedence if more restrictive.

Ticketing Time Limit Cancellation Process

Bookings will be cancelled upon expiry of TTL if PNRs are non-compliant.

As a general rule for waitlisting, booking offices are highly encouraged to upsell to the available classes, or choose alternative dates where availability is more favorable. Waitlisted bookings are managed and cleared in an automatic way based on demand forecast and availability thus there is no guarantee for seat confirmation.

Waitlisting in a lower RBD on the same flight and in the same cabin as a confirmed segment is considered an abuse of the system. QR has activated a filtering functionality within its Altea reservation system that prohibits confirmation of such waitlists. QR has also implemented the automated ARI process, which automatically cancels the lower RBD waitlisted segments.
 
Waitlisting is a normal business practice but excessive waitlisting is a misuse of the system. QR has reduced waitlist ceilings and eliminated waitlist in most discount classes of service. This modification provides a waitlist product that allows you to waitlist inventory that has the most potential of clearing.

QR is currently monitoring and cancelling PNRs of agencies who waitlist excessively. In addition to that and in order to substantially reduce GDS costs, economy class waitlists are auto-cancelled at the point of 48 hours prior to departure.