Tip of the Week: Automated Linking of Residual Value EMDs

Did you know ARC has enhanced the Interactive Agent Reporting (IAR) system to systematically link a residual value Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) resulting from a GDS-issued exchange to its associated exchange transaction? This feature will work similarly to the existing auto-linking functionality that links a residual value MCO to its associated exchange transaction.

The automated linking of a GDS-issued residual value EMD to its associated exchange transaction will occur in your IAR sales report when:

  1. The new 13-digit exchange ticket number is in the “Issued in Connection with Document Number” (ICDN) field of the EMD, and

  1. One of the following three-character “Reason for Issuance Sub Codes” (RFIS) is used when issuing the EMD:

  • 99I - Residual Value

  • 996 - Refundable Balance

  • 98E - Non-refundable Amount

As a reminder, a residual value EMD or MCO results when a non-refundable old document has a higher value than that of the new exchange document. When the airline allows this non-refundable residual difference to be transferred to either an MCO or an EMD, IAR will now systematically link that GDS-issued residual value document to its associated exchange transaction in the sales report.

Automated Linking of Residual Value EMDs is an IAR-only feature that works only when a GDS-issued residual value EMD is sent to ARC. Please note: the ICDN and RFIS linking criteria values are not displayed in IAR on the EMD transaction, so it is important that these fields are entered in the GDS at the time the EMD is issued. While these and other EMD-specific data elements are not yet displayed in IAR, ARC does support full EMD settlement.

If both above linking criteria are not present on the EMD when received from the GDS, you must manually link the EMD to the new exchange. If not linked to the new exchange transaction, your customer could be charged the amount of the EMD instead of having that value to use as a credit for future travel. Please be sure to reconcile your sales report daily to ensure any residual value document is linked to its exchange transaction.

Agency issuance of a residual value EMD is dependent upon the airline’s ticketing policy since not all airlines support agency issuance of EMDs or permit the residual value to be transferred to a new document. Your ability to issue an EMD is also dependent upon your GDS’s ability to support the issuance of a residual value EMD as part of the E-ticket exchange process. Please check with your GDS provider for more information.

Please refer to the Industry Agent’s Handbook (IAH) in Section 5 – IAR under “Exchanges with Non-Refundable Residual Value” for more details.