IATA is banking on a ‘significant
reduction’ of ADMs by 2018, as the
recently established ADM Working
Group of airlines, travel agents, GDSs
and ATPCO is making headway.
The ADM Working Group was
established in June 2015 to tackle
the number of ‘inefficient’ ADMs, to
reduce the time between an agent sale
and an airline issuing an ADM, and
to generally improve the airline/travel
agent relationship. The Working Group,
which has more than 115 participants
from all Iata regions, including South
Africa, first met in October 15, 2015,
and subsequently in April 6 this year.
Katherine Kaczynska, Iata corporate
communications manager for the
Middle East and Africa, told TNW
that since this initial meeting, the
Iata project team had started putting
together a Root Cause analysis report.
“This report includes solutions and
actions to reduce airlines’ need to
recover through Debit Memos,” she
explains. Katherine says the Working
Group relies heavily on data to ensure
a factual approach to the issue of
ADMs rather than a compilation of
subjective feelings from each of the
stakeholders.
The data shows, among other
findings, that the categories that
mostly attract ADM volumes are
tax issues, bookings, commission,
exchanges, reissues and, lastly,
refunds.
In the report Iata proposes more
than a dozen specific actions, system
enhancements and a set of best
practices with the aim of improving
current processes and achieving
significant reductions in ADMs in
coming years.
“Some of the proposed
enhancements will completely
eliminate the need to collect through
ADMs for specific reasons, such
as withholding taxes. Some will
progressively reduce the
number of related ADMs, such
as commission set-ups, fare
filing and automatic refunds
through GDS,” she says.
Ceo of Asata, Otto de Vries,
says one has to wonder what
the outcomes of the working
group would look like from an
agent’s perspective. “There
are applications of ADMs that
are done by certain airlines
and not by others – why would
that be? Also the issuance
of ADMs is quite cyclical.
There are periods where a
large number of ADMs are
being issued and then not.”
As part of the working group,
Otto says Asata hopes to
clarify the application of ADMs
and rectify the abuse of the
issuance thereof.
Katherine says the ADM
Working Group will continue
to meet regularly and will
focus in 2016 on the Root
Cause analysis. “In 2017 and
2018, we expect that most
system enhancements will be
developed and implemented,”
she says.
The third working group is
set to take place on November
10-11 in Geneva.
