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ABSTRACTAirline Reservation Systems (ARS) used to be standalone systems. Each
airline had its own system, disconnected from other airlines or ticket agents, and
usable only by a designated number of airline employees. Travel agents in the
1970s pushed for access to the airlines' systems. Today, air travel information is
linked, stored, and retrieved by a network of Computer Reservations Systems
(CRS), accessible by multiple airlines and travel agents. The global distribution
system (GDS) makes for an even larger web of airline information, not only
merging the buying and selling of tickets for multiple airlines, but also making the
systems accessible to consumers directly. GDS portals and gateways on the Web
allow consumers to purchase tickets directly, select seats, and even book hotels and
rental cars.
1
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY:
It is obvious that everything that is sustainable would have to go through advancement. In
science and technology, the desire for improvement is a constant subject which triggers
advancements. This is visible in every ramification and the airline industry is not an
exemption.
Airline Reservation Systems (ARS) used to be standalone systems. Each airline had its
own system, disconnected from other airlines or ticket agents, and usable only by a designated
number of airline employees. Travel agents in the 1970s pushed for access to the airlines'
systems. Today, air travel information is linked, stored, and retrieved by a network of
Computer Reservations Systems (CRS), accessible by multiple airlines and travel agents. The
global distribution system (GDS) makes for an even larger web of airline information, not
only merging the buying and selling of tickets for multiple airlines, but also making the
systems accessible to consumers directly. GDS portals and gateways on the Web allow
consumers to purchase tickets directly, select seats, and even book hotels and rental
cars.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:
This seminar is aimed at exposing the relevance and importance of Airline Reservation
Systems (ARS). It is projected towards enhancing the relationship between customers and
airline agencies through the use of ARSs, thereby easing the flight ticketing and selling
process and all air traveling operations.
JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
The outcome of this study will provide a basis for developing the appropriate approach to
the problems associated with air traveling operations in relation toAirline Reservation Systems
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This seminar is not only restricted to Computer Reservation Systems (ARSes), but also
other systems dedicated to the optimal performance in the airline industry; airline agencies and
their customers inclusive.
2
SIGNIFICANCE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
This presentation will be beneficial to all those who make use of Airline Reservation
Systems (ARSs), flight operators, air traveling operators, travel agents and airline agencies.
In addition, it will assist all those in computer-related disciplines who may want to appreciate
the system and also those doing research on similar topic.
3
LITERATURE REVIEWIn the early days of American commercial aviation, passengers were relatively few, and
each airline's routes and fares were tightly regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board. These were
published in a volume entitled The Official Airline Guide, from which travel agents or
consumers could construct an itinerary, then call or telex airline staff, who would mark the
reservation on a card and file it. This manual system is still used by relatively few travel
agents who do not use ARS. As demand for air travel increased and schedules grew more
complex, this process became impractical, hence, giving rise to the need of an automated
reservation system called Airline Reservation System (ARS).
HISTORY OF AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEM (ARS)
American Airlines was the first to establish an automated booking system in 1946. Using
a system to track information and improve efficiency was a highly appealing aim in the
industry, and drew the attention of other airlines worldwide. The system endured years of
development and alterations. Trans-Canada Airlines developed a computer-based system with
remote terminals that eventually took over operations in 1953. The same year, American
Airlines worked closely with IBM to develop an improved system, and the Airline
Reservation System (ARS) and the Semi-Automatic Business Research System (SABRE)
launched thereafter in 1960. The network completed set-up in 1964, and it was recognized as
the largest data processing system in existence. Later, other airlines invested more in research
and development to launch improved systems, and through the late 1960s and early 1970s,
airlines established their own systems. United Airlines developed the Apollo Reservation
System, and shortly after allowed travel agents access. The Apollo system was the foundation
for many further developments, which spread from just US airlines to European airlines as
well. The research and development of Airline Reservation System became a significant
aspect of the industry and all its air carrier companies, and partnerships between airlines and
technology gurus emerged.
Other airlines soon established their own systems. Delta Air Lines launched the Delta
Automate Travel Account System (DATAS) in 1968. United Airlines and Trans World
Airlines followed in 1971 with the Apollo Reservation System and Programmed Airline
Reservation System (PARS), respectively. Soon, travel agents began pushing for a system
4
that could automate their side of the process by accessing the various ARSes directly to make
reservations. Fearful this would place too much power in the hands of agents, American
Airlines executive Robert Crandall proposed creating an industry-wide Computer
Reservation System to be a central clearing house for U.S. travel; other airlines demurred,
citing fear of antitrust prosecution.
Airline deregulation occurred in 1978, magnifying the importance of computerized
airline reservation systems and their accessibility. During the early 1970s, as travel agents
pushed for access to reservation systems, and certain airline executives made investments for the
sake of accessing the systems of other airlines, anti-trust laws came into focus. The purpose of
the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act in the U.S. was to eliminate government control over
commercial aviation, and ensure competitive behavior and fair business practices in the
airline industry. Passengers could gain knowledge of market forces and new market entry in
the industry. Information on specific airlines and the industry as a whole became more widely
and readily accessible, evolving the airline reservation systems from "standalone" operations
toward GDS.
Of the major types of airline reservation systems, most are linked to GDS to provide
information to travel agents, employees of other airlines, and the passengers or potential
customers, directly. The major systems include SABRE, Worldspan, Galileo, Patheo, and
Abacus. American Airlines now uses SABRE, also used by Expedia, Lastminute.com, and
Travelocity. Abacus is used by over 450 individual airlines, over 80,000 hotels, and over 25
countries in Asia. Companies like Expedia share their system accessibility directly with
consumers.Today, about six major airline reservations systems are used by international
airlines.
5
WHAT IS ARS?
Airline Reservations System(ARS)
It is a computerized system used to store and retrieve information and conduct
transactions related to air travel. The systems was originally designed and operated by airlines,
but were later extended for the use of travel agencies.
Major ARS operations that book and sell tickets for multiple airlines are known as
Global Distribution Systems (GDS). Airlines have divested most of their direct holdings to
dedicated GDS companies, who make their systems accessible to consumers through Internet
gateways. Modern GDSes typically allow users to book hotel rooms and rental cars as well as
airline tickets.
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS (GDS)
Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are subsystems connected to Airline Reservation
Systems (ARS) which allows users access to information on flight scheduling and reservation
stored in the Airline Reservation System (ARS) database.
TRENDS IN AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEMS (ARS)
In 1946, American Airlines installed the first automated booking system, the
experimental electromechanical Reservisor. A newer machine with temporary storage based on a
magnetic drum, the Magnetronic Reservisor, soon followed. This system proved successful, and
was soon being used by several airlines, as well as Sheraton Hotels and Goodyear for inventory
control. It was seriously hampered by the need for local human operators to do the actual
lookups; ticketing agents would have to call a booking office, whose operators would direct a
small team operating the Reservisor and then read the results over the telephone. There was
no way for agents to directly query the system.
In 1953, Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA) started investigating a computer-based system
with remote terminals, testing one design on the University of Toronto's Manchester Mark 1
machine that summer. Though successful, the researchers found that input and output was a
major problem. Ferranti Canada became involved in the project and suggested a new system
using punch cards and a transistorized computer in place of the unreliable tube-based Mark I.
The resulting system, Reser Vec, started operation in 1962, and took over all booking
6
operations in January 1963. Terminals were placed in all of TCA's ticketing offices, allowing
all queries and bookings to complete in about one second with no remote operators needed.
In 1953, American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith chanced to sit next to R. Blair Smith, a senior
IBM sales representative. C. R. Smith invited Blair to visit their Reservisor system and look
for ways that IBM could improve the system. Blair alerted Thomas Watson Jr. that American
was interested in a major collaboration, and a series of low-level studies started. Their idea of
an automated Airline Reservation System (ARS) resulted in a 1959 venture known as the
Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment (SABRE), launched the following year. By
the time the network was completed in December 1964, it was the largest civil data
processing system in the world.
Other airlines soon established their own systems. Delta Air Lines launched the Delta
Automated Travel Account System (DATAS) in 1968. United Airlines and Trans World
Airlines followed in 1971 with the Apollo Reservation System and Programmed Airline
Reservation System (PARS), respectively. Soon, travel agents began pushing for a system
that could automate their side of the process by accessing the various ARSes directly to make
reservations. Fearful this would place too much power in the hands of agents, American
Airlines executive Robert Crandall proposed creating an industry-wide Computer
Reservation System to be a central clearinghouse for U.S. travel; other airlines demurred,
citing fear of antitrust prosecution.
In 1976, United began offering its Apollo system to travel agents; while it would allow
the agents to book tickets on United's competitors, the marketing value of the convenient
terminal proved indispensable. SABRE, PARS, and DATAS were soon released to travel
agents as well. Following airline deregulation in 1978, an efficient ARS proved particularly
important; by some counts, Texas Air executive Frank Lorenzo purchased money-losing
Eastern Air Lines specifically to gain control of its SystemOne ARS.
Also in 1976 Videcom international with British Airways, British Caledonian and CCL
launched Travicom, the world's first multi-access reservations system (wholly based on
Videcom technology), forming a network providing distribution for 49 subscribing
international airlines (including British Airways, British Caledonian, TWA , Pan American
World Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, SAS, Air Canada, KLM,
Alitalia, Cathay Pacific and JAL) to thousands of travel agents in the UK. It allowed agents
7
and airlines to communicate via a common distribution language and network, handling 97%
of UK airline business trade bookings by 1987. The system went on to be replicated by
Videcom in other areas of the World including the Middle East (DMARS), New Zealand,
Kuwait (KMARS), Ireland, Caribbean, United Sates and Hong Kong. The Travicom UK
multi access system airlines eventually migrated into the system called Galileo ARS in the
UK today and in 1988 Travicom Ltd was migrated into the distribution company Galileo UK.
European airlines also began to invest in the field in the 1980s, propelled by growth in
demand for travel as well as technological advances which allowed GDSes to offer
everincreasing services and searching power. In 1987, a consortium led by Air France and West
Germany's Lufthansa developed Amadeus, modeled on SystemOne. In 1990, Delta,
8
FEASIBILITY STUDY
The initial investigation points to the question whether the project is feasible. A
feasibility is conducted to identify the best system that meets the all the requirements. This
includes an identification description, an evaluation of the proposed systems and selection of the
best system for the job.The requirements of the system are specified with a set of constraints
such as system objectives and the description of the out puts. It is then duty of the analyst to
evaluate the feasibility of the proposed system to generate the above results. Three key factors
are to be considered during the feasibility study.
Operation Feasibility
An estimate should be made to de4termine how much effort and care will go into the developing
of the system including the training to be given to the user. Usually, people are reluctant to
changes that come in their progression. The computer initialization will certainly affected the
turn over, transfer and employee job status. Hence an additional effort is to be made to train and
educate the users on the new way of the system.
Technical Feasibility
The main consideration is to be given to the study of available resources of the organization
where the software is to be implemented. Here the system analyst evaluates the technical merits
of the system giving emphasis on the performance, Reliability, maintainability and
productivity.By taking the consideration before developing the proposed system, the resources
availability of the organization was studied. The organization was immense computer facilities
equipped with sophisticated machines and the software hence this technically feasible.
Economic Feasibility
Economic feasibility is the most important and frequently used method for evaluating the
effectiveness of the proposed system. It is very essential because the main goal of the proposed
system is to have economically better result along with increased efficiency. Cost benefit
analysis is usually performed for this purpose.
9
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
PROCESSOR : PENTIUM II
CLOCK SPEED : 800 MHZ
SYSTEM BUS : 32 BIT
RAM : 128 MB
HDD : 5GB
MONITOR : SVGA COLOR
KEY BOARD : 108 KEYS
MODEM : 56 KBPS
FLOPPY DRIVE : 1.44 MB
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
OPERATING SYSTEM : WINDOWS XPBROWSER : INTERNET EXPLORER 5.5 OR ANY HTTP BROWSERFRONT END : NETBEANSDATABASE LAYER : MS-ACCESSWEB SERVER : GOOGLESERVER SIDE SCRIPT : JSPCLIENT SIDE SCRIPTING : JAVA SCRIPTCONNECTION : TCP / IPPROTOCOL : HTTP, SMTP, POP3,WAP
TECHNOLOGY SPECIFICATION
Client-Server Architecture:
Typical client-server systems are based on the 2-tiered architecture, whereby there is a clear
separation between the data and the presentation business logic. These are generally data driven,
with the application existing entirely on the client machine while the database server is deployed
somewhere in the organization.
10
2-Tier Architecture:
In a traditional 2- Tiered application, the processing load is given to the client PC while the
server simply acts as a traffic controller between the application and data. As a result, not only
does the application performance suffer due to the limited resources of the PC, but the network
traffic tends increase as well.
3- Tier Architecture:
In 3- Tier architecture an application is broken into three separate logical layers, each with a well
- defined set of interfaces. The first tier is referred to as the presentation layer and typically
consists of graphical user interface of some kind. The middle tier, or business layer, consists of
application or business layer and the third layer- the data layer contains the data that is needed
for the application. The middle tier is basically the code that the user calls upon to retrieve the
desired data. The presentation layer then receives the data and formats it for display. This
separation of application logic from the user interface adds enormous flexibility to the design of
application.
11
MAJOR AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEM (ARS)Name Created By Also Used by:
Amadeus
Air France
Iberia
Lufthansa
SAS
Online travel agencies including
o Any fares
o Cheap O air
o e-bookers
o Expedia
o Flights
Over 500 individual airlines
Over 120 individual airline
websites
Over 90,000 travel agencies
Over 76,000 hotels
SABRE
All Nippon Airways
American Airlines
Cathay Pacific
Airways
China Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Expedia
CheapOair
Godard
Lastminute.com
Mobissimo
Travelocity
12
Over 20 individual airlines
Galileo by Travel port
Aer Lingus
Air Canada
Alitalia
British Airways
Swiss
TAP
United Airlines
Airways
China Airlines
Dragonair
EVA Airways
Garuda Indonesia
Malaysia Airlines
Philippine Airlines
Royal Brunei Airlines
SABRE
SilkAir
Singapore Airlines
Over 25 countries in Asia
Pacific
Over 80,000 hotels
KIU
Sol Lineas Aereas
Aerogal
Star Peru
LC Busre
Peruvian Airlines
CielosAndinos
Easyfly
13
Laser Airlines
LADE – Lineas Aereas Del Estado
Amaszonas
Maya Air
Over 12 individual airlines
Over 10 countries in Latin and
North America
Travel agencies and wholesale
14
PROBLEM DEFINITION
The definition of our problem lies in manual system and a fully automated system.
Manual system : The system is very time consuming and lazy. This system is more prone to
errors and sometimes the approach to various problems is unstructured.
Technical system : With the advent of latest technology if we do not update our system then
our business result in losses gradually with time. The technical systems contains the tools of
latest trend i.e. computers printers, fax, Internet etc. The systems with this technology are very
fast, accurate, user-friendly and reliable.
.
Need of Airlines system
A few factors that directs us to develop a new system are given below -:
1) Faster System
2) Accuracy
3) Reliability
4) Informative
15
Literature Review
In the arena of global competition, organizations in all over the world are competing
through the use of the most comprehensive and advanced technological feature. The most
common example of innovation is in the area of information technology and communication.
Various industries are using the technologies and the advancements of software and internet to
maintain and monitor their business transactions. In the application of the informative systems,
the airline industry is the most common users of the system. The purpose of the application of
system is to easily manage and organize all the reservations and bookings of the clients and gain
the competitive advantage. Some of the popular airlines that use the various reservations systems
are the British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas,
and many others. All of the airlines are founded in different years, following different routes,
having unique organizational structure and models and yet covers the system that gained them
popularity.
Reservations Systems
Because of the effect of the September 11th attack, each airlines began polishing the
system and holding the importance of the airline reservation system. It has a purpose in
enhancing the risk assessments among the flights from the point of embarkation to the point of
destination. This process is known as the Passenger Name Record (PNR). As traced into the
early reservation systems done by the travel agents, the electronic systems are here emphasized.
The operation of the reservation system might have different requirements from the competing
companies. The earliest versions of the reservation system were not designed to support the
exchange of data between operators, as the concept of interlining (transport involving two or
more carriers under a single ticket) was not yet fully developed. When the exchange of data was
required, it often involved the use of other processes outside of the carrier's own reservation
systems. This promotes in the construction of the PNR that systematically records each of
passenger's travel requirements which contains all information necessary to enable reservations
to be processed and controlled by the booking airline and the airline(s) participating in the
carriage (IATA, 2004). The record includes the following:
1. The passenger's name (or names, as a PNR can be for a single traveler or for a group of many);
2. Itinerary or routing;
16
3. Received from (the person making the reservation);
4. A phone contact (which is basically the number of Travel Agent made the booking); and
5. Ticketing information
On-Line Reservations
Because of the rapid spread of the internet, the airlines adopted a reservation system that
is a strong factor to gain new sales. The airlines began to introduce their own on-line reservation
system. These systems allowed airlines to avoid commissions by bypassing travel agents. Thus,
it has a tendency for the users to repeat the business transactions. The airline reservation systems
are frequently liked to the various programs and special offers which adds to their ability to
capture the travel and leisure market. These are some strategies that the online travel
agencies and travel agents cannot achieve because of the limitation in their services. However,
this system also experience drawbacks. Most of the airline sites do not allow for easy price
comparison, some will only book reservations on the airline which owns the site. Itineraries
which require travel to cities not served by that carrier usually cannot be booked (Kearney &
Robinson, 2004).
On-Line Travel Agencies
There are many traditional travel agencies that are operating on-line, but only few are
known by the passengers. The transaction between the travel agents and airlines is through the
commission basis. However, because of the direct booking of other passengers the commission
basis is slow diminishing and they have to charge the customers for the service fee. The usual
offers they give depend on their strategy and advertisement and not part of the airlines (Kearney
& Robinson, 2004).
Differences in Airline Reservation Systems
The reservation systems contain the information concerning the passengers and his
transportation. This information can be exchanged between the carriers through the facilitation of
well-defined method. The differences of the methods are based on the way wherein the various
systems interact with the airport system during the operations. For some instances, the
17
passenger’s records in the reservation system can be updated with the information and check-in
operations.
Some carrier includes the additional information or has no formal structured PNR and
sometimes the risks occur. For example the Tour Operator entered the contact of the passenger
that may lead to the security of the clientele. In today, many carriers do not operate in their own
reservation systems, and instead rely on the products and systems developed by the commercial
Computerized Reservation Systems (CRS) or Global Distribution Systems (GDS). In these cases,
a carrier operating from one country may be relying on a CRS for reservations and check-in
services that is based in another country - and accordingly - potentially bound by differing laws .
18
ENTITY RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAM
19
DATA FLOW DIAGRAM
A data-flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an
information system. DFDs can also be used for the visualization of data processing (structured
design).
On a DFD, data items flow from an external data source or an internal data store to an
internal data store or an external data sink, via an internal process.
A DFD provides no information about the timing or ordering of processes, or about
whether processes will operate in sequence or in parallel. It is therefore quite different from a
flowchart, which shows the flow of control through an algorithm, allowing a reader to determine
what operations will be performed, in what order, and under what circumstances, but not what
kinds of data will be input to and output from the system, nor where the data will come from and
go to, nor where the data will be stored (all of which are shown on a DFD).
Data Flow Diagram Level 0
“DFD level 0‟ is the highest level view of the system, contains only one process which
represents whole function of the system. It doesn‟t contain any data stores and the data is stored
with in the process.
For constructing DFD level 0 diagram for the proposed approach we need two sources one is for
“source‟ and another is for “destination‟ and a “process‟.
Dfd level 0
DFD level 0 is the basic data flow process, the main objective is to transfer the data from sender
to receiver after encryption.
Data Flow Diagram Level 1
For constructing “DFD level 1‟, we need to identify and draw the process that make the
level 0 process. In the project for transferring the personal data from source to destination, the
personal data is first encrypted and processed and latter decrypted.
20
DATA FLOW DIAGRAM:
LEVEL 0
21
22
Data Description
• A List of Airports including:
o Airport Name
o Abbreviation
o Location
-City
-State
-zip code (If possible)
-Time zone
• The information about several Flights, more specifically:
o Flight id
o Airline
o Flight number
o Departure/Arrival Date/Time
o Departure/Destination Airport
o Seats
o Total / Vacant
o Seat Number
o First Seats
o Coach Seats
o Type plane
23
o Fare
• Information of Reservations made:
o Flights id
o Email
o Passenger names
o Credit card type/number
o Address
o Total Price
• User Information, most importantly containing:
o Email
o Password
o Reservations
24
OPERATIONS OF AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEM (ARS)
The following are some of the operations regulated by Airline Reservation System:
Operation of Vendors to Air Carriers:
A system vendor shall:
a) Permit participation in its ARS by any carrier prepared to pay the requisite fees and to accept
the system vendor's standard conditions;
b) Not require carriers to participate in its ARS exclusively or for a certain proportion of their
activities;
c) Not impose any conditions on participation in its ARS that are not directly related to the
process of distributing a carrier's air transport products through the ARS;
d) Not discriminate among participating carriers in the ARS services it offers, including timely
and non- discriminatory access to service enhancements, subject to technical or other constraints
outside the control of the system vendor;
e) Ensure that any fees it charges are:
i) non-discriminatory;
ii) not structured in such a way that carriers are unfairly precluded from participation; and
iii) reasonably structured and reasonably related to the cost of the service provided and used and
shall, in particular, be the same for the same level of service;
f) Provide information on billing for the services of a system in a form (including, if requested,
via or on electronic media) and in sufficient detail to allow participating carriers to verify
promptly the accuracy of the bills;
g) Include in contracts a provision permitting an air carrier to terminate a contract by giving
notice:
i) which need not exceed six months, to expire not before the end of the first year; or
ii) as prescribed by national law;
h) Load information provided by participating carriers with consistent and non discriminatory
standards of care, accuracy and timeliness, subject to any constraints imposed by the loading
method selected by the participating carrier;
25
i) Not manipulate the information provided by carriers in any way that would lead to information
being displayed in an inaccurate or discriminatory manner;
j) Make any information in its ARS that directly concerns a single reservation available on an
equal basis to the subscriber concerned and to all the carriers involved in the service covered by
the reservation but to no other parties without the written consent of such carriers and the air
transport user; and
k) Not discriminate among participating carriers in making available any information, other than
financial information relating to the ARS itself, generated by its ARS in an aggregated or
anonymous form. (CODE OF CONDUCT for the Regulation and Operation of Computer
Reservation Systems.
Operations of Vendors to Subscribers Regarding Commercial Arrangements
A system vendor shall not:
a) Discriminate among subscribers in the ARS services it offers;
b) Restrict access by subscribers to other ARSs by requiring them to use its ARS exclusively or
by any other means;
c) Charge prices conditioned in whole or in part on the identity of carriers whose air transport
services are sold by the subscriber;
d) Require subscribers to use its ARS for sales of air transport services provided by any
particular carrier;
e) Tie any commercial arrangements regarding the sale of air transport services provided by any
particular carrier to the subscriber's selection or use of the system vendor's ARS;
f) Require subscribers to use its terminal equipment or prevent them from using computer
hardware or software that enables them to switch from the use of one ARS to another, although it
may require technical compatibility with its ARS; and
g) Require subscribers to enter into contracts which:
i) exceed five years; or
ii) cannot be cancelled by the subscriber at any time after one year, with
notice and without prejudice to recovery of actual cost; and
iii) contain provisions that undermine contract termination. (CODE OF CONDUCT for the
Regulation and Operation of Computer Reservation Systems)
26
Operations of Vendors Regarding Displays
A system vendor shall:
a) Make available a principal display or displays of schedules, space availability and tariffs of air
carriers which are fair, non-discriminatory, comprehensive, and neutral in terms of:
i) not being influenced, directly or indirectly, either by the identity of participating carriers or by
airport identity; and
ii) the information being ordered in a manner which is consistently applied to all participating
carriers and to all city-pair markets;
b) Ensure that any principal display made available is as fully functional and at least as easy to
use as any other display it offers;
c) Always provide a principal display except where there is a specific request from an air
transport user which requires the use of another display;
d) Base the ordering of services in a principal display and the selection and construction of
connecting services on objective criteria (such as departure/ arrival times, total elapsed time
between initial flight departure at origin and final flight arrival at destination, routing, number of
stops, number of connections and fares);
e) Provide to subscribers:
i) a principal display of flight options ranked in the order of all non-stop flights by departure
time, other direct flights not involving a change of aircraft and all connecting flights by elapsed
journey time; or
ii) a principal display of flight options ranked in any other order based on objective criteria; or
iii) principal displays based on i) and ii)
f) In the ordering of services in a principal display, take care that no carrier obtains an unfair
advantage;
g) In any principal display of schedule information:
i) clearly identify non-scheduled flights, scheduled en-route changes of equipment, use of the
designator code of one air carrier by another air carrier, the name of the operator of each flight,
the number of scheduled en-route stops, and any surface sectors or changes of airport
required; and
27
ii) clearly indicate that the information displayed regarding direct services is not comprehensive
if information on participating carriers' direct services is incomplete for technical reasons or if
any direct services operated by non-participating carriers are known to exist and are
omitted;
h) In the selection and construction of connecting services in a principal display,select as many
alternative (single or multiple) connecting points on a nondiscriminatory basis as is necessary to
ensure a wide range of options;
i) Not intentionally or negligently display inaccurate or misleading information;
j) In cases where States do not find it practicable to ensure that subscribers comply with Article
10, include appropriate provisions regarding compliance in its contract with each subscriber; and
k) Where participating carriers have joint venture or other contractual arrangements requiring
two or more of them to assume separate responsibility for the offer and sale of air transport
products on a flight or combination of flights, permit each carrier concerned—up to a maximum
of three—to have a separate display using its individual designator code. (CODE OF
CONDUCTfor the Regulation and Operation of Computer Reservation Systems)
28
SYSTEM TESTING
System testing is a critical aspect of Software Quality Assurance and represents the ultimate
review of specification, design and coding. Testing is a process of executing a program with the
intent of finding an error. A good test is one that has a probability of finding an as yet
undiscovered error. The purpose of testing is to identify and correct bugs in the developed
system. Nothing is complete without testing. Testing is the vital to the success of the system.
In the code testing the logic of the developed system is tested. For this every module of the
program is executed to find an error. To perform specification test, the examination of the
specifications stating what the program should do and how it should perform under various
conditions.
Unit testing focuses first on the modules in the proposed system to locate errors. This enables to
detect errors in the coding and logic that are contained within that module alone. Those resulting
from the interaction between modules are initially avoided. In unit testing step each module has
to be checked separately.
System testing does not test the software as a whole, but rather than integration of each module
in the system. The primary concern is the compatibility of individual modules. One has to find
areas where modules have been designed with different specifications of data lengths, type and
data element name.
Testing and validation are the most important steps after the implementation of the developed
system. The system testing is performed to ensure that there are no errors in the implemented
system. The software must be executed several times in order to find out the errors in the
different modules of the system.
Testing may be done at 4 levels:
Unit Level Module Level Integration & System Regression
UNIT TESTING
A Unit corresponds to a screen form in the package. Unit testing focuses on verification of
the corresponding class or Screen. This testing includes testing of control paths, interfaces, local
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data structures, logical decisions, boundary conditions, and error handling. Unit testing may use
Test Drivers, which are control programs to co-ordinate test case inputs and outputs, and Test
stubs, which replace low-level modules. A stub is a dummy subprogram.
MODULE LEVEL TESTING
Module Testing is done using the test cases prepared earlier. Module is defined during the
time of design.
INTEGRATION & SYSTEM TESTING
Integration testing is used to verify the combining of the software modules. Integration testing
addresses the issues associated with the dual problems of verification and program construction.
System testing is used to verify, whether the developed system meets the requirements.
REGRESSION TESTING
Each modification in software impacts unmodified areas, which results serious injuries to that
software. So the process of re-testing for rectification of errors due to modification is known as
regression testing. Installation and Delivery
Installation and Delivery is the process of delivering the developed and tested software to the
customer. Refer the support procedures Acceptance and Project Closure Acceptance is the part of
the project by which the customer accepts the product. This will be done as per the Project
Closure, once the customer accepts the product, closure of the project is started. This includes
metrics collection, PCD, etc
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MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is making adaptation of the software for external changes (requirements
changes or enhancements) and internal changes (fixing bugs). When changes are made during
the maintenance phase all preceding steps of the model must be revisited.
There are three types of maintenance:
1. Corrective (Fixing bugs/errors)
2. Adaptive (Updates due to environment changes)
3. Perfective (Enhancements, requirements changes
Airline Reservation System is one the modifications that were carried out in the Passenger
Service System so that the working and availability of Service area can be broadened.
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Scope of airways reservation
This is basically an interface of Global distribution System to carry out reservations on the
desired airline from any place. Airline Reservation System make the life of passengers very easy
as they don’t need to stand in queues for getting their seats reserved and they can easily make
reservations on any airline just from a single system. On the other hand, it also removed an extra
burden from the Airline Department as most of the passengers and travel agencies use this
service instead of making reservations from the counters.
With the help of this system, customers can view all the different flight’s availability with
different timings for a particular date and it also allows them to reserve a seat, cancel a
reservation or modify it. The only problem with the system is that it doesn’t allow the passengers
to change the particular part of his or her reservation. Apart from the fight details, it also displays
information that how many passengers are going to board a particular flight. The users follow the
same steps no matter what is their mode of system access is, namely, phone, internet or the
information desk at any part of the world, keeping consistency in the system.
ARS software is developed by many custom software development companies and then
integrated into the website. The client puts forth their requisites and the development team
produces software catering to their needs.
On one hand, it helps the customers and on the other, it also makes the life of the airline service
companies easier by keeping all the records of the passengers and if there is any change in the
fight due to some reason, the passengers are promptly informed. This system is also used by
companies to keep track of user preferences of regular travelers so that they can provide better
service and give offers to customers.
It also helps in maximizing the revenue generation of the airline companies in various ways.
The regular passengers can use this system to get the information regarding the special offers and
discounts provided to them. For some travelers who travel in parts or have to travel to various
destinations one after another, this system also guides them to select the best possible
combination for them. Users can create their permanent accounts in the system and need not fill
the required information every time they book, saving a lot of time of the customers.
From the user’s point of view the interface of the system is very easy and no technical
knowledge is required to use the system. But to use this reservation system, customers need to
create an account first and have to fill all the information required. If a client had already booked
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a ticket, he can also reschedule his booking for any other desired flight. From a survey carried
out by the airline companies, it is confirmed that airline reservation system has removed a lot of
burden from the authorities and made the life of the customers very easy.
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CONCLUSIONAirline Reservation System (ARS) has led to ease of airline ticketing, flight scheduling and
also provided a means for customers to access and book flights from their homes. It has also
increased the speed with which information about customers are retrieved and handled and
flight scheduling is tasked.
RECOMMENDATION
Owing to the ease and comfort of Airline Reservation Systems, local flights which are not on
the system should be encouraged to compensate the system. Secondly, the system should be
made affordable so as to encourage consumers and travel agents on patronizing the system.
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REFERENCE1. “Airline”. Retrieved on January 11, 2010 fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline.htm.2. “Aviation and Space”. Retrieved on December 18, 2009 from Microsoft Encarta Premium2009 Encyclopedia.3. C. Winston, S. Morrison(1995): "The Evolution of the Airline Industry", BrookingsInstitution Press, South Dakota, Cf. p. 61-62, Computer Reservation Systems.4. “Computerized Reservation System”. Retrieved on January 14, 2010 fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_reservations_system.htm.5. European Parliament: “More Competition in Airline Reservation System – WithProtection for Consumers,” Sept. 4, 2008. Retrieved on November 26, 2009from http://www.ehow.com/about_5122697_airline-reservation-systems.html
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