Amadeus Training User Guide v1
description
Transcript of Amadeus Training User Guide v1
1 June 2012
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Amadeus Training
User Guide
Version 1.0
1 June 2012
1 June 2012
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Document control Security level Internal / external use
Company Amadeus IT Group SA
Version Date Change Comment
1.0 01 June 2012 First release for external use, based on previous
internal version
Audience = all
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Table of Contents
1 Introducing Amadeus Training ...................................................................................... 4 1.1 The Amadeus Training (SKL) Environment ........................................................ 4
1.1.1 Separate from Production ........................................................................... 4 1.1.2 System Date ............................................................................................... 4 1.1.3 Scheduled Outages .................................................................................... 4 1.1.4 Production Level Software .......................................................................... 4 1.1.5 Data Control ............................................................................................... 5
1.2 Capture/Restore Process ................................................................................... 5
2 Managing Training Data ............................................................................................... 8 2.1 General Information ........................................................................................... 8 2.2 Loading Data for Training Delivery ..................................................................... 9
3 Delivering Training Courses ....................................................................................... 10 3.1 What's Available: Practice Training vs Amadeus Training ................................ 10 3.2 Functionality .................................................................................................... 12
3.2.1 Smart Tabs in Selling Platform ................................................................. 12 3.3 Accessing Amadeus Training........................................................................... 13 3.4 Checking Your Training Works ........................................................................ 14 3.5 Training Specifics ............................................................................................ 15
3.5.1 User Groups ............................................................................................. 15 3.5.2 Refunds .................................................................................................... 16
3.6 Printing ............................................................................................................ 16 3.6.1 Virtual Printer ............................................................................................ 16 3.6.2 Physical Printer ......................................................................................... 16
3.7 Summary of Practical Points ............................................................................ 17
4 Appendix 1 – Ticketable Airlines ................................................................................. 18 4.1 Sorted by Airline Code ..................................................................................... 18 4.2 Sorted by Airline Name .................................................................................... 21
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1 Introducing Amadeus Training Amadeus Training is replacing the current Practice Training system that has supported Amadeus for many years. Amadeus Training contains all of the data and functionalities for you to train Amadeus products and functionality.
1.1 The Amadeus Training (SKL) Environment
1.1.1 Separate from Production
Amadeus Training (SKL) is not a part of Production - it is a separate system, dedicated to delivering training. You may like to think of it as a clone of the Production system with a system date that is five weeks behind Production. Sometimes Amadeus Training is identified with the name Skilling or the acronym SKL – both refer to the name of the technical platform from which it evolved.
1.1.2 System Date
The date on Amadeus Training is always five weeks behind Production. For example, when the date on Production was the 23 May 2012, the date on Amadeus Training was the 18 April 2012. This is because the standard Amadeus capture/restore process is used to update the data on Amadeus Training.
1.1.3 Scheduled Outages
Amadeus Training is available 24/7 except for these scheduled outages:
5 maintenance outages per year (Saturday, 14:00 – 18:00 GMT) In 2012 these are 28 Jan, 28 Apr, 28 Jul, 22 Sep, 01 Dec.
3 restore outages (Saturday, 14:00 – 20:00 GMT) In 2012 these are on 3 Mar, 30 Jun, 27 Oct.
All scheduled and unscheduled outages will be notified by email.
1.1.4 Production Level Software
Software on Amadeus Training is "production-level". Production software is automatically loaded in Amadeus Training on the weekend following the load in the production system. Amadeus Training remains available for use during these loads.
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1.1.5 Data Control
It is important to understand how data is updated on Amadeus Training as this will help you to:
Plan your training schedule
Prepare more effectively for the delivery of your training courses. Data on Amadeus Training is updated via the capture/restore process. This is a standard process used with Amadeus platforms other than Production, and is explained below.
1.2 Capture/Restore Process The capture/restore process is one of the significant differences between Amadeus Training and Practice Training. It is important because this is how most of the Production data arrives on Amadeus Training. For example, any data loaded in Production usually appears in Amadeus Training after the next capture/restore process completes; replacing all data that was previously present in Amadeus Training The capture/restore process concerns the loading of production data on Amadeus Training. Production software is loaded on Amadeus Training on the Saturday after its load in Production.
The capture/restore process comprises the following steps:
1. Making a copy of the data on Production (this is the capture)
2. Customising the data as necessary (Running scripts based on work orders to modify production settings within the training environment).
3. Pasting the copied production data on Amadeus Training (this is the restore).
It takes 5 weeks to complete. The official capture and restore dates for 2012 are given in section 1.1.3 of this guide. An example of the timeframe is given below for the last capture/restore process of 2012:
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The frequency with which the capture and restore process happens varies, but they are usually spaced at approximately 4 month intervals. Remember to look at the official capture and restore dates before scheduling training in order to avoid delivering training on the day of a restore. After the first restore cycle, you may want to take time to check that the data has restored as you expected.
Any updates to Production data will appear in Amadeus Training (SKL) after the next full capture/restore process. For example: Data loaded after the capture on 26 May, will appear on Amadeus Training only after the capture and restore cycle of 22Sep/27Oct completes:
What is included in the Capture/Restore process? All Production data (for example, PNRs, Fares, Profiles, Schedules, Ancillary Services, Availability, Timetables, Office Profiles, e-Tickets, EMDs, Airline specific and market specific tables, etc.) is included in the capture. This data is restored onto Amadeus Training (SKL) to ensure the quality of data and the system functionality on is equivalent to that of the production environment. The Schedules database is copied from the production environment, but the data copied is the data available at the time of the capture. Therefore, when the data is restored on Amadeus Training, the availability displays may not include flights for the whole of the following season. For example, if the schedules database captured only has flights until the 25th April, any availability requests after that date for the airline will not return anything. The same behavior occurs for Fares.
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Customising data, training new products Some customization may be required for a given market in order for them to be able to train specific functionalities that may not yet be available in Production. For example, a certain market may wish to train agents on EMD and Ancillary services before the product is deployed in the market. In addition to certain office profile and table changes being made to Amadeus Training (i.e. only to the training environment so as not to impact the production environment), there must also be the airline data present in the system and made available to the travel agency community. Amadeus can set up the tables, but the airline must agree and load the data for the fares/pricing records required for the ancillary services. Any such specific set-ups must be requested well in advance. Office Profile Data Office Profiles and sign banks are copied from Production and restored on Amadeus Training. By default, a specific User Group (SKL08) and a virtual printer will be defined for all training offices. The user group SKL08 has been set with values necessary for training delivery – for example, EOT is authorized and TRCS is set. If the office in question requires different settings, a Work Order must be opened requesting these settings. The Sign Bank is also copied from production and restored to the training platform. All signs that existed in the office sign bank at the time of capture will be restored (It should be noted that the password associated to the sign is based on the user password at the time of the capture). In certain cases, the nightly file maintenance may consider some signs as unused for a long period of time and will delete them from the sign bank. If this happens, your Local Security Administrator can recreate the sign.
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2 Managing Training Data
2.1 General Information Changing data without affecting Production One of the benefits of Amadeus Training being a separate environment is that you can change data without affecting the data in Production. For example:
If you create a PNR in Amadeus Training, you do not create a booking or reduce inventory in Production.
You can update EOS agreements (Extended Ownership Security) to increase your security in Amadeus Training without making the changes in Production.
Such changes will last until the next restore unless a work order is opened and the data is requested to be permanently available (as explained in section 2.2).
Minor differences in data When delivering a training course in Amadeus Training, remember that some data may not be the same as in Production because of the time taken by the capture/restore process. For example you may not find "fresh" production data on the training environment! However this is unlikely to affect your training - and you can most likely work around this easily when selecting flights and trips. A best practice is to make bookings after the current date (and not in the 5 week period between the date on Amadeus Training and today’s date.
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2.2 Loading Data for Training Delivery There are 2 different ways of loading data to Amadeus Training: 1. Via the capture/restore process - this is the recommended way as it takes least effort.
After the data has been captured and restored from Production to Amadeus Training, the data is always available on Amadeus Training (unless it is removed from Production). In order for this process to apply, the data must be in Production at the time of the capture. It takes least effort to have data loaded from Production to Amadeus Training using the standard capture/restore process. The data must be in Production in time for a full capture/restore process to complete. Check the official capture/restore dates to work out when the data needs to be on Production in order to be restored to Amadeus Training in time for the delivery of any planned training course. .
2. By work orders - requesting data to be loaded by work order allows data to be loaded to Amadeus Training only (and not to Production), or load it to Amadeus Training at the same time it is loaded into Production. The work order specifies if the data is to be loaded once only to Amadeus Training or after each restore on Amadeus Training. Data must be loaded to Amadeus Training by work order if the data could adversely impact the data in Production.
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3 Delivering Training Courses
3.1 What's Available: Practice Training vs Amadeus Training The table below compares the functionality for which training courses can be delivered on Practice Training and Amadeus Training.
In Practice
Training?
In Amadeus Training?
Reservations
Segment Sell Yes* Yes
Dynamic Discount Fares Yes Yes
Information Pages Yes Yes
Service Fee Manager Yes Yes
Availability Yes Yes
Ancillary Services No Yes
Itinerary and invoice Yes Yes
Profiles Yes Yes
Queues Yes Yes
Local security Yes Yes
AIP and conversion Yes Yes
Air displays Yes Yes
PNR creation, modification, deletion Yes Yes
Teletype No Yes**
Past Date Record No No
Offers No Yes
PNR history No Yes
Fares
Negotiated Fares Yes Yes
Fare Quote Yes Yes
Amadeus Ticketless Access Yes Yes
Electronic Ticketing Yes Yes
Pricing Yes Yes
Ticketing
Ticketing, TST Yes*** Yes
Ticketing Quota System No Yes
Central Ticketing Yes*** Yes
Central ticketing Sales Reports Yes*** Yes
Amadeus Ticket Changer Yes*** Yes
EMD No Yes
Amadeus Interface Record Yes Yes
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In Practice
Training?
In Amadeus Training?
Travel Services & Leisure
Rail (except SNCF) No No
SNCF Yes Yes
Cruise No No
Insurance Yes Yes
Hotels Yes Yes
Cars Yes Yes
e-Travel
Amadeus e-Retail Engine Yes Yes
Amadeus e-Travel Management Yes Yes
Amadeus Flex Pricer Yes Yes
Help Desk
ACE & Web Configuration Yes No
Problem Handling and Reporting (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Distribution System (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Terminals (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Office Id and Office Profile (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Local Security (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Transaction Security (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Extended Ownership (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
End User Maintenance (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Fares and Pricing (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Air (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Travel Service Leisure (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Printing (for Help Desks) Yes Yes
Corporate
Amadeus Quality Control Yes NO
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3.2 Functionality There are some changes from the Production and the Practice Training environments that need to be taken into consideration when planning and performing a training course. In Practice Training, links are not in place with the external world. This means that bookings made on non Altéa airlines do not target inventory and use simulated messages to generate the replies. On Amadeus Training, Amadeus will have a link to the test system of the target airline thus enabling a real interaction with the other system. This is required so that ticketing (and potentially Ancillary Services) may be performed on Non Altéa Hosted Airlines. The drawback of having interactive links is that the following:
Amadeus does not control what the receiving system sends back
Amadeus does not control when the receiving system may be down or does not reply Whenever possible, it is recommended to use Altéa hosted airlines but in certain markets, it will be necessary to use other airlines.
3.2.1 Smart Tabs in Selling Platform
Smart tabs in Amadeus Selling Platform (and Amadeus Reservation Desktop) are available as follows when using the training URL to access Amadeus Training – see section 3.3.
Sell Version Access to Smart Tabs via Training URL
5.2P100
5.2P200
6.1P100
6.2P100
7.1P100 and higher
Note: Access requires the correct setup in WebConfig, and any issues can be opened as Incident Reports (IRs). Notes:
The “Plus” components (Cars Plus, Hotels Plus etc.) are not smart tabs. They are new generation components of Selling Platform..
Smart keys are basically scripts of cryptic entries, and smart keys work correctly in Amadeus Training.
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3.3 Accessing Amadeus Training The recommended way to access Amadeus Training requires Selling Platform version 5.2 or higher. If this requirement is met, use one of the following URLs to connect to Selling Platform and the training environment (i.e. Selling Platform is not connected to Production).
training.amadeusvista.com if you are connected to the Internet.
training.1a.amadeusvista.com if you are connected to Amadeus network Ways to access to Amadeus Training are detailed below. .
SELL V5.2 and higher Comments
The dedicated urls below are available with V5.2 or higher for a direct connection to Amadeus Training: training.amadeusvista.com (by Internet)
training.1a.amadeusvista.com (by Amadeus network)
To access Production, log out of Selling Platform and log in to your Production version of Selling Platform.
SELL V3.1 to V5.0 Comments
Your terminal or office must be switched to use Amadeus Training. Contact your ACO.
SELL lower than V3.1 Amadeus Selling Platform versions lower than 3.1 need to be upgraded in order to deliver training in the GUI.
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3.4 Checking Your Training Works
You need to check the entries for your training courses in Amadeus Training for the following reasons:
When migrating your courses from Practice Training, to ensure the entries work and make any minor adjustments if necessary
After the first capture/restore process completes and before delivering your training course to ensure that the data is as expected.
Depending on the situation, this can be done in different ways, for example:
Work through the entries and exercises at a terminal connected to Amadeus Training
Join a training course and validate the entries and exercises at the pilot terminal as the training is delivered.
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3.5 Training Specifics
3.5.1 User Groups
User groups contain the rules that must be followed for security purposes, for example identifying the entries that a user can make. A user group is usually attached to an office ID. User groups are maintained by the Security team in the Service Management Centre. User groups in Production and Amadeus Training are distinct entities. User groups in Amadeus Training define the security rules in Amadeus Training (not in Production). For example, a user group might grant more privileges on Amadeus Training than on Production for the same office. User groups used in Practice Training have changed names in Amadeus Training as shown in the table below:
Current user group on Practice Training Corresponding user group in Amadeus Training
HELPT HESKL
AFCHK SKL01
1APR1 SKL02
ATC1 SKL03
1ATR1 SKL04
1AWWW SKL05
HDCTS SKL06
ALTNG SKL07
SUTNG SKL08
The user group SKL08 has been set with values necessary for training delivery – for example, EOT is authorized and TRCS is set to allow refunds.
All training offices in Amadeus Training will be set to use the user group SKL08 by default from the 30 June 2012 onwards. Training offices are considered to be those with the setting CTO = TRN.
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3.5.2 Refunds
Performing refunds is permitted by everyone using Amadeus Training. You may need to check that the user group being used in Amadeus Training has TRCS set if you are using a user group other than those detailed in section 3.5.1.
3.6 Printing To deliver training on Amadeus Training you are recommended to use the virtual training printer that is set up by default for all user groups in Amadeus Training.
3.6.1 Virtual Printer
The virtual training printer provides all the functionality up to the point of printing the ticket but does not allow you to print a physical ticket. All office IDs – with the exception of airline office IDs - in Amadeus Training have been set to use the virtual printer by default from the 30 June 2012 onwards. The virtual training printer set, called mnemonic D00062, comprises these printers:
a generic document printer
a TAT printer
an ATB ticket printer
a DAIR printer When you are signed in to Amadeus Training, you can display the list of printers associated to your office by entering TTQLIST.
3.6.2 Physical Printer
A physical printer connected to Amadeus Training (SKL) allows you to print tickets; however the printer must be dedicated for use with Amadeus Training. It cannot be used with Production as well. This option is for exceptional cases. Please contact your ACO for further information.
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3.7 Summary of Practical Points The list below is a summary of the things that you will need to consider when delivering training courses on Amadeus Training. The majority of these points have been pulled together from different sections of this user guide for your convenience.
1. Understand that Amadeus Training (SKL) is a separate system to Production. You must sign in to Amadeus Training SKL in order to see the settings for user groups in SKL. The settings can be different in Amadeus Training, and any changes made in Amadeus Training do not affect Production.
2. An easy way to verify that you are working in Amadeus Training is to check the system date - it is always 5 weeks behind Production. The DD entry shows you the system date.
3. After each restore your training password will be over-ridden by the newly captured Production password (could be an old one!). Please bear this in mind when the next restore happens.
4. Avoid delivering training during scheduled outages.
5. After a restore, remember to check your course entries before delivering your training course to ensure that the data is as expected
6. As much as possible, use the standard capture/restore process to load your data to Amadeus Training.
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4 Appendix 1 – Ticketable Airlines The intention is to have all airlines available for ticketing in Amadeus Training. However there are certain restrictions. Non Amadeus ETS hosted Airlines are not controlled by Amadeus and the links and availability of these systems is dependent on each provider. The following airlines do allow the full ticketing flow to occur in Amadeus (Ticket issuance, display, cancellation and refund of ETKTs etc.). This Information is correct as of 21st March 2012.
4.1 Sorted by Airline Code
2U Ero Sun d'Or
4Q Safi Airways
7D Donbassaero Airlines
9B Access Rail
A3 Aegean Airlines
A4 Aero Commercial Oriente Norte
A5 Airlinair
AB Air Berlin
AF Air France
AT Royal Air Maroc
AV Avianca
AY Finnair
BA British Airways
BD British Midland Airways (BMI)
BT Air Baltic
CF City Airline
CX Cathay Pacific
DC Golden Air
DL Delta Airlines
DY Norwegian Air Shuttle
EI Aer Lingus
EY Ethiad
FB Bulgaria Air
FI Icelandair
FJ Air Pacific
FV Rossyia Airlines
HR Hahn Air
IB IBERIA
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IE Solomon Airlines
IF Islas Airways
J2 Azerbijan Airlines
JJ TAM
JP Adria Airways
JU JAT
JZ Skyways AB
KA Dragonair
KC Air Astana
KL KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
KQ Kenya Airways
LH Lufthansa
LJ Jin Air
LN Libyan Airlines
LO LOT Polish Airlines
LR LACSA
LY El Al
MD Air Madagascar
ME Middle East Airlines
MK Air Mauritius
MR Mongolian Airlines
MS Egyptair
MX Mexicana
NF Air Vanuatu
NH All Nippon
NP Nile Air
NT Binter Canarias
NZ Air New Zealand
OK Czech Airlines
OS Austrain
OU Croatian Airlines
OV Estonian Air
PC Pegasus Airlines
PH Transavia Denmark
PU Pluna
PZ TAM Mercosur
Q8 Trans Air Congo
QA Mexicana Click
QC Camair CO
QF QANTAS
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QI Cimber Sterling
QR QATAR
RC Atlantic Airways
RJ Royal Jordanian
S4 SATA International
SA South African Airways
SB Air Calin
SE XL Airways France
SN Brussels Airlines
SP SATA Air Açores
SQ Singapore Airlines
SS Corsair
SV Saudi Arabian Airlines
T0 TACA Peru
T7 Twin Jet
TA TACA
TG Thai Airways
TK Turkish Airlines
TL Airnorth
TP TAP
TU Tunisair
TX Air Caraibes
UD Hex Air
UG Tunisair Express
UU Air Austral
UX Air Europa
V0 Conviasa
VA Virgin Australia
VQ Viking Hellas Airlines
VS Virgin Atlantic
VU Air Ivoire
VV Aerosvit Airlines
VY Vueling Airlines
WF Wideroe
XK CCM Airlines
YM Montenegro Airlines
ZI Aigle Azur
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4.2 Sorted by Airline Name
Access Rail 9B
Adria Airways JP
Aegean Airlines A3
Aer Lingus EI
Aero Commercial Oriente Norte A4
Aerosvit Airlines VV
Aigle Azur ZI
Air Astana KC
Air Austral UU
Air Baltic BT
Air Berlin AB
Air Calin SB
Air Caraibes TX
Air Europa UX
Air France AF
Air Ivoire VU
Air Madagascar MD
Air Mauritius MK
Air New Zealand NZ
Air Pacific FJ
Air Vanuatu NF
Airlinair A5
Airnorth TL
All Nippon NH
Atlantic Airways RC
Austrain OS
Avianca AV
Azerbijan Airlines J2
Binter Canarias NT
British Airways BA
British Midland Airways (BMI) BD
Brussels Airlines SN
Bulgaria Air FB
Camair CO QC
Cathay Pacific CX
CCM Airlines XK
Cimber Sterling QI
City Airline CF
Conviasa V0
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Corsair SS
Croatian Airlines OU
Czech Airlines OK
Delta Airlines DL
Donbassaero Airlines 7D
Dragonair KA
Egyptair MS
El Al LY
Ero Sun d'Or 2U
Estonian Air OV
Ethiad EY
Finnair AY
Golden Air DC
Hahn Air HR
Hex Air UD
IBERIA IB
Icelandair FI
Islas Airways IF
JAT JU
Jin Air LJ
Kenya Airways KQ
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL
LACSA LR
Libyan Airlines LN
LOT Polish Airlines LO
Lufthansa LH
Mexicana MX
Mexicana Click QA
Middle East Airlines ME
Mongolian Airlines MR
Montenegro Airlines YM
Nile Air NP
Norwegian Air Shuttle DY
Pegasus Airlines PC
Pluna PU
QANTAS QF
QATAR QR
Rossyia Airlines FV
Royal Air Maroc AT
Royal Jordanian RJ
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Safi Airways 4Q
SATA Air Açores SP
SATA International S4
Saudi Arabian Airlines SV
Singapore Airlines SQ
Skyways AB JZ
Solomon Airlines IE
South African Airways SA
TACA TA
TACA Peru T0
TAM JJ
TAM Mercosur PZ
TAP TP
Thai Airways TG
Trans Air Congo Q8
Transavia Denmark PH
Tunisair TU
Tunisair Express UG
Turkish Airlines TK
Twin Jet T7
Viking Hellas Airlines VQ
Virgin Atlantic VS
Virgin Australia VA
Vueling Airlines VY
Wideroe WF
XL Airways France SE