Customer Experience & Facilitation Strategic Partnerships Program

Customer Experience & Facilitation Strategic Partnerships Summary

The Customer Experience & Facilitation area focuses its activities and efforts on standards and solutions aligned with the end-to-end passenger process. Its activities sit under the Travel Standards Board, which manages the development of standards concerning any interaction between airlines and any other partners involved in the delivery of a product or service to a customer.

Benefits

• Participate in the relevant group(s) highlighted below
• Partake in the new standards collaboration work frames
• Develop processes and technical standards
• Drive technical and process innovation
• Develop implementation guides that reflect best practices
• Receive preferential rates and opportunities when attending the annual World Passenger Symposium (WPS)
• Receive industry notifications on a broad spectrum of areas including ONE Identity

Activities - Customer Experience & Facilitation

Facilitation Group (FG)
IATA has recognized the value of integrating airline operations with connected stakeholders such as airports and governments, with the aim of providing a seamless journey for the passenger. This group will look at how processes can be linked across stakeholder environments for the entire end-to-end passenger journey, through development and harmonization of standards, technology and policy.

A special focus is given to border control management, digital identity management, use of biometrics across the touchpoints, passenger data (API/PNR) and other areas of compliance with Immigration and Customs regulations.

PAXLST & PNRGOV Sub-Groups
The primary role of the PAXLST Working Group is to maintain the IATA version of the PAXLST message and associated standard message formats used to exchange Advance Passenger Information (API) between airlines and governments in accordance with changes adopted by the WCO/IATA/ICAO API-PNR Contact Committee.

The PNRGOV Working Group defines business requirements, manages change requests and maintains the implementation guides for EDIFACT and XML messages for Passenger Name Record (PNR) data which is transmitted to governments by airlines.

Passenger Accessibility Process Task Force (PAPTF)
In order to support the IATA strategy regarding industry accessibility, the Facilitation team has set up a task force to define the optimum process, as well as review standards and procedures for those passengers who need special assistance.

ONE ID Task Force
The One ID initiative aims to introduce a streamlined, friction-free and passenger-centric process that allows an individual to assert their identity, online or in person, to the required level at every process step while maintaining privacy of personal data, thus removing repetitive processes of travel tokens being presented by the passenger to many different stakeholders for different purposes across the end-to-end passenger experience.

The One ID initiative will be supported by the creation of a Trusted Digital Identity with the identification through biometric recognition systems, with mobile technologies, data security and with other technological advancements. The One ID task force works toward the standardization and harmonization of frameworks, processes, data model, and data interchange protocol to expedite and maximize the benefits for all.

Control Authorities Working Group
The IATA Control Authorities Working Group (CAWG) was established in 1987 and falls under the Passenger Facilitation Working Group (PFWG). The CAWG provides strategic direction and leadership for integrated border management and aviation facilitation matters. The positions and material developed by the CAWG are the outcome of collaborative working arrangements between governments and the airline industry to find mutually acceptable solutions for border management.

Some positions and working papers presented by IATA to ICAO that are the result of the work of the CAWG present the benefit of being a balanced perspective between the needs and limitations of both airlines and control authorities. The CAWG currently work on topics such as API data quality, travel authorizations, API non-standard requirements, iAPI best practice, etc. The meetings of the CAWG are limited to its members only.

Monthly Facilitation Exchange Call & Networking Opportunities
This interactive, monthly call keeps the Facilitation community abreast of recent global developments and provides updates related to Facilitation policies, implementation of passenger data exchange programs and capacity building activities. It also provides an overview of IATA’s recent regional activities and engagement on these topics.

The call is attended by International Organizations, Airlines, Airports and Strategic Partners, as well as IATA Subject Matter Experts and Regional Managers. The call follows an informal format in which participants are invited to provide their point of view and communicate on specific issues requiring attention.

Activities - Common Use

The Common Use Strategic Partnerships Area of Involvement is currently developing standards in five specific areas in relation to the following objectives:

Common Use Group (CUG)
The Common Use Group has been created to develop industry standards in five specific areas pertaining to common use.
The objectives of the group are to:

• Develop processes and technical standards
• Develop implementation guides that reflect best practices
• Drive technical and process innovation in the area of common use systems
• Recommend all such standards to the industry via the IATA Passenger Services Conference

Common Use Self-Service Technical Solution Group (CUSS-TSG)
The CUSS-TSG is responsible for RP1706c and for the maintenance of its Technical Specifications  publication. This Technical Solution Group reporting into the CUG. CUSS 1.5.1 is the latest supported version and CUSS 2.0 is under development.  

Common Use Passenger Processing Systems Technical Solution Group (CUPPS-TSG)
The CUPPS-TSG is responsible for RP1797 and for the maintenance of its Technical Specifications publication. CUPPS describes the range of services, specifications, and standards enacted to enable multiple airlines, service providers to share physical check-in or gate podium positions (either simultaneously or consecutively). CUPPS 1.04 is the latest version supported within the IATA standard.

Common Use Web Services Technical Solution Group (CUWS-TSG)
The purpose of this Technical Solution Group is to standardize data exchange through the use of web services technology. With the evolution of biometric, the CUWS team is currently working on delivering a new set of Passenger Access Management Services throughout touchpoints, supporting standardized data exchange between each touch point and the host system.

IATA Technical Peripheral Specifications Technical Solutions Group (ITPS-TSG)
The ITPS-TSG is responsible for the maintenance of the specification that describes all exchanges of Departure Control Systems (DCS) to device communication and all device responses supporting Boarding Pass Printer (ATB), Baggage Tag Printers (BTP), Boarding Gate Readers and Self-Boarding Gates (BGR and E-Gates), SBD (SelfBaggage Drop) and SD (Scale Device).

Focus Areas

• Biometrics
• Border management
• Common Use
• Data exchange
• Facilitation
• Self-service
• Passenger messaging

Designed for

• Airports / Governments
• Airline software solutions providers (PPS, DCS, GDS, etc.)
• Automatic border control system providers
• Biometrics solution providers
• Common Use solutions providers 
• Digital identity management
• Self-service providers

Please view the full list of Strategic Partnerships Program benefits (pdf).