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 to the end-to-end passenger process. Its activities sit under the Travel Standards Board which manages the development of standards concerning any interaction between airline and any other parties involved in the delivery of a product of service to a customer.

Benefits

• Participate in the relevant group(s) highlighted below
• Receive preferential rates and opportunities when attending the annual World Passenger Symposium (WPS)
• Access to IATA Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
• 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 industry notifications on a broad spectrum of areas including One ID
• Participate in the annual Fulfil-Deliver Advisory Forum under Travel Standards Board 

Activities

Customer Journey Delivery Working Group (CJDWG)

1. The CJDWG deals with matters concerning the current and future passenger service delivery management and delivery tracking, the future management of data in shared airport environments, including Aviation Information Data Exchange (AIDX) for exchanging flight data between airlines, airports, and any third-party consuming operational data and Common Use environments for managing passenger processing.
2. Recognizing the industry’s drive for efficient, passenger-centric operations, the Group shall pursue its mandate through two complementary workstreams:
   1. Common Use workstream. Develop, maintain, and modernize the Common Use standards and related guidance - CUPPS, CUSS, CUWS, and ITPS - to ensure seamless interoperability across airlines, airports, and service providers
   2. Future Delivery workstream. In collaboration with the Deliver on Orders Task Force and with involvement from the DCS sub-group as appropriate, initiate new or enhanced standards required for next-generation passenger-processing and order-based delivery scenarios, and maintain the associated implementation materials as these standards mature.  
3. Document business requirements, as needed, to ensure business continuity during the transition from legacy environments to the world of offers and orders. In parallel, develop, review, and endorse proposals to amend Common Use standards as necessary to support this transition.
4. Liase with the Customer Experience WG, and other process-owning groups under any Management Board, and advisory groups under Advisory Councils as required.
5. Maintain a work plan and report regularly to the TSB

Customer Experience Working Group (CEWG)

IATA has realized the value of integrating airline operations alongside connected stakeholders such as airports and governments with the aim of providing a seamless journey for the passengers. The CEWG will look at how processes can be streamlined across stakeholder environments for the entire end-to-end passenger journey through the development and harmonization of standards, technology, and policy. A special focus is given to digital identity management, pre-travel verification and the use of biometrics across access and touchpoints, through the One ID Standards development.

Key objectives are:

1. Deal with matters concerning the current and future customer experience passenger facilitation, contactless journey, and the exchange of information between airlines and other stakeholders including airports and governments.
2. Recognizing the industry’s ambition to advance customer-centricity, develop and maintain modern standards to facilitate interaction between the passenger and the airline, the airport, and authorities in respect of passenger facilitation processes,
3. Document business requirements and propose the development of the One ID messages for contactless travel through biometric-enabled identification and the digitalization of passenger admissibility in advance of travel.
4. As and when necessary, maintain, develop, review, and endorse proposals to amend standards relating to accessibility, passengers with reduced mobility, and the handling of mobility aids.
5. Liaise with TSB Working Gruops. Other process-owning groups under any Management Boards, and advisory groups under Advisory Councils as required.
6. Maintain a work plan and report regularly to the Travel Standards Board.

 

Facilitation Passenger Data Working Group (FPDWG)

The FPDWG brings together the PAXLST and the PNRGOV Working 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.

Key objectives are:

1. Deal with matters concerning standards on transmission of passenger data from airlines and passengers to government agencies.
2. Recognize the industry’s ambition to move to the world of offers and orders only, as well as to move towards a more advanced customer-centric processes by developing and maintaining modern standards to facilitate passenger data’s transmission to authorities.
3. Document business requirements, propose additions or changes to the PNRGOV and PAXLST messages as well as associated Message Implementation Guides. Develop Business Requirement Documents where necessary by using the Airline Industry Data Model (AIDM) methodology.
4. Develop new passenger data standard: a taskforce is focusing on establishing a new data format using JSON (JSON PAXLST) which will address industry concerns and limitations of EDIFACT implementation for Advanced Passenger Information (API); this initiative will help to improve stakeholders and developers experience.

 

Control Authorities Working Group (CAWG)

The CAWG is an expert forum of airlines and governments that are working collaboratively to recommend solutions and to develop best practices on border management and passenger facilitation. The positions and materials developed by the CAWG present a balanced perspective between the requirements and limitations of both governments and the airline industry. The CAWG seeks to find mutually acceptable solutions for harmonizing processes, enhance passenger facilitation and border controls, and improve the risk assessment.

The CAWG was established in 1987 and is today composed of 18 national delegations with representatives from airlines, governments, and airlines associations. Observers from various countries, international and regional organizations also contribute to the work of the CAWG.

The CAWG works on topics such as data quality, passengers’ pre-travel verification, travel documents and authorizations, interactive Advance Passenger Information (IAPI), inadmissible persons and deportees, and document check and carrier's liability.

The meetings of the CAWG are limited to its members only.

Delivery on Orders Task Force (DOTF)

The DOTF aims to provide documented business concepts and use cases for the Travel Standards Board (TSB) Standards Working Groups on the topic of the future Delivery with Orders related matters, impacted airport processes, and the existing standards in areas such as baggage, interlining, customer handling, customer admissibility etc.). The TSB Standards Working Groups would then work on the potential changes in their standards as relevant to support the industry’s move to the Modern Airline Retailing.

Created for a temporary mandate (12 to 18 months), the DOTF will closely liaise with all the key groups, not only under the TSB but also under the Passenger Standards Conference (PSC) for its work.

CEWG and Accessibility Working Group Joint Task Force 

The CEFWG and Accessibility Working Group Joint Task Force aims to update the existing and/or develop new accessibility standards relating to the passenger process. Launched in April 2025, the TF will first review the current Resolution 700 Acceptance and Carriage of Passengers with Disabilities Requiring Assistance. 

Future of Passenger Data Task Force (FOPD TF)

The goal of the FPDTF is to deliver a white paper about how passenger data exchanged can be improved for better accuracy and simplification while remaining compliant in a world beyond PNR. The task force will go through several iterations, workshops and peer reviews to ensure the white paper is comprehensive and effective.

Monthly IATA Facilitation Exchange Call

The Monthly IATA Facilitation Exchange Call keeps the Facilitation community abreast of recent global developments and updates related to facilitation policies, implementation of passenger data programs as well as capacity building activities. It also provides an overview of IATA’s recent regional activities and engagement on these topics.

The call is attended by Airlines, International Organization, Airports and Strategic Partners. IATA’s subject matter experts and Regional Managers are present to provide the most accurate input possible.

The call follows an informal format in which the audience is invited to provide their point of view and communicate specific issues requiring attention.

Focus Areas

• Facilitation: focuses on areas of the passenger journey related to border control management, passenger data (API/PNR), the future of passenger data, and other areas of compliance with immigration and customs regulations.
• Customer experience: focuses on meeting regulatory requirements in preparation for travel and service delivery for the fulfillment of orders, including contactless travel through digital identity and biometric technologies.
• Passenger accessibility and the customer experience in fulfilment of special service requests
• Delivery on Orders, and the impact on operational environments and shared environments (such as Common Use and AIDX)
• Maintenance of business continuity during the transition to the world of offers and orders to maintain business continuity during the transition from legacy environments.

Designed for

• ACI Member Airports
• Government authorities
• Automatic border control system providers  
• Digital identity management providers
• Biometrics solution providers  
• Airline software solution providers (PSS, DCS, GDS...)
• Common Use solution providers (CUSS, CUPPS, ITPS...)
• International organizations

 

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