Below are details of the SIS Steering and Working Groups for Phase 2 of SIS. While the structure has since changed, this information is preserved as the impact of these participants’ input will continue to be felt throughout the entire project.
The Steering Group was composed of representatives from Air France, Air New Zealand, American Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Iberia, Lufthansa, SWISS, United Airlines, IATA, and the Airline Clearing House (ACH).
Phase 2 separated interline settlement into five distinct areas and assigned a WG to define specific requirements:
- The Passenger Billing WG concentrated on removing the paper from all primary passenger billing processes, including FIRST & FINAL™ and Sampling.
- Represented: Air France, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, Delta, Iberia, JAL, Lufthansa, SWISS, Yemenia, and IATA. Representatives from ARC, ATPCO, and Kale participated as observers at the invitation of the chair.
- The E-Cargo WG ensured that interline cargo can be processed completely electronically, including both primary and rejection billing. It examined the use of IDEC or any alternative processes.
- Represented: Air Canada, British Airways, Cargolux, Emirates, Lufthansa Cargo, and IATA.
- The IDEC WG expanded the IDEC data exchange standard with new records in order to include additional transaction types and the ability to link to an image repository of supporting documents. It was also responsible for the validation rules underlying the record structures.
- Represented: Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Korean Air, Lufthansa, TAP Portugal, Virgin Atlantic, and IATA.
- The E-Invoicing WG set standards for paperless Miscellaneous invoices and supporting documents. The working group liaised with IATA experts to ensure international tax and legal compliance and monitored the financial control aspects.
- Represented: British Airways, Delta, Emirates, Lufthansa, Northwest Airlines, TAROM, and IATA.
- The Paperless Support WG concentrated on standards for passenger rejects and alternative billing processes for any non-IDEC items, including any supporting documents.
- Represented: Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Northwest Airlines, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, Yemenia, and IATA.
SIS Subgroups
Additionally, the WGs identified the need for two ad-hoc groups that came together as needed. These subgroups generally brought together members from several WGs to make recommendations on specialized aspects of SIS. Those recommendations were forwarded to the group responsible for the topic to be integrated into its requirements.
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Integrated Settlement - Validation - The Validation Subgroup made recommendations for the required elements in a billing submission, the processes followed when elements are invalid, and ways to improve overall quality. Additionally, the sub-group recommended ways in which validation could be phased in over a period of time.
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Represented: Air France, Air New Zealand, American Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa, SWISS, and IATA.
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Sampling - The Sampling Subgroup examined the existing processes within the context of the proposed SIS, including
auto-billing. They made recommendations for the forms and codes to be used in the future, plus revised timelines for the invoice and rejection processes.
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Represented: Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Delta, Lufthansa, SWISS, and IATA.