News for travel agents

Distribution agreement between Finnair and Sabre ending 1st December 2022

News
Published Updated

**We are happy to inform that distribution agreement between Finnair and Sabre will continue after 1st of December 2022, please see this article for further information.**
 

We hereby inform you that on the 30th November 2022 the distribution agreement between Finnair and Sabre will end. This effectively means that from 1st December 2022 Finnair’s content will not be visible in GDS Sabre (1S) and GDS Abacus (1B).​

We understand this may cause you certain disturbances in the next period, but we will provide you with the best possible support. Up until the end of November you will be able to book Finnair flights and issue Finnair tickets in Sabre/Abacus but starting from 1st of December you can only retrieve previously made bookings but not e.g., issue tickets or service previously issued documents.

At the same time Finnair and Sabre continue discussion in partnership spirit and good faith to find a solution. We will continue to innovate and offer modern retailing and customer-oriented distribution channels, including the NDC program (via NDC API Direct Connect, Finnair Agency Sales Tool – FAST or certified NDC Aggregators) and finnair.com.​

Below you can find detailed information on how to deal with existing bookings and available alternatives. Please note the information and scenarios relate to the period 1st December 2022 and onwards. Until and including 30th November 2022 you will be able to perform all day-to-day operations in Sabre GDS and Abacus GDS uninterrupted and as usual.

**UPDATE 09NOV** Instructions for existing group bookings added to Q&A.

What are the markets affected by removal of Finnair content from 1S and 1B from 1st December 2022?

  • All markets where Finnair is a BSP member and agents using 1S and 1B can issue AY 105 documents.

How can 1S and 1B travel agents get access to Finnair content after 1st December 2022?

  • Finnair continues to distribute via all the other GDSs - Amadeus, Travelport, Travelsky, Infini.
    Also, Finnair content is available on finnair.com and through NDC via Direct connect, FAST or certified NDC aggregators. More info on ndc.finnair.com.

What happens to Finnair bookings in 1S and 1B ticketed prior to 1st December?

  • They continue to exist and are valid for travel, regardless of travel date. Such bookings remain available and travel agents will be able to retrieve them in 1S and 1B. However, no action can be performed on those.

What happens to unticketed flight bookings in 1S and 1B?

  • Ticketing will not be possible in 1S and 1B from 1st December 2022 onwards; All unticketed bookings should be issued latest on the 30th November or earlier in case TTLs require so.

How can existing ticketed bookings made via 1S and 1B be serviced?

  • Changes to existing bookings after 1st December 2022 will be possible through contacting Finnair Agent Help Desk or finnair.com Manage Booking feature. If payment is needed, the form of payment available is credit card (via payment link valid for 5 hours if servicing is done via Agent Help Desk). No BSP cash option available. Adding ancillaries to existing ticketed bookings is possible via finnair.com Manage Booking feature.

How to process cancelations and refunds in 1S and 1B after 1st December?

  • Cancelations will only be available via Finnair Agent Help Desk. Refunding tickets in 1S and 1B GDSs will be disabled. BSP Travel Agents can send refund requests via BSPlink Refund Application (RA). When refund cannot be handled via 1S/1B, the refund handling fee with BSPlink RA will be waived. The BSPlink RA should include the remark “Refund in Sabre/Abacus disabled”. The refund payment will be settled via BSP reporting.
  • US market ARC Travel Agents can submit the refund application via Refund Web-form on Finnair internet site. The WEB-form refund request should include additional information “Refund in Sabre/Abacus disabled”. The refund payment will be settled through ARC-IAR reporting (with agency credit memo).

Interlining and codeshare flights

  • Interline flights with AY marketed segments will not be possible. Marketed codeshare flights and availability are not impacted, codeshare will be available on other airline plates (other airline marketed and AY operated flights).

Irregularity situations

  • In the disruption situations (flight cancelled or changed) such statuses (HX, UC, UN) will not be reflected in existing bookings in 1S and 1B. If there’s a passenger contact in the booking (SSR CTCM or SSR CTCE), the passenger will be notified of the disruption via SMS/e-mail. Please make sure that customers’ contact information on bookings are up to date. Voluntary re-accommodation after involuntary change is available via finnair.com Manage Booking feature.

Will Claim PNR feature be available?

  • It is not possible that Finnair Agent Help Desk creates the booking on the agent’s behalf which agents could then claim PNR to 1S/1B.

Can agents in 1S and 1B queue all the affected bookings or unticketed bookings to Finnair to a certain queue?

  • Not possible

What happens to existing group bookings in 1S and 1B?

  • Payments:
    As of 1st of December Deposit and Final Payment EMDs cannot be issued in 1S and 1B. For existing group bookings where the deposit has already been paid, final payment will be possible through Finnair Group Sales Support Team. The form of payment available is a credit card (via payment link valid for 5 hours if servicing is done via Group Sales Support). No BSP cash option available.

    For group bookings made in GDS before 30th November where no payment has been made yet and for FGT bookings created after 30th November, EMD must be issued by an IATA agent with valid AY ticketing rights and GDSs - Amadeus, Travelport, Travelsky, Infini. The group reservation ownership needs to be changed in FGT.
  • Ticketing:
    Via IATA Travel agency who has a valid AY booking & ticketing rights in FGT.

    Claimed GDS bookings must be issued latest on 30th November or earlier in case TTLs require so. After 1st December 2022 ticketing is possible via all the other GDSs - Amadeus, Travelport, Travelsky, Infini.

    Changes:
    For change requests for existing claimed GDS bookings, please contact Group Sales Support. For FGT bookings Group Sales Support will issue the needed EMDs.
  • Refunds:
    Cancellation will only be available via Finnair Group Support. BSP Travel Agents can send refund requests via BSPlink Refund Application (RA). When refund cannot be handled via 1S/1B, the refund handling fee with BSPlink RA will be waived. The BSPlink RA should include the remark “Refund in Sabre/Abacus disabled”. The refund payment will be settled via BSP reporting.

    US market ARC Travel Agents can submit the refund application via Refund Web-form on Finnair internet site. The WEB-form refund request should include additional information “Refund in Sabre/Abacus disabled”. The refund payment will be settled through ARC-IAR reporting (with agency credit memo).


Please note the above can be amended and supplemented, so please consult this page and contents up until the 30th November 2022 deadline. In case you have a specific question on a scenario not covered above please contact our Agent Help Desk.