Reminder: Domestic Finland itineraries being removed from EDIFACT distribution in phases

Update 09feb24: There are some scenarios that are not yet supported in NDC booking flow (eg. unaccopanied minor, CBBG) and we have gathered specifications how to proceed with such cases. 

Although tour operator fares are bookable in NDC, fare can be guaranteed for 72 hours only. To ensure longer fare guarantee (as per fare rules), TO fares on remain bookable also in Edifact for the time being.

Please scroll down after Q&A to see all scenarios and instructions for them.

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We announced in January 2023 that we will be removing Finnish domestic itineraries (flights both starting and ending in Finland) from EDIFACT distribution starting 01 May 2023. The phased approach has been following the below schedule:

We are now approaching the last date on this schedule and would like to remind our travel agent partners that starting 01 February 2024 all ticket types in domestic Finland-Finland traffic will be available only via Finnair’s own channels and NDC distribution. Travel agents can utilize Finnair NDC distribution via any of the possible channels: Finnair Agency Sales Tool – FAST, certified Finnair NDC Aggregators and NDC Direct Connect API. Please visit our NDC section on Finnair Easy to find out relevant information on Finnair NDC capabilities by aggregator and agent support specifically providing more information on how to manage NDC bookings.
 

Please see below the collection of instructions as a reminder on how to manage bookings created via Edifact technology before 01 February 2024.

What are the routes affected by removal of Finnair domestic travel content from Edifact distribution?

• All AY coded and operated itineraries that both start and end within Finland. For instance, HEL-OUL, TKU-HEL-RVN, KTT-HEL-TMP are all included in scope. For instance, OUL-HEL-BER, SHA-HEL-RVN are out of scope, since they either start or end outside of Finland.

What are the markets affected by removal of Finnair domestic travel content from Edifact distribution?

• Point of sale market is not relevant, all agents selling above mentioned domestic routes are impacted.

Will all the fares be removed from Edifact? 

• All published and corporate fares are in scope and will be removed from Edifact. 

Can ancillaries be still sold via Edifact?

• Ancillary products will remain in Edifact distribution and they can be added to existing bookings also after fare removals.

Are group bookings impacted?

• Finnair group bookings in booking class G are out of scope of this change.

How can customers get access to Finnair domestic traffic content after 01 Feburary 2024?

• Finnair domestic traffic content will be available on Finnair own channels and through travel agents enabled by any of the NDC enabled sales outlets (NDC Direct connect, Finnair Agency Tool FAST, certified Finnair NDC aggregators) and Finnair Group Booking Tool (for group bookings in booking class G).

Will availability be still visible in the GDS, even though the fares are not?

• Yes.  Availability remains visible to ensure smooth handling of international bookings with domestic connections. Finnair policies continue to apply and manual pricing against Finnair policies is not allowed.

What happens to Finnair domestic traffic bookings that have been ticketed via Edifact prior to 01 February 2024?

• 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 the chosen GDS. Cancellation and exchanges are possible but automatic repricing is not available. Therefore, additional changes need to be made via Finnair Agent Help Desk.

What happens to unticketed flight bookings that have been created in Edifact?

• If not ticketed on the same day, the itinerary should be repriced and ticketing should be completed latest 31 January 2024.

How can existing ticketed bookings made via Edifact be exchanged after 01 February 2024?

• Changes to existing bookings after 01 February 2024 will be possible by contacting Finnair Agent Help Desk. Payment is possible by credit card only (via payment link, which is valid for 5 hours if servicing is done via Agent Help Desk). BSP cash option is not available when reissue is done by Finnair. 

• Travel agent can alternatively choose Finnair to only reprice the booking and continue with the reissue/revalidation on their end.

How to process cancellations and refunds after 01 February 2024 on those itineraries that have been created in Edifact?

• Cancellation and refund of the bookings remains possible in Edifact. In case refund via GDS Edifact cannot be done, BSP Travel Agents can send refund requests via BSPlink Refund Application (RA). Refunds are paid to original form of payment, the same used when flight document was issued originally.

• In the US market, in case refund via GDS Edifact cannot be done, ARC Travel Agents can apply for refund via Refund Web-form on Finnair internet site. The WEB-form refund request must include additional information “ARC Agent, GDS refund not possible”. Refunds are paid to original form of payment: 1) When flight document is originally paid with credit card, refund will be processed to same credit card, 2) When flight document is originally paid with Cash (ARC settlement), refund will be processed as Credit Memo (ACM) for the agent.   

Flight disruptions of bookings created in Edifact before 01 February 2024

• In the disruption situations (flight cancelled or changed) such statuses (HX, UC, UN) will be reflected in existing bookings. If there’s a passenger contact in the booking (SSR CTCM or SSR CTCE), the passenger will also be notified of the disruption via SMS/e-mail. Please make sure that customers’ contact information on bookings are up to date. Finnair will automatically update the new flight details to the reservation and update the ticket. If the customer does not accept the change, an additional involuntary change is available in the GDS when no repricing is required.

Exceptional booking processes

• For cases that require medical clearance, follow normal booking process in NDC after which Finnair Medadesk will add and confirm required services.
• For PETC and AVIH, follow normal booking process in NDC by contacting Agent Help Desk to add the service.