Worldspan’s Auto Refunds Functionality Offers More For Travel Agents

Travel agents looking to cut the tedium and time needed to process air ticket refunds will soon find it much easier, thanks to a new automated solution from Worldspan, the leading technology provider for travel and travel e-commerce.

Worldspan has upgraded its suite of reservation management products with an automated refund functionality. It is superior to competitor products, thanks to its ability to store up to six months-worth of historic data.

Worldspan Automated Refunds, available free to all agencies using Worldspan’s popular reservations products such as Worldspan for WindowsSM and Worldspan Go! SM via the Internet has been developed in response to travel trade industry requests. It follows Worldspan’s e-ticketing auto refund solution introduced two years ago.

This latest upgrade lets travel agents refund any type of airline-related documentation that has an intrinsic value – flight tickets, MPD (multi purpose documents). The biggest user advantage of Worldspan Automated Refunds is that it holds six months of historical data, rather than the three months common in competitor products.

According to John Joinson, Worldspan country manager for the UK, this larger ‘time library’ of historical data should account for 98% of relevant refund needs in typical travel agencies.

“In addition, agents don’t need any additional equipment or functionality to use this new solution as it is graphical user interface (GUI)-based,” he said. “It will be available free to all Worldspan agents, and they simply just have to access it to enjoy its easy-to-use benefits which include compliance with IATA’s requirements for automated ticketing and documentation.”

William J Pougher, finance director for Grosvenor Travel, commented: “This is good news which should help hard-pressed agency staff save time and effort in handling refunds. The six month historic data capacity should account for the vast majority of refunds we handle and helps us recalculate the fare once a refund is due.”

Using Worldspan Automated Refunds, agents can print IATA-required refund documentation onto cost-saving plain paper, and they can also issue their own credit notes and monthly summary reports, as well as up to nine copies of supporting documentation. The application only requires a small amount of in-office training, while further support is available from Worldspan’s help desk services and customer account teams.

Worldspan estimates that up to 15% (around one in six) of agent-issued tickets come back for refunds and therefore processing. Manually- prepared refund documentation meant agents had to handwrite details in quadruplicate before posting copies off to IATA. Instead, Worldspan Automated Refunds cuts processing time and labour, so boosting productivity.

Worldspan Automated Refunds is available now for travel agents in the UK.

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About Worldspan:
Worldspan is a leader in travel technology resources for travel suppliers, travel agencies, e-commerce sites and corporations worldwide. Utilizing fast, flexible and efficient networks and computing technologies, Worldspan provides comprehensive electronic data services linking approximately 800 travel suppliers around the world to a global customer base. The company offers industry-leading Fares and Pricing technology such as Worldspan e-PricingSM, hosting solutions, and customized travel products, including Worldspan Travel EnginuitySM. Worldspan enables travel suppliers, distributors and corporations to reduce costs and increase productivity with best-in-class technology like Worldspan Go!® and Worldspan Trip Manager®. Worldspan is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional information is available at http://www.worldspan.com.

For further information:
Blair Drummond or Lis Griffiths, Four Communications, Tel: +44 020 77 63 59 99/85, Email: or [email protected], or [email protected]