How to open an airline ticket office? Air ticket office business plan: necessary documents and equipment. How to open an air ticket office How to open your own ticket agency

Businesses such as opening an airline ticket office in Russia are becoming increasingly popular. The reason for this is that the services of companies specializing in flights are in great demand all over the world. However, purchasing air tickets directly at the airport, as experience shows, often causes a lot of anxiety.

To avoid unnecessary hassle, you can buy a ticket in a separate place. Consideration of such a situation gives serious grounds to assume that opening an airline ticket office can generate significant income. It should be especially taken into account that the sales figures for plane tickets are growing rapidly.

Underwater rocks

At first glance, the question of how to open an airline ticket office seems easy to solve. However, organizing such a business entails a number of specific problems that novice entrepreneurs are unlikely to be able to cope with. Firstly, many newcomers have the false impression that the entry threshold into this business is low.

The air ticket office that you are going to organize will require an impressive amount of investment. It should also be remembered that in the first couple of months, points of sale, without much promotion, operate at a loss. Since air tickets are not classified as essential trade items, maintaining the required sales volume requires a large target audience.

Various cooperation options

To open a cash register, an entrepreneur must have extensive connections in the agencies of influential companies, which are necessary to conclude profitable contracts. Another good option is to cooperate with companies whose employees are forced to regularly buy air tickets when going on business trips.

This way you will create a permanent customer base. Another significant factor is the ability to maintain competitive prices. Without this opportunity, it is unacceptable to wonder how to open an airline ticket office.

Conclusion of contracts

Today, the organization of the cash register can be carried out in two ways. The first involves concluding a direct contract with a company that provides air transportation services. The second method states that you can resort to a subagency agreement.

It is recommended to enter into a direct agency agreement only for experienced businessmen who have decided to invest in a new direction, since influential air carriers invariably impose strict conditions. The first is to comply with strict rules for organizing and equipping points of sale. It is quite problematic to comply with them throughout the entire cooperation.

Failure to comply with this requirement, as experience shows, often leads to all kinds of penalties, as well as termination of contracts. The second condition is the stable purchase of the pre-agreed volume of air tickets. It is clear that novice entrepreneurs do not have the opportunity to sell all their goods due to the lack of a wide customer base.

For this reason, most businessmen enter into subagency agreements. Although agent requirements are not as strict, they are also mandatory. Also, in order to identify possible violations, airline employees carry out regular checks.

Arrangement of premises for an airline ticket office

Before purchasing the necessary equipment, it is necessary to carry out work to prepare the premises in which you plan to sell plane tickets in the future. Of course, comfort should be ensured and information access should be provided to visitors.

To do this, you will need a pair of monitors that will broadcast the current aircraft schedule. It is also mandatory to have chairs for waiting clients. The room must be equipped with an air conditioning system. The walls of airline ticket offices should be decorated in light colors (beige and blue colors are perfect).

Also, we must not forget about the stand, which will provide the operating schedule of the point of sale, the main rules of air transportation, as well as any other necessary information. In agreements with agents, you can find requirements for the mandatory presence of a fire protection system and an alarm system with alarm sensors in the premises.

Technical equipment

If you are thinking about how to open an airline ticket office, then it is important to know that for its normal functioning you need to purchase a number of equipment. You will need a floor safe designed to store ticket forms and cash; a personal computer with which reporting will be carried out; standard printer for printing various documentation; a device that supports printing on ticket forms; and, of course, a telephone.

Nowadays, you can purchase tickets by contacting any office of a tour operator or airline. Here you will be helped to choose the best option in terms of price and time. There are no longer such queues as in Soviet times, thanks to a sufficient number of ticket offices.

Air ticket offices are found in large cities much more often than railway ones. This is explained by the fact that the Ministry of Railways is still a monopolist. At the stations there are queues and a lot of resellers offering tickets for more popular flights.

Today in Russia 10-15% of all tickets are sold by travel companies. The percentage increases when it comes to international travel. If you buy a ticket from a travel agency, it is not necessary to have a travel package. 50-70% of the cost of the “package” is tickets. Air travel is much more important and more expensive than booking a hotel and organizing leisure activities.

From the outside it may seem that you just need to rent a room and install a computer to open an airline ticket office. In reality, everything is much more complicated. The most important thing here is information. Organizing access to information sources involves many harsh conditions. To sell plane tickets, you must be an agent or subagent of the airline whose tickets you are going to sell. All companies have their own requirements. In order to become an agent of a foreign company, you need to register as an accredited agent of the IATA (International Transport Association). This association places very strict requirements on safe equipment and on the level of training of personnel who will be involved in issuing tickets. In addition, IATA accepts guarantees only from a certain range of foreign banks. For membership in IATA, a deposit of $20,000 is required. For a small agency, these conditions are practically impossible to meet. In this case, you can conclude a subagency agreement.

Agency agreements allow you to issue tickets on the air carrier's forms (stocks). The airline's primary concern is the safety of the effluent. To avoid loss or damage to waste, their owners check the reliability of their potential agent’s safe equipment (and, in general, the conditions for storing and filling out forms) and the qualifications of the personnel. If wastewater is damaged, a fine will be charged to the agency. The amount of the fine depends on the airline. Approximately $200-500 per form. This is to obtain financial guarantees; in case of termination of the contract, the deposit is returned.

However, in order to become an airline agent, it is not enough just to become an accredited agent of IATA or the Transport Clearing House (for agents of Russian airlines).

It is very important to gain access to global reservation systems (“Amadeus”, “Gabriel”, “Galileo”, “Star” or “Sirena”, for railway transportation - “Express”). You can connect one-time or permanently. Such systems allow you to book seats on any flight from anywhere in the world. Access to such systems costs $40-60 per month and $40-100 for a one-time connection (depending on the operator).

You can become an airline agent only if you have experience in organizing flights and a client base, otherwise you will not be of interest to the carrier. It is not recommended to use “cheap” transportation services. By “playing” on the difference in prices between major airlines, you can save $6,000-10,000 per flight or $30 per ticket.

The bulk of flights are observed on holidays: New Year, May holidays. Due to the fact that liners often return empty, ticket prices vary. For example, a ticket to Egypt on regular days costs about $170, on holidays - $260-280.

If a travel agency cannot afford the agency of several major air carriers, they resort to subagency agreements. You can become a subagent of any airline only with its permission and on the terms established by the company. Although these requirements are no longer as severe as agency requirements. There are subagents, as well as commission agents.

They receive approximately 6-7% of the ticket price. The company itself receives 5-7% as a commission. However, many airlines have a bonus system. But because tariff plans are constantly increasing, even large companies find it difficult to receive bonuses regularly.

The practice of selling tickets online has long existed. A lot of Internet agencies have appeared and you need to be able to “stand out from the crowd.” Thus, one of these agencies offers booking air tickets for international and domestic airlines, hotels, and car rentals via the Internet. It has a specially developed program that allows you to process a huge volume of applications and make reservations in real time (it immediately reports the availability of seats and the price of the ticket). With such a system, you can see savings in money (booking a ticket without intermediaries), time (filling out a simple form and fast delivery of the ticket by courier), freedom of choice (dozens of flight options and a lot of special offers). In addition, this system allows you to receive a ticket not only with a courier, but also independently, at the airport or in one of the cities of Russia (even not a very large one). However, such a service is provided for a fee.

The system allows small travel agencies to serve their clients better. It also provides for commissions for travel agencies.

There are difficulties in booking tickets for charter flights. Information about them is available only from the travel agency that organized it. Tickets for “charts” are cheaper than for regular flights. Now, a number of Internet sites allow you not only to purchase tickets for “charts”, but also to compare the prices of most carriers and choose the cheapest and most convenient option.

The situation is different in the case of booking train tickets, because... MPS is a monopolist. Here tickets are not booked, but issued, which, in principle, is the same thing.

The Moscow Railway (MZD) entrusted the conclusion of contracts to the Moscow Railway Agency (MZA). The agreement concluded by the tour operator with MZhA stipulates that a railway ticket sales terminal will be located in the company’s office and allows the sale of tickets for domestic Russian routes.

The MFA has no less requirements than IATA. There are three stages of accreditation: 1 - accreditation of the agent’s right to have a contract, 2 - accreditation of the point of sale itself, 3 - accreditation of employees who will work at the point of sale in this company.

Travel agencies set their own fees, because... MHA does not provide commissions. The fee varies from company to company and is approximately 120 rubles. from the ticket.

There is one nuance in the ticket business. During the season there are too many tours and in order to attract clients, travel agencies may not charge the 5% sales tax. The fact is that when purchasing a ticket from an air carrier, a travel company as a legal entity does not pay this tax. In theory, this tax should be collected from the client, but...

So, to summarize, we can say that it is more profitable to sell air tickets, because... MJA does not make commissions. Also, it is much more profitable to have not a depository relationship with the airline, but to enjoy the maximum degree of loyalty on the part of the airline.

Based on an article by Oleg Cresp published in the Business Journal

If you decide to become our partners in the field of air ticket sales, in this section you will find information that you need to familiarize yourself with before concluding a subagency agreement.

Please note that by concluding a subagency agreement with Altair Companies, you will acquire a reliable business partner in our person.

Upon your request, you will be sent the text of the subagency agreement.

Please take into account that issues regarding mutual benefits from cooperation are the subject of discussion during confidential negotiations.

The procedure for opening an air ticket sales point.

To open a sales point and register it with airlines, you must:

• Conclude a subagency agreement with our company;
• Provide information about the new point of sale;
• Provide a certified copy of the lease agreement for non-residential premises in which it is proposed to open a sales point;
• Provide certified copies of your company’s constituent documents;
• Provide information about the existence of air ticket sales offices of other agencies at this address;
• Provide information on the availability of subagency agreements in the field of air transportation with other agent companies;
• If there is such an agreement, it is necessary to indicate the sale of tickets of which airline or air carrier consolidator this agreement regulates. It should be remembered that the terms of cooperation do not allow double subagency for the same chosen type of activity. This means that we will not conclude a subagency sales agreement on Aeroflot JSC letterheads if the future partner already has such an agreement with another agent of the company. In this case, cooperation in the field of sales of other airlines is appropriate. If such an agreement took place, but was terminated, you need to provide the necessary information about the termination of the subagency agreement, the absence of mutual claims and the closure of the point of sale of another agent at the given address (addresses);
• Provide information confirming the qualifications of an airline ticket sales specialist (certificate of completion of a special course on working in the State Duty Service). If you open an air ticket sales point on TCH forms, you must provide information about the manager passing the TCH electronic qualification exam (testing).

Connecting reservation system consoles (GDS)

As part of the subtenant agreement, it is possible to connect the following air ticket reservation systems (GDS):

Connection to GDS "SIRENA 2000"

Connection to GDS Sirena 2000 is carried out only after accreditation of the air ticket sales point at the Transport Clearing House (TCH). The accreditation procedure is charged in accordance with TCH tariffs. After accreditation of the subagent's sales point, the Sirena 2000 GDS consoles are connected. The cost of operating the Sirena 2000 remote control is regulated by the terms of the agreement between the agent and Sirena-Travel CJSC. To connect, you must submit an application for the creation of Siren 2000 remote controls. One of the important conditions for the possibility of using GDS is the presence in the agency of a specialist who has the appropriate qualifications, confirmed documents on completion of a special training course and a current TCH certification.

Below is a list of additional information and documents required for accreditation of a point of sale:

• Copies of documents for the right of ownership (use) of the agency’s premises (including a floor plan indicating the number of the premises in which the sale of air tickets will be carried out);
• Photos of the main entrance to the agency, equipped with a sign with the name of the agency
• Photos of the premises where air transportation is sold
• Photos of the premises where strict reporting forms and TCH (KPA) stamps (validators) are stored
• Photos of cashier-operator workplaces equipped with the necessary equipment to ensure the sale of air transportation: a personal computer, a ticket printer, a telephone-fax, a personal safe (necessary if there is no other safe in the workroom intended for storing BSO, or if such a safe is available , but is located in other premises of the company and is used only for overnight storage of BSO)
• Photo of part of the building facade with a sign “house number, street”
• Information on the provision of a financial guarantee to the TCH agent by the subagent company

Availability information required:

• fire alarm
• burglar alarm
• about the availability of 24-hour or other security.
• “Review” from the agency with which the subagency agreement was previously concluded (if there was one). An example of this document can be found in the right menu of this page of the site.

It should be remembered that the number of cashiers of operators and the operating hours of the air ticket sales office must comply with the current legislation of the Russian Federation and be regulated by the norms of the Labor Code.
Attention! To connect to the Sirena 2000 GDS, you need a dedicated static IP address.

Connection to GDS "Amadeus"

GDS "Amadeus" is a consolidated information resource for a wide range of services in the field of tourism and aviation business. Connection to the system can be done independently, by concluding an appropriate contract with the Amadeus-Russia company, or by ordering system terminals from our agency. Payment for the maintenance of remote controls is made in accordance with the selected type of connection and is negotiated individually. Before the official accreditation procedure with the airline is completed, you can already start your work! The sale of air tickets from foreign and Russian airlines can be carried out by booking flights at the offices of subagents and then checking them out at the central office of our agency. Remember that transferring authority to sell air tickets without accreditation of sales points with airlines is strictly prohibited. Accreditation of sales points of airlines that place their resources in the Amadeus GDS is carried out in accordance with the procedure established by them.

Connection to the Gabriel GDS

Connection to the Gabriel GDS is carried out for our partners who have passed accreditation of sales points at the S7 (Siberia) airline. For Siberia Airlines this is the UNITERM remote control. Connection to the Siberia remote control is carried out via the Internet. Typical application for connection.

Advice: when choosing a booking system from among those that allow you to book tickets from the same airlines, you should remember that the cost of the same air tickets issued using different GDS may differ from each other. If there is a flow of passengers in one direction, the difference in cost can be significant. Therefore, in this case, preference should be given to corporate reservation systems for issuing tickets for these airlines. The difference in the final cost of tickets in different booking systems is due to the specifics of the contract between the airline and the GDS representative office.

Help with airline corporate consoles:

"Aeroflot" - remote controls "My Saber", "Amadeus"
“S7 (Siberia)” - “Uniterm” remote control (GDS “Gabriel”) or GDS “Amadeus” remote control

The idea of ​​opening a ticket office for train and plane tickets comes to the minds of many entrepreneurs. And this is not surprising, because every year air and rail transportation services are becoming more and more in demand.

Such an enterprise is never left without buyers, since each of us from time to time needs to travel long distances. In addition, buying tickets directly at railway stations and airports today attracts few people, because it means endless queues and a waste of time. It is much more convenient to purchase tickets through online services or at ticket offices located near your home or work.

How to open a ticket office without large investments?

You can start a business selling air and railway tickets by establishing direct contractual relations with leading air carriers and the Russian Railways company, but this will require serious financial investments, because you will need to purchase or rent suitable premises, purchase a computer, hire cashiers, and provide access to reservation systems .

Moreover, the agency and subagency agreement provides for the partner to fulfill a number of requirements, including sales volume. To enter the market, you will need a large customer base and considerable investment in brand development.

However, there is an easier and more affordable way to start a business selling air and train tickets - you can become a partner of the UFS company and start earning money using software products of the UFS-online system.

We make money by selling train tickets in partnership with UFS

UFS LLC is the Russian market leader in the provision of services for the sale of railway tickets and an aggregator of air tickets. UFS is the developer and owner of the online system UFS-online, which allows you to sell tickets to any railway routes of Russian Railways JSC, FPC JSC, as well as aircraft of any domestic or foreign airlines. Through the system you can also, if desired, take out insurance and book hotels.

The company is a technological partner of JSC Russian Railways, a direct agent of JSC FPC and more than 200 airlines around the world. UFS LLC is accredited by the IATA Association and the Transport Clearing House.

The UFS LLC partner network includes more than 5 thousand Russian companies, including large banks, leading travel Internet portals, large retail chains and travel agencies. Among them are Euroset, Svyaznoy, Russian Post, etc.

What is the UFS-online system?

This is an online module that is offered under the terms of the White Label model - an affiliate program in which services are provided on the resources of another company directly under the brand of the seller. That is, you install a ready-made form on your website, by filling which, visitors to your website will be able to independently buy train tickets and air tickets.

To install the module on the site, you do not need to involve your own programmer, since the html code is developed and configured by UFS LLC specialists.

The income from the sale of each train ticket is 30-40% of the established service fee. All costs of the new partner are reduced to paying a single fee for connecting to the system (in 2015 this is 20,000 rubles), then the company receives only income.

The UFS affiliate program also allows you to organize a full-fledged ticket office. All you need for this is a computer with Internet access.

Main advantages of electronic cash register:

• free connection within 1-2 days;
• free to use;
• 24/7 information support;
• obtaining complete information about air and railway tickets;
• the ability to independently set the amount of commission;
• no need to install additional equipment.
• convenient and varied payment methods.

In accordance with the requirements of airlines - to carry out activities for the sale of air tickets you need to obtain an IATA certificate(International Air Transport Association) and enter into the airline settlement system (BSP).

Working under direct agency agreements in the air transportation market is possible only with a few airlines.

For those new to the air transportation market, as well as for those for whom selling air tickets is not their main activity, obtaining an IATA certificate and complying with all airline requirements is a costly and time-consuming process. As one example - The minimum financial guarantee to start work is $50,000. In addition, there are requirements for the qualifications of employees, safes for storing strict reporting forms, and the need to connect to the terminals of international reservation systems.

In the process of cooperation, if the payment schedule is not met, the agent is disconnected from the mutual settlement system and loses the opportunity to sell air tickets.

This strict practice is related to the requirements of airlines to ensure the security of mutual settlements.

Who is an air ticket subagent? Differences between a subagent and an IATA agent. Benefits of a subagent.

Subagent is an individual or legal entity that does not have direct contracts with airlines and does not have an IATA certificate, but at the same time cooperates with an IATA agent. The subagent is not responsible directly to the airlines and IATA, but enters into a contractual relationship with a company that is a direct agent of IATA.

How to become a subagent and open an air ticket office

Before starting work, the subagent and the IATA agent must sign a subagency agreement, which will govern the relationship between the parties. Depending on the established IATA arrangements, the agent may provide the subagent with the following: tools for selling air tickets:

• access to an online account with a user-friendly interface for booking and issuing air tickets;
• professional reservation system terminals (Amadeus, Saber, Galileo, etc.);
• daily newsletters with airline regulations;
• training to work in reservation systems.

How can a subagent choose which IATA agent to enter into an agreement with? Criteria

The selection of a supplier for the sale of air tickets - an IATA agent - is carried out according to the following criteria:

1. The amount of service fee that the IATA agent charges when issuing tickets (if the airline does not pay a commission). And vice versa, the amount of the commission is paid by the agent to the subagent (if the a.k. pays the commission).
2. Possibility to work with deferred payment, because when a ticket is issued by an IATA agent before payment is made by a subagent.
3. Work in the evening and at night, weekends and holidays.
4. Availability of a manager assigned to the subagent.
5. The ability to provide the subagent with a terminal for booking (if the subagent’s employees are sufficiently qualified) or the ability to work on requests (if the subagents do not have the ability to make reservations on their own).
   Professional booking system terminals (Amadeus, Saber, Galileo, Worldspan, Sirena, Gabriel, Spark, Farelogix, Sandbox, UFS, etc.).
6. Possibility of receiving additional bonus rewards for a certain sales volume.
7. Access to special rates for destinations of interest to the subagent, for example, Southeast Asia, USA, European countries, etc.
8. The presence of an IATA agent with access to tariffs for certain categories of passengers: youth, teachers, students, pensioners, etc.
9. Availability of your own guaranteed blocks in certain directions.
10. Possibility of booking additional services for air tickets: VIP services, booking of special categories of passengers, transportation of musical instruments, animals, sports equipment and equipment.
11. Possibility of providing a full range of tourist services (passports, visas, ground handling, etc.).
12. Conducting training by an IATA agent on the reservation system, airline products, etc.
13. Availability of regular newsletters with information from a.k.
14. Organizing seminars with service providers.
15. Support for subagent passengers in case of flight delays and cancellations, assistance in carrying out forced refunds or exchanges of money in case of force majeure situations for subagent passengers.

Of course, the most important thing in the work is the human factor, the speed and professionalism of the IATA agent staff, tracking incorrect bookings, and a constructive approach in case of subagent errors.

At what rates can a subagent sell tickets?

In the air transportation market, as in other markets, the rule is that the more an agent sells, the more opportunities (special rates and conditions) he can receive from airlines.

By entering into an agreement with a large IATA agency, the subagent can gain access to special rates and conditions that the subagent would not be able to obtain based on its sales volume.

It even happens that a subagent of a large IATA agent has access to better conditions than a small IATA agency. Special conditions may include:

• increased commission rate;
• the possibility of booking for a longer period than provided for by the general rules;
• Receiving additional rewards for achieving sales volumes with some airlines.

Along with special conditions, there are a number of special rates that are not available on airline websites or online search engines, and are also not available in the systems of small IATA agencies.
These tariffs include:

1. Tour operator tariffs provided by IATA to an agency that specializes in certain destinations. For example, tariffs can be for a specific city or for all cities in the country. A special feature of these tariffs is the requirement to sell them as part of a tourist package.
2. Tariffs for certain categories passengers: students, teachers, sailors, etc. Access to such rates is also limited to a few agencies in the market. Sales according to the tariff must be carried out upon provision of supporting documents (ITIC, ISIC, seafarer's passport).
3. Special subsidized rates. Subsidies can be provided to a specific category of citizens (for example, citizens of the Russian Federation flying to certain points. For example, cities of the Far East, Siberia, Kaliningrad, etc.).
4. Special group rates. Divided into 2 categories:
   • fixed fares subject to a minimum number of passengers traveling on the same flights;
   • tariffs that are subject to agreement on an individual basis.
5. Block tariffs. In essence, they are similar to group ones, but the peculiarity of the tariffs is that the IATA agent guarantees the airline to provide a certain number of passengers on each flight.
   Access to special tariffs allows the subagent to sell air transportation on more favorable terms for the end client.

How does the subagent’s income work out (subagent’s commission) - what kind of income can a subagent get from an air ticket?

When selling air tickets, the subagent's income will be calculated based on:

• commissions from air transportation tariffs;
• subagent service fee;
• IATA agent bonus for achieving sales volume.

Today, when selling air tickets, most sellers of agents or subagents add a service fee to the cost of air tickets, i.e. fee for the provision of services for the selection and issuance of an air ticket. If pricing is done by a.k. is built at the expense of service fees, then the subagent’s income will be the difference between the amount paid for air tickets and the net cost of the ticket from the agent. Depending on a.k. the ticket may or may not include a service fee. All IATA agency fees are fixed in the agreement with the subagent. The subagent has the right to independently set his own fee for the end client.

If the air carrier provides a commission on an air ticket, the IATA agent pays the subagent part of the commission in accordance with the agreement. The subagent has the right to independently add or not add a service fee to the air ticket.

As a rule, the subagent's income from one air ticket is greater than the IATA agent's income from the same ticket.

Options for cooperation between a subagent and an IATA agent

The more work a subagent undertakes on an order, the lower the service fee that the IATA agent charges.
There are 4 main options for cooperation:

1. Work on requests, i.e. when both the selection of flights and the issuance of air tickets is carried out by an IATA agent. This is the simplest scheme that is suitable for everyone, including beginners, without any work experience.
2. Work on independently selecting flights in a personal online account with a convenient graphical interface, access to which is provided by an IATA agent. This option may require introductory/basic knowledge of air travel.
3. Work on independent selection of flights in the terminals of international booking systems. Typically, terminals are provided by an IATA agent. Air tickets are issued by an IATA agent. To work in the terminals, knowledge of working with the reservation system is required. IATA agent provides training.
4. Work on independent selection of flights and independent registration of air tickets in international booking systems. To work under this scheme, in-depth knowledge of the reservation system and work experience are required.