FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION November 2014 This document is intended to answer common questions in regards to KT Online, our online booking tool for Flights, Hotels and Eurostar, powered by Atriis. We want to ensure your experience is smooth and effective. For additional support: Refer to the online User Guide when you login to www.keytravel.com for information on how to make a booking Call 0844 335 0260 (08:45-17:30 Mon Fri) for technical help when making a booking, or email online@keytravel.com Email necessary changes to existing bookings through the request changes function of the online tool. If you have an urgent change request and our office is shut, please call the airline to make necessary amendments and cancellations. Searching is available 24/7. Please note, tickets can only be issued during normal office hours (excluding lowcost airlines and hotels which can be booked 24/7). Contents 1. Fares... 2 2. Lowcost Airlines... 3 3. Hotels... 4 4. Agent Assistance function... 5 5. Holding flights... 6 6. Multiple traveller bookings... 6 7. General... 6 8. Support & Assistance... 8
1. What does KT Online s new booking platform offer? The online platform for flights and hotels is more than just a booking tool. It enables you to not only book all flights on account, but also provide you with a greater number of options, as all lowcost airlines are now available online, allowing you to secure the best value fares. Ryanair may not appear online if this airline is against your company policy. The tool allows you to hold flights for up to 72 hours (subject to terms and conditions, except lowcost airlines), allowing you to lock in the most appropriate fare, whilst giving you the flexibility to ensure the trip meets your requirements before you confirm. For more complex itineraries, we recommended you contact your reservations team who will use their expertise and experience to provide you with the best options. In fact, you can now request help from one of our KT Online agents simply by selecting agent assistance through the tool. These are just a few benefits to help our customer s book online in a more flexible way. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us via the details at the end of this document. 2. Fares Q1. Will I be able to see all fares online? All applicable contracts will be available to book online, including academic and charity contracts. Q2. How do I know which fares I m eligible for? When organisations and departments are set up, all applicable contracts are loaded. All contracts displayed online are available to book. Q3. What are Academic/Charity fares? These fares are unique contracts which provide flexible conditions, allowing you to hold and change tickets. When booking through the tool, you are able to hold your flights for a short period of time, providing the fare selected permits you to. This flexibility allows you to think about whether the itinerary selected is the most applicable and allows you to cancel or change for free up until the deadline (our agents will make the relevant amendments). One of the main benefits of our academic/charity fares is that in some cases, you can hold them up until the day before departure. To hold the fare longer than the tool allows, send an email via ask your personal agent and request that the agents hold the booking for longer for you. In some cases additional charges may be incurred for using an agent; these will be outlined during your training. Q4. How can I secure the lowest fare? If finding the lowest fare is the most important factor, we would suggest you enter your origin and destination and dates and search flights. The tool will search all times available on the days selected and put them into price order. FAQ s Page 2
If you have searched for a return itinerary and been presented with an itinerary which contains two airlines, it s worth going back to the search matrix, clicking on one-way travel and entering your outbound and return in separately. You may find that the airlines are cheaper to book as two one-ways rather than a return journey. If you re not sure, use agent assistance and ask the agents to assist. Q5. From the search results, the select button is greyed out. Why can t I select the booking? If this button is greyed out, it means that the fare is instant purchase but you have passed the ticket time limit for the day. All tickets must be issued by 17:15 Monday Friday (except bank holidays where we are closed). Q6. I would like to book a lowcost airline and a scheduled airline in the same booking, is this possible? No. Lowcost airline payments are different to airlines such as British Airways. In order to process the booking, submit each flight separately. There are no additional costs for separating the transactions. 3. Lowcost Airlines Important note: Easyjet - From immediate effect all flights within the EU will no longer have staffed check in desks. You can check in online by visiting www.easyjet.com and clicking on the "check-in online" tab. You will then be able to check-in online using your Easyjet reference number sent after the booking is completed. All Easyjet flights require Advanced Passenger Information (APIS) at least 72 hours prior to departure. If you do not supply the information the passenger be may denied boarding. Q1. Can I check-in online if I book a lowcost carrier? Yes, the airline will receive your Key Travel username and password enabling you to checkin online. If the airlines require a credit card number as verification for online check-in, you will be unable to check-in online and will have to check-in at the airport. This is very rare but worth checking with the airline themselves. Q2. Can I check-in online for non-lowcost carriers if I book online? Yes, you will be able to check-in online as normal. Q3. Why do I have to add the traveller s title (Mr, Mrs or Miss) again in the checkout page for lowcost airlines? Many of the lowcost airlines do not permit title s Professor, Doctor or Ms. If you have used one of these titles, the system will ask you to select a title again from a drop down list. This necessity is generated by the airlines themselves. FAQ s Page 3
Q4. Is it possible to book an open jaw ticket with a lowcost carrier online? An open-jaw ticket allows you to book a flight into one destination and out of another e.g Bristol Edinburgh, across land to Glasgow and fly from Glasgow to Bristol. The lowcost carriers do not permit this online and require separate bookings. It is possible to book direct with your reservation team. An open-jaw ticket is available with non-lowcost carriers e.g British Airways etc online. When searching, request a one-way flight. Once you ve selected the outbound flight, request to add a flight and enter the new origin and destination. Q5. Am I able to book Ryanair online? Each customer has made a decision whether to allow bookers to select Ryanair as an option online, according to their individual travel policy. If Ryanair is selectable online, the booking can be paid for on account including additional bags etc. However, if an amendment is required, the booker must logon to Ryanair s website and complete the amendment by paying with a credit card. Re-routes are not possible and will require a new ticket to be bought. Ryanair do not allow travel agents to access existing bookings, therefore we are unable to amend itineraries. 4. Hotels Q1. Can I pre-pay my hotel? Yes, all hotels online are pre-paid. Q2. Am I able to hold hotels online? Hotels are instant purchase. It s not possible to hold a hotel option. However, if a flexible rate is selected, a refund may be applied for. Q3. How do I obtain a copy of the hotel voucher? A confirmation email is sent after each confirmed hotel booking. To download the voucher, click on the 'View Attachment link within the email. We recommend the traveller takes this to the hotel as proof of payment. FAQ s Page 4
5. Agent Assistance function Q1. What is agent assistance? Agent assistance is available if you want to enquire about an itinerary or you have a query regarding an existing booking. By using agent assistance, you will be communicating with the KT Online team who will respond within the agreed SLA (service level agreement). Q2. When should I use agent assistance? There are a couple of situations where it s beneficial to use the agent assistance function: Requesting bookings without searching: If you select this option, the agent will then work offline, to provide the relevant itineraries. The workflow will be: a) The agent will acknowledge the quote b) The agent will close the trip and work offline c) Your itineraries will be emailed offline in the normal way d) The booking will not appear in your managed folders e) Offline fees will apply Holding bookings longer than 24 hours: Search for the option you would like to hold for longer than 72 hours, request agent assistance, complete the detaols and add a note instructing the agent what you would like to do (please note, lowcost airlines cannot be held as the fares are instant purchase). Q3. When should I use the team rather than KT Online? The reservation team can add value by utilising their expertise and experience to build the most cost effective itinerary: Multi-stop itineraries: We recommend you call or email the team directly rather than using the tool. Your booking will be handled more efficiently this way. Q4. Which bookings will appear in my managed folders? It s useful to view your online bookings in one place. All submitted bookings processed online will be populated into your folders: Submitted Referred bookings: In some cases, the system may refer your booking to an agent to review. If this happens, the agent will provide assistance with the booking and import it to your folder so you can view online. Queries regarding an existing booking. If you post a message through the tool, the agents will respond via the tool. Requested (not submitted) bookings will not appear in your managed folders. If a booking is requested and not submitted through the tool, the agent will acknowledge the request, close the trip number, email you confirming that the booking will be handled offline. The booking will not appear in your folders. FAQ s Page 5
6. Holding flights Q1. I ve been advised that I can hold flights, how does this work? Flights can be held for a maximum of 72 hours. The available hold period will differ from airline to airline and route to route. Please note, lowcost airlines are instant purchase and do not permit hold bookings. To hold a booking, select the preferred itinerary in the results screen, checkout and select the Hold Trip option. 7. Multiple traveller bookings Q1. I searched for flights and was presented with 2 costs on the results screen. Which one is the total? The system presents a per ticket cost and a total cost for the number of travellers. The total cost is in bold. Q2. I would like to populate an existing traveller profile, how do I do this? When asked to enter the traveller details in the tool, traveller profiles can be found by clicking on the hour glass next to one of the name fields. If you need to enter a name manually, ensure the spelling is as the per the traveller s passport. Q3. I m travelling to the USA and I need to enter the passport information for 4 travellers. When I enter the information, it doesn t give me the option to click next, what do I do? If you ve selected a traveller profile, this information would not need to asked for. If a traveller profile doesn t exist, enter the information and simply close the APIS tabs and the next button will appear. Q4. I ve added a hotel to a flight booking and need to book more rooms than I ve booked passengers, is this possible? No, the maximum number of rooms and travellers which can be booked must align with the number of travellers booked for the flights. Q5. I would like to book 4 rooms with 2 travellers per room, is this possible? No, a maximum of 4 people can be booked in one transaction. Process these as 2 transactions. Q4. I need to change or cancel one person s itinerary from the multiple traveller booking I made. If I cancel the booking online, will this cancel all travellers? Yes, please process this type of change via your reservation team. 8. General Q1. My traveller profile does not exist online. How can I check whether it exists or how do I create a new profile? All activated online profiles will automatically appear in KT Online. If you have an existing profile but it isn t available to select online, firstly make sure the profile contains mandatory FAQ s Page 6
information such as passport number and date of birth. The agents can advise what type of data is contained within a profile but are unable to provide specific information. If your profile is complete, then ask your traveller to activate the profile online. If a profile has yet to be created for the traveller, please go to www.keytravel.com, login, click on Manage traveller profiles from your My Key Travel folder and follow the instructions. If you have any queries, please contact the online helpdesk. Q2. If I select a flight itinerary and ask an agent to add a hotel, will this appear on the same invoice? No, hotels will be processed separately as the offline booking process is configured differently. Q3. The approval status is displayed as purchase but the reservation status is shown as Flights (1 on hold). Is my flight confirmed? Yes, the flight is confirmed as soon as you press submit. The reservation status will be updated within 24 hours. Q4. What is defined as nearby airports? The nearby airport option searches an 80 mile radius from the requested location or airport. Q5. Can I book online outside of office hours? KT Online is available to search flights and hotels 24/7. However, ticket issuing is only available during office hours (Mon-Fri 08:45 17:15 excluding weekends and bank holidays). If you have an urgent itinerary request, either try to book it during the working week or email the agents to do this for you during the next working day. FAQ s Page 7
9. Support & Assistance For any queries regarding your online booking, please contact our online helpdesk on: T: 0844 335 02602 E: online@keytravel.com FAQ s Page 8