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INSTANT FARE QUOTE ™ Instant Fare Quote™ is a major feature of BookingBuilder Desktop that gathers flights and fares from multiple web sites and shows the results in a single consolidated display. Instead of manually checking multiple web sites, Instant Fare Quote does all the work for you. It is a powerful corporate travel booking tool that allows you to easily sort and filter the results, and you can instantly document the results in your PNR or have it bring you right to the booking page of the appropriate web site when you need to purchase your flights online. How it Works There are four ways to initiate Instant Fare Quote:
After any of the above 4 methods, you will see the Availability Dialog:
Please note that you will see Fare Quote Available next to each site where this option is available. Certain sites do not allow this functionality, so you will not see this indicator next to those. When you click Get Fare Quotes From Selected Sites, you will see:
This screen shows all the flights and fares from the web site(s) for your requested travel dates, times and airports. Many sites, such as JetBlue, return results in as little as three seconds! Others may take longer. IFQ goes directly to each web site to gather this information, so it takes only as long as the web site requires. There are no intermediary servers slowing down the process. If multiple suppliers in BookingBuilder Desktop fly the route you have entered, the flight and fare information for all of them will appear in the IFQ display. This screen makes it very easy to view, sort and filter the results:
When you book a flight, the web site will opened as close as possible to the booking page. With JetBlue, for example, the browser will open, you will be logged in to either your travel agent or Company Blue account, and then the "booked flights" page will appear with your flights already selected. Not all sites have this capability, so for some you might only get to the page with the list of itineraries. Simply click the itinerary you want, and complete the booking. Separate Outbound and Return Flights Many web sites show separate outbound and return flights, each with their own prices. For all sites that do this, you can click the option for "Outbound and Return Flights" to see them separately. Normally Instant Fare Quote combines these into complete itineraries to make it easier to compare all the options. By viewing the flights separately, you can even select and book outbound and return flights on different web sites. The detail display at the bottom shows the detail for the flight you have selected. This is what the screen looks like:
Time Windows The various web sites often show flights at all times of the day, but your customers may have specific times they need to fly, or you might be checking to see if there are lower fares and need to search within specific time windows. IFQ makes this very easy! To see flights within a specific time window, follow these easy steps: Click the drop-down listing the times, and select the desired depart time. You should first click Outbound Arrive Time, Return Depart Time, or Return Arrive Time to filter based upon those.
Once you select the time, now click the Time Window:
If you select 9:00 am as the Outbound Depart Time, and 1H as the Time Window, only flights within 1 hour of 9:00 am will be displayed -- those from 8:00 am until 10:00 am. Whenever you make any of these selections, the display is immediately updated. To clear the time window settings, click Reset All. Multiple Web Sites When there are flights displayed from multiple web sites, it's easy to see only those from selected sites. You will see:
Simply uncheck the sites you don't want to see. You can always check them again and the flights will instantly reappear. Sites Without Instant Fare Quote Some sites do not allow this functionality, so you might see this:
As you can see on the above screen, all of the sites except one show Fare Quote Available. At the bottom is an additional option, Open Sites where Fare Quote Not Available. If you click Get Fare Quotes from Selected Sites and this option is selected, Instant Fare Quote will begin, and the web sites for those without Instant Fare Quote will be opened. This way it still takes only one click to see all the options available. Taxes Many web sites only show certain taxes in their initial fare displays, while others include all taxes. Instant Fare Quote automatically calculates the taxes for travel in the US. Tax calculations for the rest of the world are being added. If taxes are not included by the web site and IFQ cannot calculate them, the fare display will show "+TAX" to indicate that the fare quoted does not include all taxes. Booking from Fare Quote Results It is very easy to book flights from Instant Fare Quote. Select the itinerary you want to book, then click the "Book Selected Itinerary" button:
With most web sites, you will then get another dialog verifying the login or other information for that web site:
The information requested on this screen will vary by website. Just like from the Availability Dialog, you can select the Corporate ID numbers or your own website login details. When you click OK, the site will open as close as possible to the page with your flights selected. On may sites, BookingBuilder Desktop will get you right to that page. On other sites, it might go through several screens very quickly before reaching the final booking page. Documenting Fare Quote Results Instant Fare Quote allows you to document the fare quote results in your PNRs. To document a specific itinerary, select it and then click the "Document Selected Itinerary" button:
You can also click "Document Lowest Fare Displayed". This will document the lowest fare displayed on the IFQ results screen, with filtering taken into account. For example, if one of your corporate accounts requires fare searches with a 2 hour time window, select the time window, then click "Document Lowest Fare Displayed" to document the lowest fare that falls within the corporate-required time window. When you click either "Document" button, you will then see:
Under "Reason" you can enter a reason code, and in "Comments" enter freeform text. By default this information will be entered into the remarks of your PNR. The locations for this information can be completely customized, so the information can placed where your accounting system requires it. See the GDS Data Customization page for more information on how to do this. |
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