1. Creation of a passenger booking

When creating or changing one or more passengers booking (PNR), the itinerary must be booked in accordance with the Origin and Destination sequence (O&D) and time schedules.

The Minimum Connection Time must be always respected when booking an itinerary with CVA, a Code- Share and/or other airlines.

CVA provides an availability level on Married Segments that may differ if sold separately, including the Minimum Connection Time which may also change.

Travel agencies should avoid creating bookings on the day of the flight without immediate issuance.

We recommend that each PNR corresponds to a single ticket per passenger, that is, on a same PNR there shouldn’t be more than one ticket per passenger (for example, two one-way tickets). This recommendation aims to avoid the situation where segments of the same PNR pnr and ticketed on different documents are cancelled in case of no-show on any of the segments, leading to flight reposition.

 

2. Ticket issuance deadline

Date and time to issue the ticket are set in each booking by an automated CVA system.

In case the issuance of the ticket does not comply with this message, the booking will be canceled or segment status will change to ‘HX’, and these changed segments must be immediately removed (refer to point 15).

If booking possesses multiple passengers, and not all tickets are issued, CVA system will split the booking and cancel only the remaining un-ticketed passengers.

 

3. Ticketing

A CVA ticket may have up to 4 consecutive ticket numbers and 4 flight coupons per number (a maximum of 16 flight coupons).

The E-Ticket must contain the following: Passenger name, airline indicator, flight numbers, date, time of departure and O&D of each flight, fare base, taxes, fare construction, a form of payment, issuance date, issuing agency, ticket number, and added endorsements regarding the passenger information and fare rules.

Insertion of ticket number in the booking is mandatory. In case this procedure is not done correctly the booking may be canceled, without the possibility of reinstating on the same fare basis.

CVA does not allow issuance of tickets (696) 100% interline (without any CVA flight). An ADM of EUR100.00 / USD100.00 will be sent for each ticket issued in these conditions.

In case the interline fare has plate restrictions, an ADM of the difference to the first CVA or IATA applicable fare will be charged, with a minimum amount of EUR100.00/USD100.00.

 

4. Credit Card acceptance

Following IATA Resolution 890 item 3.4 Customer Card Sales Rules:

3.4 This Resolution gives authority to accept only a Customer Card when using the card acceptance merchant agreement of the Member/Airline to collect payment for the sale of passenger air transportation and Ancillary services. The Agent may not accept any other card or payment method that uses the Member/Airline’ card acceptance merchant agreement, including any card issued in the name of the Agent or any person permitted to act on behalf of the Agent, unless specifically authorized by such Member/Airline. A failure to comply with the present paragraph 3.4 will be undertaken under the sole responsibility and liability of the Agent toward the Member/Airline concerned

The Agent shall ensure that the type of card processed during the sale is accepted by CVA  in the country of ticket issuance. For VR/696 validation documents only cards contracted with CVA may be accepted (depending on the market, CVA accepts the following credit cards: CA, MC and VI

No card issued in the name of the Agent, or in the name of a person permitted to act on behalf of the Agent, or in the name of the Agent’s Office (partner or employee), shall be used in connection with the sale of the air transportation on behalf of CVA to any customer of the Agent.

In case of violation, CVA reserves the right to issue an ADM corresponding to 5% of the total transaction amount and/or withdraw the agent’s ticketing authority.

 

5. Chargebacks

According to IATA Resolution 890, in case CVA is debited by the credit card acquirer for a fraud case, a purchase rejection by the passenger or a credit card misuse on a ticket issued by the agent, CVA will charge the agent for the cost through an ADM. The travel agent is responsible for checking the validity of the credit card, to ensure the cardholder’s signature is provided and to ensure that the credit card is accepted for payment by CVA.

 

6. Voluntary changes to passenger booking

Changes of date, time, O&D and/or connecting cities on flight segments requested by the passenger are considered voluntary booking changes.

Right after the booking change, the agent must change the ticket accordingly, for which he has 2 possibilities:

Revalidation: When there are no fare/RBD changes, other companies involved (code-share or interline) or changes of routing. Revalidation is permitted in any rbd as long as this permission is mentioned in the fare rules (the fare brands promo does not allow revalidation)

Reissuance: All other cases. Reissuance penalty is to be charged as DU tax. If charged with a different tax code an ADM will issue:

  • Penalty charged as YQ, YR or XP TAX – an ADM of EUR25.00 / USD 25,00 will be issued
  • Penalty charged as any other tax code – ADM of the penalty full amount will be issued

 

On voluntary booking changes, before departure of the original flight, revalidation or re-issuance of the ticket must be completed in the first 24 hours after the change of booking, and never after the departure time of the original flight. If the agent does not comply with this procedure, an ADM of EUR25.00/USD25.00 will be issued per ticket.

In cases that changes occur after the departure of the original flight (No-Show), the revalidation or re-issuance of the ticket must be completed up to 24 hours after that change. If the agent does not comply with this procedure, an ADM of EUR25.00/USD25.00 will be issued per ticket.

Additionally, in cases of a voluntary change to wait for listed flights (HL), the 24 hours period will begin as soon as the segment is confirmed, except on weekends and public holidays in travel agents countries, where 24 hours period will start next working day.

We ask all travel agents to pay close attention to all fare details, (Fare Difference, Penalties, Applicability, Minimum and Maximum Stay, etc.…). CVA offers agencies ways of communication in order to clarify these aspects and to avoid mistakes, which will be detected and charged afterward via ADM.

Some examples of procedures and respective penalties if not complied with:

  • Changes involving interline segments / code-share segments: Ticket must be reissued, and any applicable penalty/fare difference/tax difference must be charged in there-issuance.
  • Change of routing: Ticket must be reissued, and any applicable penalty/fare difference/tax difference must be charged in there-issuance.

The difference in booking class/fuel surcharge increase/tax increase: Ticket must be reissued, and any applicable penalty/fare difference/tax difference must be charged in the reissuance.

7. Name change/name correction

The name and last surname of each passenger must be inserted at the beginning of the PNR, as well as the gender (MR, MRS, MSTR, MISS).

In a situation where the passenger has only a surname (according to identification documents), the surname must also be inserted as follows: Surname/MR

7.1  NAME CHANGE

A change of name refers to the change of a passenger to another passenger on the booking; this is not allowed by CVA. In these situations, the original PNR must be canceled and a new PNR must be created with the new name and with the available fare. The original ticket must be refunded according to the fare/market rules.

7.2    NAME CORRECTION

Name corrections are permitted on pnrs made exclusively on VR flights. Pnrs that include other airline flights or VR marketing flights are not eligible for name correction. Name corrections are only permitted in the cases mentioned below:

  1. Up to 3 letters is free of charge;
  2. Incomplete surname, Example: Pires/JoanaMrs=> MonteiroPires/JoanaMrs
  3. First name and surname swap, Example: Jose/Santos => Santos/Jose Mr
  4. Change of surname due to marriage or divorce – pax should present a document with a new name
  5. Nickname instead of first name Example: Silva/GuidaMrs => Silva/Margarida Mrs
  6. Title error Example: Santos/JoseMrs => Santos/JoseMr
  7. Surname swap Example: PiresMonteiro/JoanaMrs => MonteiroPires/JoanaMrs
  8. Incomplete name Example: Santos/AntoniaMrs => Santos/MariaAntonia Mrs
  9. First name or surname misspell (letter swap, letter missing, extra letter) – correction permitted without penalty
  10. Infant name change permitted without penalty
  11. One letter correction on the title (eg: Mr to Mrs and vice versa) permitted without penalty

These restrictions may vary in case of group bookings, please refer to our Group Department.

Name correction is allowed up to 03 letters, without additional costs. In any other name correction, the original ticket must be reissued with a penalty of EUR100.00 / USD 100.00 charged as DU tax and the following information must be inserted in the ticket endorsements box: Reissue due corr name.

Shall there be any change of date, flight, or RBD upon the re-issuance of a ticket due to name correction, the corresponding penalty fee for voluntary rebooking as well as any fare difference must be charged along with the name correction fee. If these additional amounts are not charged uponre-issuance, an ADM will be sent.

If the PNR is waitlisted after the name correction, the agent shall:

– wait for the confirmation of the PNR in the same rbd

Or

– change the PNR to the available rbd, charge the fare difference plus the penalty if applied according to fare rules.

 

8. Cancellations and refunds

A ticket is valid for 1 year counting from the date of issuance, whether to fly, reissue or refund.

  • Before that period the agent may refund the ticket according to the specific applicable fare rules.
  • After that period, all refund requests must be submitted directly to CVA Refund Department.

Refunds may be processed via GDS (Direct Refund) or requested via BSP Link (Indirect Refund); the last ones being actioned later by CVA. Agents must pay close attention to ticket expiration and fare rules.

All refunds that are subject to previous CVA approval and are submitted for a Direct Refunds without it will be subject to ADM.

 

Direct Refunds in ARC:

  • Will be posted on the agent’s ARC report at the end of the reporting period.
  • It is not allowed to change the original form of payment. Shall the refund form of payment be different from the original form of payment, an ADM will be issued as follows:
    • a fixed amount of 00 whenever the refund amount requested is equal or higher than USD200.00
    • the total amount of the fare must be charged whenever the amount requested is less than 00
  • If the refund value is incorrect and requires correction, the value difference will be charged with a minimum of USD25.00. In case a flight coupon submitted for refund is in the meanwhile or was previously refunded, apart from ADM an extra fee of 00 will be charged.
  • The ADM for incorrect refund will always have a service fee of 00
  • Direct refunds in BSP is not allowed.

 

Indirect Refunds: 

  • All refunds in BSP Markets must be processed via BSP Link following the published fare rules in case of voluntary refund.
  • It is not allowed indirect refunds on ARC

 

9. Special Fares

Special Fares are defined as those which have a reduction of the price compared to a published fare and categorized as follows:

  • Private: Negotiated directly with CVA
  • Group: Negotiated directly with CVA – RBD: ‘O or K’
  • Child: Less than 12 years up to the date of departure of the first flight
  • Infant: Less than 2 years up to the date of departure of the first flight

 

In a PNR, it is mandatory to identify if the passenger is a child or an infant. The lack of this information may result in operational constraints at check-in or at the boarding gates (for example, a child may be seated in an emergency row). Therefore, it is mandatory to insert the passenger PTC in the name field. This will create an automatic SSR CHLD or SSR INFT which will allow CVA to correctly identify passengers. The non-insertion of the PTC information will result in an ADM of EUR25.00/USD25.00. Fictitious passengers’ names will also be charged in EUR15.00 / USD15.00.

Non-compliance with the rules and regulations of special fares will result in the issuance of an ADM.

10. Special Requests (SSR)

Special Requests or Special Services are those which are associated with a passenger, and/or reservation and can be divided into two categories depending on the request channel to adopt:

  • Requested to the GDS: PETC; AVIH; SPEQ; XBAG; UMNR; Seats; INFT;
  • Requested to CVA: EXST; STCR; OXYG; CBBG; SVAN; ESHO; MEDA; ESAN; Wheelchairs; BLND; DEAF; Special Meals;

Each of these requests has a specific procedure, which can be found in the various CVA means of communication with the agent and must be scrupulously fulfilled. At least 48 hours before departure the agent should check whether there has been any change in the Status of the service since it can be canceled for various reasons, even when previously confirmed.

The passenger documentation should also be inserted as SSR. The latter is required before issuing the ticket.

11. Schedule Change

CVA rules concerning the treatment of schedule changes (Booking changes/ticket reissuance/refunds) in travel agencies bookings.

 

12. PREREQUISITES AND GENERAL RULES

  1. The passenger should have a CVA ticket and a confirmed reservation on a CVA flight (CVA flight number or CVA operated flight). In case of reservation with interline flight involved please report to the General Conditions of Carriage and contact CVA.
  2. In case of special circumstances, such as strike, weather, airport closure, etc., additional rules may apply which will be properly provided by

Travel agencies may process schedule changes on CVA tickets and should comply according to the rules described below. In case of doubt regarding schedule change, cancellation of flight, or if you want CVA to handle the case, you should contact CVA directly.

If performing an involuntary ticket reissuance or refund, obey all the following rules as described, otherwise, an ADM may be issued.

In the case of schedule changes, the system generates new segments, which generate new costs. VR pays the original WK segment and the replacement SC segment and only receives the credit if the WK or WL segment is canceled. So, VR exhorts the agent to work the queue. When working on your queue, you must cancel the WK / WL segments.

Procedures: 

  • The agent must check the queue daily and take action.
  • You must always remove from the PNR the segments whose flight status mentions: HX, UC, US, UN, NO, and up to 48 hours before the departure date. These codes mean that flights no longer exist in the carrier’s reservation system, so if they are not withdrawn, they will generate significant additional GDS costs for VR and various constraints in the PNR and in the connection between the GDS and the company’s systems.
  • In case of booking with an interline flight, you must refer to the general conditions of transport.
  • Within 24 hours before departure, the processing of irregularities is the sole and exclusive responsibility of VR.
  • In the event of a strike, weather conditions, airport closure, etc. supplementary rules may be applied, which will be published and communicated by VR.
  • If the passenger has been placed on an alternative flight by VR, the passenger can make a free change of booking to another connecting flight/flight that he considers acceptable. Any additional changes will be subject to the current tariff conditions.
  • If you have not been placed on an alternative VR flight, the passenger can choose an alternative connecting flight/flight free of charge once he considers acceptable. Any additional changes will be subject to the current tariff conditions.

Note: The free change must be made within 10 days after the schedule (UN / TK) sent to the PNR. Any change to the reservation made or requested after the 10-day period of the schedule change will be considered a voluntary change, according to the current tariff conditions.

Procedural issues to be considered by the agent, in case the trip is changed:

Case I – Alternative VR

  • Changing the booking for a VR flight;
  • Change the booking to the booking class of the ticket originally issued;
  • If the original booking class is not available, any available booking class can be used.

Case II – If an alternative VR flight is not available

  • In this case, the agent must contact the VR Call Center

These procedures may vary for Group bookings.

12.2  IRREGULARITY AND SCHEDULE CHANGE PROCEDURES

 

If the passenger has been placed on an alternative flight by CVA, he can make a free amendment to another flight/connecting flight he considers acceptable (see section 12.2.1 “Alternatives …”) – any additional change will be subject to fare conditions.

If the passenger has not been placed on another flight by CVA, the passenger can choose for free and only once a flight/connecting flight that he considers acceptable (see section 12.2.1 “Alternatives …”) – any additional change will be subject to fare conditions.

Note: The travel agent is required to notify all ticketed and confirmed passengers of any schedule change or flight cancellation immediately after receiving notice. This free booking change must be processed within 10 days after the schedule change (UN/TK sent to the PNR). Any rebooking made or requested after the period of 10 days of the schedule change may be considered a voluntary booking change, according to fare conditions.

Changes of origin and/or destination for regular schedule changes are not allowed. In case of an exceptional situation, example, the closure of the airport, etc., specific rules shall apply and will be divulged by CVA.

 

  • ALTERNATIVES THAT AGENCIES MAY OFFER TO PASSENGERS
  1. Schedule change or flight cancellation takes place more than one day prior to the scheduled departure time of the first affected flight
    • Rebooking for a VR flight (flight number VR, operated by VR)
    • Rebook in the same RBD of the original ticket, within the validity of the
    • If the original booking class is not available, the agent must contact CVA in order to get the confirmation in the original RBD or get authorization to reissue in another RBD within the same
    • If necessary, to change the departure date, the new departure date must be within 3 days before or after the original flight date if available.
    • If no alternative VR operated flight is available, you can rebook to a VR marketing flight (VR flight number but operated by another airline) following the same rules described above.
    • If no VR operated flight nor VR marketing flight is available, or if the passenger doesn’t accept the alternatives offered, you must always contact
  1. – Schedule change or flight cancellation takes place one day or less prior to the scheduled departure time of the first affected flight
  • You must always contact CVA before taking any action over the PNR or the ticket.

TICKET REISSUANCE

 The agent may change the booking and reissue the ticket according to the rules described above, with prior authorization from the CVA.

It is mandatory to indicate the reason for the reissue on the FE field: example: SCHED CHNG XXX VR/DDMM. If this element is not introduced or if flight/reason is incorrect, an ADM will be automatically created.

REFUNDS

In accordance with the General Conditions of Carriage and IATA, total or partial refunds in case of irregularity are only allowed in the following cases:

  • Delay of 5 hours or more
  • Cancellation and/or delay in which the alternative given by the airline causes a delayed arrival of more than 5 hours
  • Delay that results in misconnection and/or an overnight stay (you must first contact CVA for authorization)

 

Excluded from this authorization are cases where UN/TK is due to flight number change only. In these cases, fare rules apply.

In case of a schedule change or cancellation of flight (flight number) of another airline, with CVA ticket, the agent must contact CVA.

You can perform an involuntary refund directly in your GDS without contacting CVA – however, for the below cases it is absolutely necessary to contact CVA for authorization:

  • Cancellation of another airline flight or VR marketing flight
  • Schedule change which originates a misconnection

The lack of authorization in these cases will lead to an ADM