Amadeus has temporarily reversed its implementation of the IATA Resolution 024a in the South African market, just a week after it came into effect.
The resolution, introduced on October 7, mandates that fares and excess baggage charges for international itineraries be calculated in US dollars USD. In compliance with IATA Resolution 024a Attachment A, Amadeus initially applied the change , resulting in the Currency of Commencement of Travel shifting from ZAR to USD for all international journeys originating in South Africa. This affected all airlines, regardless of their original fare-filing currency.
Industry push backSeveral airlines, who said they were not informed of the change, expressed concerns to IATA, objecting to the mandatory shift in the currency of commencement. Some carriers indicated that they intended to maintain ZAR as the currency of commencement until they made internal decisions to adopt USD and could communicate this change to travel agents.
However, the ruling is a global standard and cannot be selectively implemented at the discretion of individual airlines, says Caroline Smallwood , General Manager of Amadeus Southern Africa. This change is a global implementation for all customers, whether in ZAR or USD. Amadeus cannot file fares in multiple currencies for the same markets, she says.
In Amadeus, the Currency of Commencement under the new IATA resolution means that all international itineraries are returned in USD. The pricing process converts fares through the Net Unit Cost NUC system for international journeys, regardless of the initial fare currency, explains Smallwood. Fares filed in ZAR are first converted to the NUC rate ZAR-NUC, then to USD NUC-USD, before being converted back to ZAR USD-ZAR for sale.
