What is BIDT ?
BIDT (Billing Information Data Tapes) contain complete details of an airline's bookings made by a GDS (Global Distribution System). They provide detailed information on all booking and cancelling transactions made during the month.
Each GDS organization offers BIDT with a monthly invoice. The main purpose of BIDT is to justify the GDS costs and ensure the invoice is correct.
How long would it take to import a 300Mb file?
A 300Mb file represents about 1.1million records. The speed of importing a file into Zeus depends largely upon processor speed and available memory. One large customer reports an import time of 30 minutes for a 300Mb file on a Pentium III PC. If Zeus is loaded on a fast server, this should be an accurate benchmark. Please note, importing a file includes pricing, group and cost center association and (optionally) netting of all segments. What is the difference in speed if run on a network server versus on a stand-alone, desktop PC. It would be faster on a network than on most workstations if the servers are fast, which they usually are. The workstation PC does not need a hard drive in this configuration.
Can you apply filters on the Pricing Table?
Yes, any table can be added to the filter builder.
How is the Pricing Table maintained?
The pricing table is updated by Airlogica, and can either be downloaded from our website: www.Airlogica.com or emailed to you directly. If you receive a new budgetary table it is not necessary to re-import the BIDT. You merely Recalculate Pricing in Zeus.
Is there a limit on the number of fictitious names in a filter?
No. Zeus supports lists of unlimited size. Note: Beyond normal "fictitious names" Zeus can use pattern matching to find names that are composed entirely of vowels or consonants or sequences (like a series of single initials); these represent a large number of abusive segments at most airlines.
How are Schedule Exceptions handled?
The output of SSIMulator can be matched against the records in the BIDT as a SSIM exception. This supports Invalid Flight numbers, Invalid City Paris and Invalid Day of Operation.
Is the ERSP indicator on the BIDT yet?
If not, how do we identify them?
Two GDSs will have an "Internet" indicator in early 2001, and Zeus will insert the indicator in a separate field. However, a large number of agencies will NOT identify themselves as ERSPs for commission purposes, so the airlines will have to ferret them out and add them to a quasi-ERSP filter (Airlogica can provide some ideas on that if you plan to pursue this option.)
Can I create an exception file for the current month only?
The filter that creates the exception file contains a prompt for the segment dates between first of month and end of month. We are adding a system variable of 'flown dates' so it will only need to be added to the filter one time, at creation.
Can the GDSs receive exceptions as a file attachment to an Email?
They should be able to do so, but that question should be addressed to your GDS Account Managers.
Can I assure that the exception codes are properly prioritized?
Yes, by ignoring segments with a "higher probability: of reclaim" from subsequent exceptions checks (such as 'speculative names'), you can maximize your chance of refunds.
How do we know what segments have already been identifies as exceptions?
All exceptions are posted to the BIDT at the desire of the user, and subsequent filters can include, exclude or find the segments by exception code.
How can I change my printouts?
Users can customize the HTML template as you would any other HTML document to provide the consistent, proprietary look you desire.
Can I have Zeus print my report directly from the filter?
We recommend you run all of the reports in a batch and then print the resulting HTML files. The primary reason for this is to avoid an interrupted batch should a printer fail or run out of paper during the process.
Can I create a Landscape default orientation for tables with a lot of fields?
Yes. In the latest version of Zeus. There is a print > settings button on the Zeus print preview form. This can be used to change > the printer default.
What about TIDT? Which GDSs have TIDT?
We have only worked with Abacus. We believe only Abacus issues TIDT as a method of supporting passive segment billing.
What can it be used for?
The passives are ticketed passives and appear only on the TIDT.
What about Support?
Zeus comes with an excellent user manual that contains easy to follow instructions with lots of graphics showing the actual Zeus interface. The manual is updated by email or by downloading from the Airlogica website.
How can we determine the cause of an error in a filter?
If the Filter is not returning the results you want, review your logical expressions, especially any parentheses. You may want to move or remove an expression or two to help you isolate the problem. If an error is detected by SQL Server, you will get an advisory with the cause code and location of the error. This will give you an idea of where to start analyzing your expression to determine the cause of the error. A quick way to avoid errors in processing, you should use the 'Test SQL' button in the Filter Builder before pressing 'OK' to save the filter or changes. Finally, if you cannot determine the cause of the error, you can right-click on the filter in the directory window and Export the filter to an .EXP file which you can send to your Airlogica Consultant who will help you correct the problem.
What is the charge for a license installed at a different location?
The normal price for additional licenses for the same licensee is 20% of the license fee. Airlogica will consider an Enterprise license if a customer wants to install Zeus in multiple offices.
How many copies of Zeus may be installed for an extra charge?
A single license may be used by up to 3 users in the same location. Airlogica will quote a multi-user price in the same location on request.
What backup options does Zeus offer?
Zeus actually offers two backup and restore options (both located from the "Tools" menu in Zeus).
Option 1 is a complete database backup. This will create a backup file including;
All BIDT Data residing on the system at that time
All Filters
Pricing Table
Country/Cost Centre Table
All Automatic Investigations
It basically backs up every folder in Zeus and all of its information.
When you select a restore from Option 1 it will restore everything from your complete Zeus backup "over the top" of anything currently residing on the Zeus system. This is very handy if something is accidentally deleted or corrupted as all details are saved and can be quickly restored. It may not be ideal if you do not wish to impact existing or newly created filters.
Which leads us to Option 2.
Option 2 is a backup of the BIDT only. This option backs up a selected set of BIDT records (e.g. complete BIDT August 2000). The backup file contains the modified Zeus data (after import) - it is completely priced and has had the country/cost centre table applied.
The benefit of option 2 is that if an analyst decides to query July BIDT - they can quickly import just the data without impacting existing filters. It also allows multiple months to be grouped together for analysis (eg. import March and September only). The option is much quicker than re-importing the raw BIDT and is more accurate as it contains already priced data.
