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Travel is a service industry, so ARC hires, trains and organizes to give your questions and issues the quick, capable attention you expect — and deserve.
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ARC's Customer Support Center is here to help
Phone: (703) 816-8003
Fax: (703) 816-8039
E-mail: csc@arccorp.com
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ARC to Discontinue the Manual Miscellaneous Charge Orders
ARC will retire the obsolete manual Miscellaneous Charge Order (MCO) document effective October 17, 2005. This refers to the
multipart carboned paper document. The Automated MCO printed on ATB ticket stock and supported by all GDSs will continue to be
in use. The final report in which to process manual MCOs will be PED 10/16/05.
It is very important that agencies put procedures in place to insure that all automated MCOs are issued correctly prior to
Sunday midnight, the close of the report period. As of October 17, all automated MCOs associated with an exchange transaction
(e.g. residual value, split payment, etc.) must be issued by Sunday midnight. Unlike the manual MCO, the automated MCO cannot
be issued after Sunday midnight prior to authorizing your report on Tuesday.
What follows are answers to several frequently asked questions (FAQs) pertaining to the elimination of the manual MCO and the
continued use of the automated MCO as this relates to your IAR report that may help guide you through this change.
- Why is ARC retiring manual MCOs?
- I don’t know how to issue an automated MCO. What do I do?
- What can I do for my client, if I forget to issue an automated MCO before Sunday and they are due a residual balance?
- I issued the automated MCO for the wrong amount what do I do?
- I forgot to issue a deposit for a package deal for my client and it must be validated on a specific date what do I do?
- I forgot to issue an automated MCO for a Travel Agency Service Fee (TASF) for a ticket that I sold last week. What should I do?
- I don’t have a GDS and can’t issue automated MCOs, what do I do?
- I am an electronic office and I don’t have any ATB stock, what do I do if I need an MCO?
- What if I have been instructed by ARC to submit an unreported sale manual MCO, via IAR, that was issued prior to this effective date?
- I/my client called the airline directly. The carrier authorized the issuance of the automated MCO for the residual value and told us to call ARC.
- What happens if I try to order manual MCOs after the effective date?
- I still have manual MCOs in my inventory after October 17. What should I do?
- What is the last PED for processing MCOs?
- Will this affect my ability to void and modify automated MCOs?
Why is ARC retiring manual MCOs?
Manual MCO processing has decreased by 71% since 2002 and the preferred alternative, the Automated MCO, is supported by all
four major GDSs. Also, by retiring these obsolete documents, the agency’s liability is potentially reduced by not having manual
MCOs in the office.
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I don’t know how to issue an automated MCO. What do I do?
Below are the help page entries for issuing automated MCOs in the GDSs:
Amadeus:
General - HEMCO
US Service Fee specifics - GGMAUSSVC
Apollo: HELP MCO
Sabre:
The information is in the Format Finder system
Reference page: misfo001
or look under: MISC MCO Mask
Worldspan: HELP MCO and INFO MCO
If you need additional information on issuing automated MCOs, please contact your GDS.
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What can I do for my client if I forget to issue an automated MCO before Sunday and they are due a residual balance?
Once Sunday midnight (the close of the period) has passed, you cannot issue an automated MCO since it would place the MCO out of period from the exchange transaction. Place the residual amount in the ‘Adjustment’ field on the Exchange Summary (ES) screen. It is very important that agencies put procedures in place to insure that all automated MCOs are issued correctly prior to Sunday midnight, the close of the report period. Unlike the manual MCO, the automated MCO cannot be issued after Sunday midnight and still attach to the proper exchange in the previous weeks report.
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I issued the automated MCO for the wrong amount. What do I do?
If Sunday midnight (the close of the period) has not yet passed, first void the incorrect MCO and then issue the MCO in the GDS for the correct amount. If the MCO is issued as part of an exchange, issue the MCO in the GDS using the proper format for it to systematically link to its associated exchange transaction. Verify in IAR that the MCO is attached to its exchange transaction the next day. Manually hook them together if needed. Once Sunday midnight (the close of the period) has passed, you can not issue an automated MCO since it would place the MCO out of period from the transaction. It is very important that agencies put procedures in place to insure that all automated MCOs are issued correctly prior to Sunday midnight, the close of the report period. Unlike the manual MCO, the automated MCO cannot be issued after Sunday midnight and still attach to the proper exchange in the previous weeks report.
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I forgot to issue an MCO for a deposit for a package deal for my client and it must be validated on a specific date. What do I do?
You would need to contact the carrier and get permission to issue an automated MCO that day.
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I forgot to issue an automated MCO for a Travel Agency Service Fee (TASF) for a ticket that I sold last week. What should I do?
Issue the TASF (890) in the current week and process as normal. Currently, there is no requirement that the MCO for a TASF be processed within the same period as the associated ticket.
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I don’t have a GDS and cannot issue automated MCOs, what do I do?
Since ARC no longer supports manual MCOs, your agency will no longer be able to issue MCOs. If you need to submit a TASF transaction you can still do so via ARC Agent's Choice (ARC’s GDS independent web based service fee application). For more information on ARC Agent's Choice visit us at http://www.arccorp.com/products/prod_fin_agents_choice.html
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I am an Electronic Office (an office type designation for one that uses no paper ticket stock) and I don’t have any ATB stock. What do I do if I need an MCO?
Pursuant to Section XVII.D of the Agent Reporting Agreement, an electronic office type may issue ARC traffic documents in electronic format only and is not permitted to issue manual (paper) traffic documents or have any manual ARC traffic documents on its premises.
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What if I have been instructed by ARC to submit a manual MCO that was issued prior to this effective date via IAR as an unreported sale?
You will still be able to ticket add (TA) an unreported sale manual MCO into your IAR report, as long as it is not over three years old.
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I/my client called the airline directly and the carrier authorized the issuance of the automated MCO for the residual value and told us to call ARC.
If Sunday midnight (the close of the period) has not yet passed, issue the MCO in the GDS. Once Sunday midnight (the close of the period) has passed, it is programmatically not possible to issue an automated MCO since it would place the MCO out of period from the exchange transaction. ARC is not able to process automated MCOs for residual value that are issued after Sunday midnight. It is very important that agencies put procedures in place to insure that all automated MCOs are issued correctly prior to Sunday midnight, the close of the report period. Unlike the manual MCO, the automated MCO cannot be issued after Sunday midnight and still attach to the proper exchange in the previous weeks report.
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What happens if I try to order manual MCOs after the effective date
ARC will no longer ship manual MCOs after Friday, October 14, 2005.
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I still have manual MCOs in my inventory after October 17, 2005. What should I do?
You would remove those manual MCOs from your inventory by either returning the stock to ARC or destroying them by following procedures outlined in form 116 at http://www.arccorp.com/forms/ops/doc116.pdf.
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What is the last PED for processing MCOs?
The final report to process manual MCOs is PED 10/16/05.
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Will this effect my ability to void and modify automated MCOs?
You will still have to void your MCOs in the GDS by the day after issuance and the second day in IAR. This excludes automated MCO for TASFs (890). Automated MCOs TASFs remain voidable until the Tuesday submission deadline. All MCO are modifiable up until the Tuesday submission deadline.
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