Abacus International reported the rapid uptake in Hong Kong and India of its new Quick Refunds solution which significantly enhances the process of claiming refunds for cancelled or changed bookings. Mr Brett Henry…
Abacus International reported the rapid uptake in Hong Kong and India of its new Quick Refunds solution which significantly enhances the process of claiming refunds for cancelled or changed bookings. Mr Brett Henry, Abacus Vice President, Centres of Excellence, said the new Quick Refunds solution automates the refunds process, and prompts the travel agent through the process using a simple guided workflow.
“Due to the frequency of refunds in these markets, the new solution will potentially save Abacus’ network of 15,000 travel agency locations millions of dollars per year when fully implemented,” said Mr Henry.
“Launched in October this year, Quick Refunds solution is available to all Abacus ticketing-enabled travel agents in India and Hong Kong.”
Quick Refunds provide a fast entry path for full refunds as compared to the previous process which required a series of separate screens for paper and electronic tickets. As a result, travel agents save a great deal of time and effort and avoid the tedium associated with manual processes.
Quick Refunds also minimises fare calculation errors by verifying e-ticket details in airline databases, thereby reducing the number of airline debit memos and unnecessary expense for travel agents. Besides facilitating the refund process through the Billing Settlement Plan, the solution stores refund information for future reference and where applicable, supports the refund of the tax-only component of the booking for fully unutilised tickets.
To promote the launch of the solution in India, Abacus held the ‘I Love Abacus’ Quick Refunds contest. Mr Tilak Mukherjee from Trade Wings (Calcutta) praised the efficiencies of the new solution, saying, “The best part of Quick Refund is that it can be processed in a single line command. It’s much faster, and extremely user-friendly, without the hassle of paperwork as all documents are generated within the system.”
“With IATA and more airlines moving steadily towards endorsing automated refunds through GDS, travel agents will appreciate the greater speed and simplicity of the new system, which Abacus International intends to introduce to other Asian markets as soon as possible,” Mr Henry said.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
