OAG Schedules Dynamic
Overview
Updated: June 10th 2015
OAG Schedules Dynamic |
Overview
Copyright in the document remains the property of OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd. This
document may not be reproduced in whole, or in part, without prior agreement.
Information, ideas and concepts in this document remain the intellectual property of OAG
Aviation Worldwide Ltd and are provided in confidence for the exclusive use of the
Department for Transport and may not be communicated in any form, in whole, or in part,
to any third party without the written consent of OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd.
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OAG Schedules Dynamic |
Overview
CONTENTS
1.
Overview
2.
OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd overview
3.
OAG Schedules Dynamic – real time schedules distribution feed
4.
Customer Specifications
5.
Database Summary
6.
Schedules Dynamic Message Formats
7.
Schedules Baseline and SSIM Refreshes
8.
Database Fragmentation
9.
General Escalation Protocols & Information
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OAG Schedules Dynamic |
Overview
1
Overview
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the OAG Schedules Dynamic
(real time schedules distribution) feed and provide a clear presentation of the data
content, message format and delivery options available to the customer via the OAG
Dynamic feed.
2
OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd overview
OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd is a founding member of the Axio Data Group recently
acquired by Electra Partners – an independent, UK based, private equity manager
with over 25 years’ experience.
With over 80 years’ experience in the handling of airline schedule information and the
most accurate content, OAG has established a market leading position in the supply of
schedules, flight status and ancillary data and are the preferred supplier to the
majority of major travel businesses worldwide.
With the investment of a major UK based Private Equity Company we continue to
invest in new products, services and solutions that provide real returns for our
customers.
Other parts of the Axio Data Group include:
Medica EMEA: a portfolio of leading pharmaceutical drug information businesses in
Continental Europe.

Medica Asia Pacific: a portfolio of leading pharmaceutical drug information and media
businesses in Asia;

TECHINSIGHTS: the number one provider of comprehensive value management
solutions across all stages of the IP lifecycle;

UBM Global Trade: the number one information provider to the global containerised
and breakbulk cargo sectors;
We specialise in the collection, standardisation and distribution of airline schedules,
connections, flight status data and related information. OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd
manages the most comprehensive and accurate consolidated schedules database in the
world, gathering and constantly updating flight information daily from some 870+
scheduled airlines. Its passenger database includes network, regional and low-fare airlines.
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OAG Schedules Dynamic |
Overview
We are the foremost supplier of consolidated schedules related data to the
operational Global Reservation Systems. This is a result of our specialist expertise,
customer knowledge, input flexibility and investment which underpins the databases.
To put this in context:



OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd receives daily flight updates with an average of 110,000
flight updates per day. Over 80% of the entire database is refreshed every week. Our
database receives on average an update every five seconds.
We process around 70,000 MCT (Minimum Connection Time) changes per month
impacting hundreds of thousands of airline connections.
We also process around 20 million flight status updates a month, with a daily average
delivery of 16 million.
Over the years OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd has made significant investments in new
technologies, including areas such as our content management system, allowing us to
broaden our portfolio of products and services.
3
OAG Schedules Dynamic – real time schedules distribution feed
OAG Schedules Dynamic is OAG’s premier schedules delivery service, that is unmatched by
any other schedules content supplier in the world.
OAG Schedules Dynamic provides a real time single source for global flight schedules and
each feed is custom designed for the world’s leading reservation systems to ensure
accuracy and topicality of flights schedules at all times.
4
Customer Specifications
OAG can tailor the Dynamic feed precisely to fit your technical and commercial needs.
Customisable specifications include:
 Coverage – global feed or specific airlines only
 Data Format – SSM/ASM (IATA SSIM chapters 4 & 5) or XML (IATA SIDX format)
 Delivery Method – messages are delivered via FTP or MQ server
Other custom requirements and specifications must be discussed and agreed by both
parties.
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OAG Schedules Dynamic |
Overview
5
Database Summary
OAG Schedules Dynamic schedules distribution – OAG Database Architecture
As new schedules are submitted to OAG the data is instantly put through rigorous validation
checks.
Once the data has successfully passed through validation, OAG processing identifies the schedules
changes via a continuous polling process and publishes them to OAG Schedules Dynamic
customer’s server.
OAG Schedules Dynamic operates 24/7, 365 days per year.
SSIM/SSM
Excel
Manual/Links
ASM
Flight Status
Feeds
WIP Database
(Work In Progress)
MCT
CORE Production
Database
OAG Flight Status
Dynamic Schedule
Changes
Codes
MCT
SNAPSHOT
Codes
ARCS
Data Files
SSIM
OAG Flights
/Planners
Analytical
Products
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Copyright 2016, OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited. All rights reserved
Dynamic Schedule
Feed
OAG Flight Status
Feed
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OAG Schedules Dynamic |
Overview
6
Dynamic Message Formats
OAG Schedules Dynamic delivers schedules changes in SSM/ASM or XML formats to the
customer’s server. The change messages are generated as soon as the schedule
completes OAG’s validation process, and are typically delivered within 2 minutes.
SSM & ASM
SSM (Standard Schedules Message)
OAG Schedules Dynamic SSM message formats conform to IATA SSIM Chapter 4. The
following message types are supplied:
Message
SSM
SSM
SSM
SSM
Type
NEW
CNL
RPL
SKD
Message Description
New - Issued when new flight information is submitted
Cancel - Issued when existing flight information is cancelled
Replace - Issued when existing flight information is updated/changed
Schedule Update
ASM (Ad hoc Schedules Message)
OAG Schedules Dynamic delivers all ASM message formats, according to IATA SSIM
Chapter 5 standards. All ASM messages are delivered exactly as per the format that has
been supplied to OAG. The following message types are supplied:
Message
ASM
ASM
ASM
ASM
ASM
ASM
ASM
ASM
ASM
Type
NEW
CNL
RIN
RPL
ADM
CON
EQT
RRT
TIM
Message Description
Insertion of New Flight Information
Cancellation
Reinstatement
Replacement of Existing Flight Information
Change of Existing Information Expressed by the Use of Data Element
Identifier Only
Change of Aircraft Configuration/Version
Change of Equipment Information
Change of Routing
Change of Time Information
Acknowledgement (ACK) and Not Actioned (NAC) Messaging
Please note that OAG Schedules Dynamic feed does not currently have provision to
receive ACK & NAC message notifications from Dynamic customers.
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OAG Schedules Dynamic |
Overview
XML
OAG Schedules Dynamic XML feed conforms to the IATA Air Transport & Travel Industry
Schedules Information Data eXchange (SIDX) format. The following message types are
supplied:
7
Message
SSM
Type
UPD
SSM
CNL
Message Description
Update/New - Issued when new flight information is submitted or
existing flight information is changed
Cancel - Issued when existing flight information is cancelled
Schedules Baseline and SSIM Refreshes
OAG Schedules Dynamic will only deliver schedule changes (as identified via OAG data submission
processing).
Before live use of the OAG Dynamic feed, OAG recommends that the customer must first receive
and load an appropriate baseline data delivery. This may be via a set of messages or a SSIM file. For
a customer receiving a global Dynamic feed this would be a full SSIM file. This data will serve as a
baseline schedule before the Dynamic updates are applied on top.
OAG recommends that you baseline prior to the Dynamic feed commencing (per carrier); once the
data is loaded, you should then revert to purely using the Dynamic updates to keep each carrier
schedule up-to-date.
Starting the OAG Schedules Dynamic Feed:
 OAG will start the OAG Schedules Dynamic feed from 00.00 (midnight) on the same day
that the baseline SSIM is created.
 It will take several hours for the SSIM file to be created and sent to the customer and for it
to complete the load into the customer’s database. Meanwhile OAG Dynamic will be
posting messages (ready to be used later, once the SSIM load has completed).
 Once the SSIM file load has completed, you will then need to manage when to start
processing the Dynamic messages to ensure a continuous data stream.
On the occasions when a baseline data delivery is required, OAG will work with the customer to coordinate any halt in Dynamic supply that is required to ensure any messages received during the
process will be not be lost and can be applied at a later point.
8
Database Fragmentation
OAG Schedules Dynamic does not rationalise the schedules data it delivers.
As schedule changes are filed by airlines at flight number & itinerary variation level, OAG Dynamic
will automatically deliver these without consolidating the updates into whole flight numbers/flight
number ranges.
As a result the data within the customer’s database could become fragmented
(I.e. effective periods / days of operation may be split over several itinerary variations per flight
number).
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OAG Schedules Dynamic |
Overview
9
General Escalation Protocols & Information
Points of contact within OAG
Product Manager
Account Manager
Main point of contact for technical
matters related to implementation of
OAG Dynamic feed
UK office
hours
Name
Main point of contact for contracts,
service reviews, service
enhancements and escalation.
Beijing Office
hours
Name
t:
m:
e:
t:
m:
e:
Name
t:
m:
e:
Production
Global Service Center
(GSC)
Handling general customer support
and data queries related to data
supply
UK office
hours
Name
IT Global Service Center for service
disruptions
24x7
e: gsc@oag.com
t:+44-1582-695151
t:
e:
Contacting the GSC
The OAG Global Service Centre is a 24x7 single point of contact tasked with monitoring OAG’s
systems and both proactively and reactively managing the resolution of any issues with them.
Requests via email can be sent to the GSC, however Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents should
always be telephoned to the GSC to ensure the incident has been received and diagnostics
have begun.
Raising an Incident
The GSC prioritises all customer incidents using the following matrix of priorities and impacts.
Priority
P1
P2
P3
P4
Incident Description
Response time
Target Resolution time
Service totally unavailable,
15 min
4 hours
multiple customers cannot
work
Major problem with critical
30 min
1 business day
functionality
Minor issue with functionality
1 business day
3 business days
Request for assistance or
2 business day
5 business days
change to service
Target resolution times assume that both Networking and Development staff are on call for the
system, but that account management, customer support, data specialists and non-emergency
developers will not be available outside business day.
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OAG Schedules Dynamic |
Overview
When reporting an incident please have the following information available:




Your Name
Your Contact details
The login name or OAG customer number being used to access OAG’s services
A description of the problem, including any screenshots or error messages
encountered.
Resolving an Incident
Once an incident has been created by the OAG GSC a number of steps will then automatically
take place:






The GSC will attempt to re-create and diagnose the issue; then provide either an
immediate fix or suggest a workaround while further diagnostics are undertaken.
Where necessary the GSC will escalate to Network teams to resolve hardware or
software issues.
Where necessary the GSC will escalate to Development teams to diagnose software
issues.
Incidents not being resolved within their Target resolution time will be escalated to IT
Management, and then to your Account manager.
Throughout this process the GSC will remain your single point of contact, providing
feedback on the on-going incident and confirmation on when it has been resolved.
Recurring incidents are automatically referred to the Network teams for deeper root
cause analysis
Service Availability
Service availability is planned to not be below 99.5% availability per calendar month, excluding
scheduled maintenance.
OAG utilises a third party to provide proactive external monitoring of services from multiple
points of the globe.
Scheduled Maintenance
Scheduled maintenance activities such as service upgrades will be scheduled to minimise
customer disruption. Major maintenance activities will be scheduled between 0400-1000 GMT
Sunday.
Service Review
Service review meetings with your account manager can be scheduled on a quarterly basis to
review:


Service availability statistics for the quarter
Incidents logged through the Service Centre

Service enhancement requests
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