Introducing the Travel Configuration Page
Working with Air Options
Working with Hotel Options
Working with Sorting
Working with Car Options
Working with Rail Connectors
Working with Agency Options
Working with Email Options
Working with Form of Payment Options
Working with Policy Options
Working with Additional Options

Introducing Air Connectors

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to add a new Air Connector and Exclude Carriers on the Travel Configuration Page.

Introduction to Air Connectors

SAP Concur provides an alternate air connector switch available through Concur Travel to facilitate booking segments in one itinerary from multiple reservation systems. Air travel is managed concurrently through separate Global Distribution Systems (GDS) under one corporate configuration. This feature applies to Professional Travel only.

Each Concur Travel site is assigned a primary GDS or reservation system. This is defined during the implementation process in accordance with the requirements of the fulfillment TMC. The primary GDS is used for PNR and profile management.

Add an Alternate Source Connector to:

  • Access airline inventory from a secondary GDS (which may differ from your site's primary GDS)
  • Enable Cross-GDS Rapid Reprice for ticket exchanges

When a traveler selects a flight from the alternate source, the purchase transaction occurs in that alternate GDS reservation system. A passive segment is created in the primary GDS for tracking purposes.

Note

Before enabling this feature, customers should discuss it with their TMC. Not all TMCs support all GDSs.

The Travel Agent permission is required to access a Company Travel Configuration. The section on Air Connectors is located at the top of the Travel Configuration page, just below the Agency Information section. If you’re within another section of the company’s travel configuration, you can use the scroll bar or the back to top link to return to the top of the page.

Screenshot shows the Travel Configuration page, the Air Connectors section. At the top is the “Alternate Source Connectors” section with a large empty panel and a centered green “Add a new connector” link. Below, an “AirRail Connector Switch” note explains that airlines selected in alternate connectors are automatically excluded in the primary connector. The “Apollo (Primary Connector) — Shops and sells most domestic and international carriers” row includes an “Exclude Carriers” input field. Further down are integrations: “Cleartrip” with an Enable checkbox, fields for “Deposit Account ID” and “APIKey” with info icons; and “Travefusion” with an Enable checkbox and a “Shop Timeout (seconds)” input.

Add a New Air Connector

Review the following step-by-step procedure to learn more about adding a new air connector.

Steps

  1. In the Air Connectors sections, select Add a new connector to create a new connector.

    Note

    When you select the Add a new connector link, the Connector Configuration window will open.
    Screenshot shows the Travel Configuration page, the section titled “Air Connectors,” showing a link “Alternate Source Connectors” at the top left and a large empty bordered panel with a centered, yellow-highlighted button labeled “+ Add a new connector.”

  2. Set values as appropriate.

    The following items should always be completed, as best practice:

    1. Connector Configuration Name - Add the name given to the alternate connector
    2. Agency Booking Config - Select the appropriate agency booking configuration assigned to the company
    3. BAR - Business Accounting Record, which is the company profile in the Global Distribution System (GDS)
    4. Finishing Configuration file - Select the appropriate PNR finishing file to be used for the travel configuration
    Screenshot shows the “Connector Configuration” page with callout markers a–d. At the top is a text field labeled “Connector Configuration Name” populated with “NAI US Alternate.” Below it is a drop-down labeled “Agency Booking Config” showing “BAR (Accounting Name),” followed by a blank “Accounting Code” text field. On the left are two more controls: a drop-down for “Finishing configuration file” with “(None)” selected, and a drop-down for “Simultaneous searches to run (Sabre only)” set to “2 (preferred).” The right side contains a tall, scrollable panel of checkbox options for various GDS platforms, including settings such as “NON‑AMADEUS: Add title to user’s first name for manual PNR build,” “AMADEUS: Remove cabin restrictions on low fare shops,” “SABRE ONLY: Deeper Southwest shop,” “APOLLO ONLY: Los Angeles searches default to LAX,” “APOLLO ONLY: New York searches default to LGA,” “WORLDSPAN ONLY: Shop AirTran on alternate GDS if no direct connect,” “APOLLO/GALILEO AIR CANADA ONLY: Suppress Tango fares,” “SABRE ONLY: Enable all features using SABRE Web Services,” “AIR CANADA ONLY: Search GDS and direct connect,” “SABRE ONLY: Skip tax scan in flex‑faring,” options to leave unused FQTV numbers, enable a dedicated Southwest shop, search requested airports only, flex‑faring controls, show total fare including taxes, and enable complex branded fares. “Save” and “Cancel” buttons are at the bottom.

  3. Select Save to create the new connector.

    Screenshot shows the Connector Configuration page. The form shows fields on the left: Connector Configuration Name set to “NAI US Alternate,” Agency Booking Config set to “BAR (Accounting Name),” an empty Accounting Code, Finishing configuration file set to “(None),” and “Simultaneous searches to run (Sabre only)” set to “2 (preferred).” The right side contains a long list of checkbox options for various GDS behaviors (Sabre, Amadeus, Apollo, Galileo, Worldspan). At the bottom are Save and Cancel buttons, with the Save button highlighted in yellow.

  4. Scroll to the bottom of the Travel Configuration and Save your changes; re-display it.

    Screenshot shows the bottom of the Travel Configuration page showing a large “Implementation Notes” text area, a checkbox for “Allow Discount Editing,” and a row of navigation links (“back to top,” “Wizard Options,” “Email Options,” “profile sync,” “invoicing,” “ghost card,” “Project Billing,” “Finishing,” “Other”). Below is “Concur TripLink – Agency Assistance” with a checkbox to enable it, followed by “Compleat Integration” with a checkbox “Compleat Enabled” and two input fields labeled “Compleat GDS PCC” and “Compleat Agency ID.” At the bottom are buttons “Save” (highlighted in yellow), “To Company List,” and “Deactivate This Configuration,” plus a link “Show Change History.”

Result

The new connector will now appear in the Air/Rail Connector Switch section.

Screenshot shows the Air Connectors section in the Travel Configuration page. The Alternate Source Connectors table lists shows one row highlighted in yellow: Connector Name “NA US Alternate,” Agency “NA Travel Partner Agency 15 Sabre,” Agency PGC “C7AC,” GDS “Sabre,” Bar Spec “N/I,” with a pencil edit icon and a “Add a new connector” link.

Additional Options for Alternate Source Connectors

Once you have created the alternate connector, you have some additional settings that are available to configure. If the alternate connector is responsible for shopping specific carriers, you can select those vendors in the Carriers field. Keep in mind, if you select carriers here, they will then be excluded from the Primary Connector shop.

To add specific carriers to be shopped by your alternate connector, select the Carriers box and then add the desired carrier(s) to the connector through the pop-up window. Be sure to select Done after making your selections.

Screenshot shows the Travel Configuration page, the Air Connectors section. Suppress Passives drop-down. The Apollo (Primary Connector) row has an Exclude Carriers field. On the right, a modal titled “Choose from…” is open, displaying a scrollable list of airlines such as Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Amtrak, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, United, and many others, with instructions to select multiple items and Done (highlighted in yellow) and Cancel buttons. Yellow highlights and a dashed arrow indicate selecting carriers for the Sabre Carriers field.

Another setting that can be applied is suppressing passive segments. If you do not want passive segments created in the primary GDS for the alternate GDS content, list the carrier in the suppress passive field. The same steps apply here as with the Carriers field. Simply select the Suppress Passive box, make your selections, and then select Done.

Screenshot shows the Travel Configuration page, the Air/Rail Connector Switch section focused on the Sabre connector. The Sabre row shows “Carriers: AS” and a highlighted “Suppress Passive” selector. A dashed arrow points to an open modal titled “Choose from…” that lists airlines; “Alaska Airlines (AS)” is selected. The modal includes instructions for multi‑select and Done (highlighted in yellow) and Cancel buttons.

If you choose to suppress passive segments for the alternative GDS content in the primary GDS, consider whether you want a primary GDS PNR at all. If you do, make sure the Create a GDS PNR setting is enabled. In this case, only the following content would appear in the primary GDS PNR:

  • Retention line
  • Car/hotel/air content booked in primary GDS
  • Historical remarks about the alternate GDS PNR (indicating an alt GDS PNR exists)
Screenshot shows the GDS PNR Options section in the Travel Configuration page. The checkbox “Create a GDS PNR for every trip booked on-line through Concur.” is selected and highlighted in yellow. Below it is an unchecked option: “Write passive segments for non-GDS content if I have not specified a default for the specific vendor in the table below.” The Defaults for Specific Non-GDS Vendors table shows vendors such as AddisonLee and AerLingus with drop-downs set to “Use the default specified above.”

If you don't enable the Create a GDS PNR setting, no PNR will be created in the primary GDS when the only content booked is via the alternate GDS. If the user adds to this reservation after the initial creation, then a PNR would be created in the primary GDS.

Note

Please review this step with your TMC before deciding not to create a PNR in the primary GDS.

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the Travel Configuration page to save your changes.

Introduction to the Exclude Carriers Option

You can use the Exclude Carriers option to inhibit GDS content. This is recommended when a supplier is searched through a Direct Connect vendor but may also be available via the GDS. This option applies only to air and rail – and only GDS content, not Direct Connect.

Note

This feature applies to Professional Travel only.
Screenshot shows the “Air/Rail Connector Switch” section in the Travel Configuration page with text explaining you can enable or disable shop/sell options and that any airlines selected in alternate connectors will be automatically excluded in the primary connector. Below is the “Apollo (Primary Connector)” description stating it shops and sells most domestic and international carriers, followed by an “Exclude Carriers” input field highlighted in yellow.

To exclude a carrier:

  1. Select the Exclude Carriers box.
  2. Select the carrier(s).
  3. Select Done, remember to Save the configuration page.
Composite screenshot showing the Air/Rail Connector Switch page with the Apollo (Primary Connector) “Exclude Carriers” field highlighted, and a dashed arrow pointing to a SAP Concur pop‑up titled “Choose from…” where users select airlines to exclude. The modal contains instructions to choose one or more items and to hold the Control key for multi‑select, a scrollable list of carriers with codes (examples shown include West Coast Air 8Q selected, Wataniya Airline KW, WebJet Linhas Aereas WJ, Wizz Air Hungary W6, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi 5W, Wizz Air Malta W4, Wizz Air UK Limited W9, WOW air WW), and Done (highlighted in yellow) and Cancel buttons at the bottom.

Note

The Exclude Carriers field excludes the vendor completely from the search. To exclude a vendor only from the results display, use the Travel Admin feature: Vendor Exclusions.

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the Travel Configuration page to save your changes.

To remove a previously excluded carrier:

  1. Select on the Exclude Carriers box.
  2. Select the carrier(s) using Ctrl+click.
  3. Select Done. Remember to Save the configuration page.

Summary

  • Alternate Air Connector enables multi-GDS itineraries and Cross-GDS Rapid Reprice; available for Professional Travel only
  • Primary GDS manages PNR and profiles; alternate processes purchase; a passive segment is added in the primary GDS
  • Travel Agent permission required
  • Configure in the Air Connectors section; complete name, agency config, BAR, finishing file; save
  • Control carriers: assign to alternate shopping; suppress passive segments if desired; enable Create a GDS PNR when needed
  • Use Exclude Carriers to block GDS content; consult your TMC first, as not all support all GDSs
Learning
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