Fares & pricing Travel technology glossary

Point of SalePOS

Also called POScountry of salepoint of sale and ticketingsales location

Definition

Point of sale (POS) in airline pricing is the country or location where a ticket is sold, usually identified by the selling agency's or website's location. Airlines can file different fares, currencies and availability for different points of sale, so the same flight may cost more or less depending on where it is bought.

What Point of Sale means

Airlines treat each country as a separate market with its own demand, competition and willingness to pay. To manage that, they can restrict fares by where they are sold. In ATPCO fare data this is handled by sales restriction rules (Category 15), which can limit a fare to certain countries or locales, a set currency, specific sellers or particular ticketing methods.

Point of sale is related to, but different from, point of origin. Taxes are driven mainly by the itinerary, while POS controls which filed fares the seller is allowed to offer. A fare filed for sale only in the UAE, for example, will not be returned to an agency pricing from Bangladesh, even for the same flights.

Historically IATA fare construction also used International Sale Indicators: SITI, SITO, SOTI and SOTO, which describe whether a ticket was sold and ticketed inside or outside the country of origin. IATA removed most sale-indicator checks in January 2005, and Business Travel News reported in 2007 that remaining checks, such as for travel involving Japan, were being phased out. The terms survive in corporate travel and agency jargon, while airlines today apply POS mainly through their own fare filings, private fares and revenue management.

How Point of Sale works

When an agency prices an itinerary, the booking system checks the seller's location against each fare's rules.

  1. Identify the sellerThe GDS or NDC request carries the agency's location, typically derived from its PCC, office ID or IATA number, or the country site of an airline website.
  2. Filter fares by sales rulesFares whose sales restrictions exclude that location, currency or seller type are removed before pricing.
  3. Apply market pricingRemaining fares and availability reflect the airline's strategy for that market, including local promotions and negotiated fares.
  4. Convert and priceThe fare is calculated and shown in the selling currency allowed for that point of sale, with taxes added according to the itinerary.
  5. Ticket in the right locationThe ticket is issued by an office permitted to ticket that fare, as some fares also restrict the point of ticketing.

Point of Sale in practice

Illustrative example: an airline files a promotional Dubai to London return fare that may only be sold in the UAE in UAE dirhams. A Dubai agency sees it, but a partner office in Dhaka pricing the same flights does not, and is offered a higher fare in US dollars instead.

SOTO example: a company in Singapore buys a ticket for an employee flying Mumbai to Delhi. Because the ticket is sold and ticketed outside the country where the journey starts, it is described as SOTO (sold outside, ticketed outside), and fare availability and taxes may differ from a ticket bought in India.

Historical example: when IATA dropped sale-indicator rules in January 2005, Business Travel News Europe cited a New York to Seoul return that fell from about US$3,500 under old rules to about US$1,900.

Who uses it

Multi-country travel agency groupsChoose which office or PCC prices and tickets a booking to access the best fares allowed for each point of sale.
ConsolidatorsDistribute market-specific net fares to sub-agents only in the countries the airline agreement permits.
Corporate travel managersWatch for SOTO bookings that may price differently from tickets bought in the traveller's country of departure.
AirlinesUse POS restrictions to price each market separately and manage local competition and demand.

Advantages and limitations

Advantages

  • Airlines can tailor prices and promotions to local demand and competition.
  • Agencies with offices in several countries can legitimately offer fares that other markets cannot.
  • Local-currency fares help customers avoid exchange-rate surprises.
  • Market-specific negotiated fares let airlines reward local agency partners.

Limitations

  • Customers may be confused or frustrated when the same flight costs more in their own country.
  • Selling a fare outside its permitted point of sale or ticketing can lead to ADMs from the airline.
  • Pricing from multiple POS locations adds technical and operational complexity for agencies.
  • Currency rules and taxes differ by market, which complicates refunds and reissues across borders.

Frequently asked questions about Point of Sale

Why are flights cheaper when booked from another country?

Airlines price each country of sale as its own market, based on local demand, competition and currency. A fare filed for one point of sale may be lower than those offered elsewhere for the same flights. Taxes still depend on the itinerary, so the saving comes from the fare, not the taxes.

What does SOTO mean on an airline ticket?

SOTO stands for sold outside, ticketed outside: the ticket was both purchased and issued in a country other than the one where the journey begins. It comes from the old IATA International Sale Indicators, alongside SITI, SITO and SOTI, and is still used to describe bookings whose pricing may differ from a local purchase.

Can a travel agency sell a fare filed for another country?

Only if the fare's sales rules allow it. Fares can be restricted to certain countries, currencies or sellers, and a GDS will usually not return a fare the agency is not permitted to sell. If a restricted fare is ticketed in breach of its rules, the airline may issue an agency debit memo.

How does a GDS know the point of sale?

It usually takes the location from the agency's pseudo city code or office ID, which is linked to a country and an IATA or ARC number. NDC requests carry similar point-of-sale details. That location is what the airline's sales restriction rules are checked against when the fare is priced.

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Sources and further reading

  1. Travelport — Cat15 sales restrictions
  2. FlightGlobal — IATA abolishes fare calculation rules (February 2005)
  3. Business Travel News Europe — Comment: IATA rule change
  4. Business Travel News — Evolving IATA rules yield savings opportunities (September 2007)
  5. Cranky Flier — Why do fares vary by country? (April 2016)