Revenue Accounting

Ticket revenue lifecycle, proration, and financial reconciliation.

Scope

Revenue Recognition

  • Sales recording
  • Deferred revenue (unflown tickets)
  • Revenue recognition on flight operation
  • Breakage (unused tickets)
  • Refund liability

Proration

  • Interline revenue sharing
  • SPA (Special Prorate Agreement)
  • MITA (Multilateral Interline Traffic Agreement)
  • Through-fare construction rules
  • Bilateral agreements

Audit and Reconciliation

  • Sales vs. flown reconciliation
  • Coupon matching
  • Interline billing
  • Tax remittance
  • Currency conversion

Research Topics

  • ASC 606 / IFRS 15 revenue recognition
  • Interline proration methods
  • IATA Clearing House
  • Revenue integrity
  • Coupon lifecycle tracking
  • Breakage estimation
  • Tax jurisdiction rules
  • Multi-currency accounting

Architecture Considerations

Revenue States

Ticket Issued (Deferred Revenue)
         ↓
Flight Operated (Uplift)
         ↓
Revenue Recognized
         ↓
Interline Proration (if applicable)
         ↓
Final Settlement

Data Model

RevenueRecord
├── TicketNumber
├── Coupons[]
│   ├── CouponNumber
│   ├── Segment (O&D)
│   ├── OperatingCarrier
│   ├── FlownDate
│   ├── Status
│   └── ProrationShare
├── FareCalculation
│   ├── BaseFare
│   ├── Taxes[]
│   └── Currency
├── RevenueStatus
│   ├── Recognized
│   ├── Deferred
│   └── Written Off
└── InterlineData
    ├── PartnerCarriers[]
    └── ProrationMethod

Proration Methods

MethodDescription
MileageBased on segment distance
IATAStandard IATA prorate factors
SPANegotiated rates
LocalFull fare to operating carrier

Integration Points

SystemDirectionData
TicketingInboundIssued tickets
DCSInboundCoupon usage/uplift
Interline PartnersBidirectionalBilling/settlement
General LedgerOutboundJournal entries
Tax SystemsOutboundTax reporting

Revenue Integrity

Leakage Prevention

  • Duplicate usage detection
  • Coupon status validation
  • Fare audit
  • Commission verification
  • Refund validation

Key Reports

  • Revenue by route
  • Yield analysis
  • Interline balance
  • Refund/exchange trends
  • Tax liability by jurisdiction

Vendor Landscape

Revenue Accounting Systems

VendorProduct
AccelyaRevenue accounting suite
MercatorRevenue management
PROSRevenue optimization
In-houseCustom ERP integration

Interline Settlement

  • IATA Clearing House (ICH)
  • IATA Settlement Systems
  • Bilateral direct settlement