NetJets Link
FBO One can automatically import handling requests (and updates!) from NetJets. The Netjets link performs the repetative tasks like updating all the flight details, requested services and crew/pax details.
How it works
While FBO One handles orders whith two flight legs each, Netjets plans separate flight legs. Thats why the procedure is a bit complicated. First of all, because we combine two Netjets request numbers in a single FBO One handling order, the 'Debtor's order number' in FBO One will have two Netjets request numbers:
These order numbers are used bij the Netjets import to link the new data to existing orders in FBO One. On import FBO One 'reads' the Netjets orders and for each ordernumber:
- if its unknown in FBO One, creates an order with this flight data
- if its already known in FBO One with the same registration: updates the services if needed
- if its already known in FBO One with another registration: splits the order in FBO One, to be able to set the new registration for this movement in the new FBO One order
Finally, if after this process arrival only and departure only orders for the same registration are left, they are automatically merged to a single order.
Crew and passengers
In the crew/pax page of the order details screen, the imported crew and passenger details are displayed. For privacy reasons the names are truncated. Click on the edit link to open the details. The remarks field can be used to manually add some extra information.
What still has to be done manually
When handling requests are automatically imported into FBO One by the Netjets link, it does not mean that operations does not need to do anything anymore.
Review order changes
When the email has been imported, changes are indicated with a closed ‘N’ envelop. The ‘N’ stands for Netjets updates.
By clicking on the envelop the Netjets updates are displayed in the third-party log of the order details. This screen provides a list of all the changes imported by the Netjets link. To mark the changes as reviewed, click on the OK button. When all changes are reviewed, the plan board will display an open envelop indicating that there are no unreviewed changed.
To keep you notified about new changes, it is best practice to always open all envelopes.
Service requests
For each service requested by Netjets a separate ‘service request’ service is added to the order. The details are imported in the remarks and the supplier order number is also automatically imported.
Important: the actual services need to be added and maintained manually. If done, the workflow state of the service request needs to be set to 'Complete' to notify the team that the related service has been added or updated.
Review cancelled requests
Cancelations are also automatically imported into FBO One. The canceled orders are visible in the plan board as a gray bar.
Orders are not automatically canceled, but set to the workflow state ‘to be canceled’. This way the order is still visible in the plan board and the operations must handle the cancelation manually. Slots might need to be released and third-party services need to be canceled with the supplier. When this is complete, the operations can cancel the order in FBO One.
Possible issues
Arrival or departure?
When adding the services it is important to indicate if they are arrival or departure related. When an order is split due to a registration change or cancellation, the services are also moved with the arrival or departure leg. To prevent that the services are split to the wrong order, please ensure that the arrival/departure indicator of the service is correct.
Crew services should always be arrival related. This prevents that they are split when the departure changes due to a cancelation or registration change. Pax services should always move with the request number. Pax services for the inbound request number should be added as arrival related. Pax services for the outbound request number should be added as departure related.
Correct duplicate orders
When the debtor order numbers are not configured as described in the previous paragraph, the imported handling requests cannot be matched with the orders already present in FBO One. This results in duplicate orders, one that is manually entered by operations and one that is imported by the Netjets link.
To fix this you need to execute the following steps:
- enter the debtor order number into the manually created order (this ensures that this order is updated with the next import)
- clear the debtor order number in the order created by the Netjets link (this will prevent that this order is updated with the next import)
- move any imported services that are not yet present in the manually create order
- cancel the order created by the Netjets link
Services are removed from the order
When an outbound leg is cancelled by Netjets, it is split from the order and placed in the ‘to be cancelled’ state. OPS must always carefully review these to-be-cancelled orders. Don’t “just” mark them as ‘cancelled free of charge’ but review any services in the to-be-cancelled order and use the ‘move services’ command to move them to the inbound leg when applicable. Only then, cancel the order. Discuss within your team that this is important.
Each service has an Arrival (A) or Departure (D) indicator. When creating ramp services, especially for Netjets flights, make sure that the services are created with the proper A or D indicator. Some services are marked as D by default. This is configurable per product, see the paragraph below. If a service is marked as Departure, ops must take care to edit this setting after the service is created, to make it an arrival service. This can be done using the ‘Edit Service’ command. This will prevent the service from moving to the to-be-cancelled departure leg when the departure is cancelled.
Left over orders
Sometimes, a cancellation of a Netjets orders is missed or for some other reason a Netjets order stays in the planboard while it should actually have been cancelled already. Usually there is a departure only order in the next few days, without an arrival. Or a planned arrival that never shows.
The way to check this is use the Netjets request number of the order, and find out whether this number should still be active or not, using input from Netjets. If it should be active, you can correct the order details, if not it can be cancelled (don't forget to check all services in such a case)
Import errors
FBO One uses the bulletin board to notify about errors that occur during an import.
When the Netjets link fails to import one or more legs, for each request a bulletin board message is created. The message contains information about the leg that could not be imported and a detailed description of the error. With a link to the handling request document the operations can manually enter the leg information in FBO One.
If the order was found, the message is created on the order bulletin board. Else the message is created on the front office bulletin board.
To solve an error like that, enter the Netjets request number in the open order search box to find the related order in FBO One. If no order has been found, search for open orders with the same registration. Possibly you can update an existing order.
Orders that are not imported by the Netjets link can be added manually. By entering the request number in the debtor order number, updates should be automatically imported the next time.
How to check the automated process / find errors
View last imported handling request
In the Flight tab in the order details screen a link to the last imported handling request document is available. Also the timestamp of when the document has been imported is displayed. By clicking on the link, the handling request PDF can be opened.
How to activate the Netjets link
To activate the Netjets link the following tasks need to be executed:
Debtor key configuration
To match the Netjets handling requests with a correct organization in FBO One, the handling request debtor key of the Netjets contact should be configured as ‘Netjets EU’.
Correlation group code configuration
The FBO One Robot reads messages from the FBO One Queue. To ensure that only fbo location related messages are processed, each fbo location must use a unique correlation group code: [ICAO code]-[Fbo name] = EGLC-JET CENTRE
The correlation group code needs to be configured in the Administration - Fbo locations - Settings screen.
Setting: HandlingRequestCorrelationGroupCode
The correlation group code must match the text in the top left of the NetJets faxes exactly:
In the XML file the [ICAO code] and [Fbo name] are separated:
If the strings don't match, they won't be imported and the Netjets link won't work.
Configure crew types
All crew types used by NetJets should be defined. If a crew type Netjets is using doesn't exist in FBO One, there will be problems importing requests using that crew type.
Enter debtor order numbers for pre-existing open orders
The Netjets link matches existing orders in FBO One based on the Netjets request number. If the flight is an arrival, the request number must match with the first part of the order’s debtor number. For departures the second part must match. The convention to use the debtor order number is “[arrival nr]/[departure nr]”, like “12354/12385”.
To ensure that the open orders from Netjets will be updated by the Netjets link, the debtor order number needs to be filled in correctly to match the request number from Netjets. If no match is found, a new order will be created.
Orders created by the Netjets link automatically contain the request number in the debtor order number.
Enable the Handling request importer robot
To process the messages from the FBO One Queue, the HandlingRequestImporter Robot needs to be enabled. This can be configured in the Administration - Robots screen.
Send Netjets emails
Let Netjets send a copy of the handling request emails to Amsterdam Software. Each customer has a dedicated email address to receive the handling request emails.
Relate all ramp services to the arrival by default
If a service is marked as departure-related, the service will be removed from the order when the departure leg is cancelled. Typically this is undesirable for ramp services like GPU. Even when the departure leg is cancelled, any ramp services provided still need to be charged. Therefore it is best practice to configure all ramp services as being related to the arrival by default. You can do this using the edit product command, in the arrival/departure settings section.