E-rates
The e-rates are a standardized electronic rate sheet to enable the simple transmission and processing of air freight rates between airlines and forwarding agents . Until the introduction of e-rates, rates were recorded manually in freight forwarders. In addition to the high potential for errors, there were also high distribution and collection costs. The e-rates have nothing to do with the air freight rates "The Air Cargo Tariff and Rules (TACT)" published by the IATA or the "e-tariffs" for passenger transport.
Emergence
From the BARIG a technical working group was set up, which in the IATA in Frankfurt met on 31 July 2002 for the first time. Members of the working group came from the IATA Agents Liaison Working Group - Cargo (ALWG-C), BARIG, Lufthansa , Air France , Korean Airlines , Aer Lingus , Capitol International ASO GmbH, UTi Deutschland GmbH, Schenker AG and Daco-Air Transport GmbH . In order to keep development and maintenance costs as low as possible for all involved, a software solution was not used. It was agreed that a standardized Microsoft Excel file would be the best solution as Excel is widely used. After four months of development, the e-rates were published.
structure
The file name begins with the ISO country code , followed by the three-digit airline code. An underscore is followed by an abbreviation for standard rates (G), special rates (S) or console rates (C), the date in the format YYMM. Another underscore is followed by the agent's four-digit code or “ALL” if the rates apply to all forwarding agents. The two-digit version number follows after a final underscore. An example of Lufthansa standard rates, valid for all forwarding agents from April 2012: DE020_G1204_ALL_01.xls.
The e-rates consist of three sheets: the actual rates (e-rates), information from the airlines (airline info) and a description of the e-rates (instructions).
The first nine lines of the E-Rates sheet contain the name of the issuing airline, optionally the name of a shipping company and its IATA-CASS account number. From the tenth line, the actual data begins in the following order: novelty marker, country code of the country in which the rates apply, IATA number, CASS number, city name, city code, airport code and country code of the destination airport, two-letter code and three-digit code Numerical code of the airline, GSA name, product name, dangerous goods marker, prepaid / collect marker, start date, end date, country code of the airport of departure, three-letter code of the airport of departure, currency, the minimum rates, N, 45, 100, 250, 300, 500 and 1000 kg, ULD Name, ULD Pivot Weight, ULD Rate, ULD Flat Rate, ULD Over Pivot Rate and Remarks.
The sheet “Airline Infos” can be left blank or filled with any information. Usually various surcharges for fuel, safety and dangerous goods, as well as delivery addresses are listed here.
In the "Instructions" the formatting and possible values of the fields as well as the file name convention are explained in detail.
The airlines or their General Sales Agents (GSA) distribute the rates. They send the e-rates file to a standardized e-mail address of their customers. The address should be structured as follows: [email protected]. The airline receives these addresses from the forwarding agent itself, and until June 2012 also from IATA. To simplify distribution, IATA developed a communication tool . Airlines and freight forwarders could register here. The website e-rates.aero took over this task from September 2012. The e-rates are also explained in detail there.
As of April 2012, 191 airlines in Germany are issuing e-rates.
Individual evidence
- Minutes of the e-Rates Working Group (PDF file; 609 kB), accessed on March 1, 2012.