The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched the Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) in Myanmar from September this year. The introduction of BSP operations will ease the reporting of ticket sales and remittance for participating travel agents and settlement of their sales to airlines.

Prior to the implementation of the BSP, agents had to interact directly with each of the respective airlines to report and remit their ticket sales, which is both inefficient and time-consuming. The introduction of the BSP will streamline and standardise the process and format for sales reporting and remittance by agents to the airlines.

With the BSP, both airlines and travel agents will receive only one sales report. Travel agents will only need to make one payment for all of their sales to the airlines via the BSP by a pre-determined date. Airlines will then receive one consolidated payment from the BSP.

“Aviation is a growing sector in Myanmar. As the country continues to develop and with more international airlines operating services in Myanmar, it is timely to introduce the BSP. Not only will it bring efficiencies in the interactions between airlines and travel agents, it will also modernise and support the growth of Myanmar’s travel and tourism sector,” said Conrad Clifford, regional vice president for Asia-Pacific at IATA.

About five airlines and 12 travel agents are participating in the Myanmar BSP during the start-up phase, with more expected to join in the coming months.

Since its inception in 1971, the IATA BSPs now exist in some 180 markets serving around 400 participating airlines with an on-time settlement rate of 99.997%. In 2018, IATA’s BSPs processed USD 248.8 billion.