Billing and Settlement Plan
Encyclopedia
Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) (also known as "Bank Settlement Plan") is a system designed to facilitate the flow of data
and funds between travel agencies
and airline
s. The advantage of such an intermediary organization is that instead of each travel agency having an individual relationship with each airline, all of the information is consolidated through the BSP.
BSP's are organized on a local basis, usually one per country. However there are some BSP's which cover more than one country (for example the Nordics
). The International Air Transport Association
states that at the close of 2009, there were 86 BSP's covering more than 160 countries worldwide.
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
and funds between travel agencies
Travel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
and airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
s. The advantage of such an intermediary organization is that instead of each travel agency having an individual relationship with each airline, all of the information is consolidated through the BSP.
BSP's are organized on a local basis, usually one per country. However there are some BSP's which cover more than one country (for example the Nordics
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
). The International Air Transport Association
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
states that at the close of 2009, there were 86 BSP's covering more than 160 countries worldwide.