Aman Kumar

Posted on Nov 7

How Airline Group Fares Really Work: The Business & Tech Behind 'TBA' Passenger Names

#traveltech #backend #api #systemdesign

If you've ever seen "TBA/TBA" as a passenger name in a flight booking, it's not a glitch—it's a feature. After booking a cheap group fare on Yatra.com, I discovered the hidden world of airline group bookings, and uncovered a real bug with same-name passengers.

In this post, we'll unpack:

How group fare booking systems work
Why "TBA" exists in airline PNRs
What developers building travel systems should know
A critical bug I found: Same-name passengers causing seat swaps

✈️ 1. What Are Group Fares?

Group fares are special airline rates for 10+ passengers traveling together on the same flight and date.

Common use cases:

🏢 Corporate trips
💒 Weddings and family gatherings
🕌 Pilgrimage or religious tours
🏀 School or sports teams

Unlike individual bookings, group fares are:

Negotiated directly with airlines or via GDS
More flexible with payment schedules
Allow placeholder names initially

2. Business Logic: The Group Booking Flow

Here's how it works from an OTA or travel agent's perspective:

Step	Process	Description
1️⃣	Group Quote Request	Agency requests fare for route, date, and passenger count
2️⃣	PNR Creation (TBA stage)	Airline/GDS creates group PNR with placeholders like `TBA/TBA`
3️⃣	Deposit & Hold	Group pays deposit to hold seats
4️⃣	Name Finalization	12–72 hours before flight, replace "TBA" with real names
5️⃣	Ticketing	Once names finalized, tickets are issued

📋 3. What Does "TBA" Actually Mean?

TBA = To Be Advised

When creating a group booking, actual passenger details may not be known yet.

Example in GDS (Amadeus/Sabre):

Each entry reserves a seat while allowing the agent to:

Hold inventory without final names
Track blocked seats in airline systems
Display flight details before passenger confirmation

How GDS Systems Power This Magic

Behind the scenes, OTAs don't talk directly to each airline. They use GDS (Global Distribution System) — think of it as the "API gateway" of the travel industry.

The Big Three:

Amadeus (European dominance)
Sabre (Strong in Americas)
Travelport (Galileo/Worldspan/Apollo)

⏰ 4. The 12-Hour Rule

Most airlines require final passenger names no later than 12 hours before departure.

What happens at finalization:

✅ All "TBA" placeholders updated with real names
⚠️ Unnamed passengers may auto-cancel
🎫 Group PNR transitions to ticketed state

This is why Yatra/MMT show "flight details visible before 12 hours" — the system holds the group block, but names are pending.

5. System Architecture Flow

Key technical points:

Placeholders stored in PNR until replaced
Airlines track via group booking IDs (not individual tickets)
Background jobs handle PNR sync and updates

💻 6. How OTAs Handle This (Developer View)

For platforms like Yatra or MakeMyTrip:

// Simplified model
const groupBooking = {
  pnr: "ABC123",
  status: "TBA_PENDING",
  passengers: [
    { firstName: "TBA", lastName: "TBA", title: "MR" },
    { firstName: "TBA", lastName: "TBA", title: "MS" }
  ],
  finalizationDeadline: "2025-11-08T10:00:00Z",
  flightDetails: { visible: false } // visible after name update
};

Backend requirements:

Handle placeholder data models
Schedule PNR refresh/update jobs
Implement deadline alerts
Validate against duplicate names (see bug below!)

7. CRITICAL BUG I DISCOVERED: Same-Name Collision

The Problem

When booking through Yatra's group fare system, I found:

If two passengers have the same name:

❌ During web check-in, the system will display both passengers names when the PNR and last name are entered together.
❌ Boarding passes get mixed up
❌ Airport staff can't distinguish passengers
❌ Potential security and check-in issues

Example Scenario

// Booking for two people with same name
passengers: [
  { firstName: "Amit", lastName: "Kumar", seat: "12A" },
  { firstName: "Amit", lastName: "Kumar", seat: "12B" }
]

// What happens in airline system:
// PNR shows: KUMAR/AMIT MR + KUMAR/AMIT MR
// Boarding pass generates wrong seat for one passenger

Why This Happens

GDS Name Formatting: Airlines use PNR and LASTNAME combination
Duplicate Detection: System may treat as duplicate entry
Seat Assignment Logic: Uses last name as primary key
Group PNR Merge: Multiple "AMIT KUMAR" entries cause confusion

Recommended fixes for OTAs:

🔍 Pre-booking validation for duplicate last names
📝 Force middle name or mobile number for duplicates

🔮 8. Future: NDC and Modern APIs

IATA's NDC (New Distribution Capability) is modernizing group fares:

⚡ Real-time quotes and seat holds
🔄 Easier passenger data updates via REST APIs
📉 Reduced reliance on "TBA" placeholders
🤝 Direct airline-to-OTA connections

Though many airlines still support TBA for backward compatibility.

9. Key Takeaways

Point	Reality Check
✅ "TBA" is a feature, not a bug	Intentional placeholder system for group inventory management
⏰ The 12-hour rule has a twist	Names often start reflecting from midnight (not exactly 12 hours), which can frustrate travelers expecting earlier updates
💰 How OTAs really make money	Indian OTAs like Yatra/MMT book group fares and mark them up—this is on top of convenience charges. That "cheap fare" might just be a group booking arbitrage
🚨 Same-name = system chaos	Multiple passengers with identical last names create PNR conflicts, seat swaps, and boarding issues
🎭 The agent model	OTAs aren't always direct airline partners—many operate as super-agents booking group blocks and reselling individually

💬 Discussion

For developers building travel systems:

How does your system handle group booking placeholders?
Ever encountered the same-name bug I found?

Drop your experiences in the comments! 👇

🔗 Useful Resources

This post is based on real-world experience booking through Yatra.com. If you found this helpful, consider sharing it with your travel-tech friends! ✈️

Tags: #traveltech #backend #systemdesign #api #devstory

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