Policy for the use of .aero shortcuts -234.97k (shortcuts040426.pdf)

April 26, 2004

.aero – the Internet domain dedicated to aviation started operations in March 2002. Its goal is to streamline industry communications by identifying and developing naming conventions. Once implemented, these conventions will allow industry professionals and passengers, as well as systems, to locate resources on the net directly, predictably and with reasonable confidence. The first conventions were outlined in a white paper titled "Simplifying Internet communications for the air transport community" published in March 2003.

The white paper introduced a concept of ".aero shortcuts" – short and predictable domain names based on recognized industry naming conventions, which can be used by travelers or industry professionals as a fast and simple mean to access information related to air transport. To illustrate the concept, just think of finding information about a flight number, for example the today's flight AF2042, by just entering AF2042.aero as the Internet URL needed to retrieve information about the status of this flight.

To demonstrate and test some concepts outlined in the white paper, SITA developed a pilot service based on domain names corresponding to flight numbers (i.e. BA123.AERO) and airport routes (i.e. GVA-LHR.AERO). The service allows passengers to check flight status from any web-enabled device, including cellular phones and PDAs, simply by typing the flight number followed by ".aero". The pilot service was introduced in partnership with Geneva International Airport in October 2003 at the time of the ITU TELECOM 2003 and received very positive feedback from media as well as pilot users. Over 98% of users wished to see the service widely available at more airports.

The objective of this policy document is to define the rules concerning the registration and use of those .aero shortcuts, required to allow global introduction of the above-described flight status service. This policy will ensure that travelers and industry professionals can access information in a consistent and predictable manner worldwide.

This policy is an integral part of .aero Domain Management Policy (DMP). It specifies the rules for registration and usage of domain names listed in the Paragraph 1 of this Policy. In the event of conflict, the Domain Management Policy prevails. This policy is maintained and can be changed by the Sponsor of the .aero TLD. Changes in the policy are prepared and proposed by the existing task force or, in the absence of the task force, in cooperation with IATA and ACI representatives in the Dot Aero Council. The Sponsor undertakes to consult significant policy modifications with the members of the Dot Aero Council.

This policy applies to domain names listed in Section II and further specifies for each domain name:

• Who is eligible to register and use the names;
• Minimum content and presentation requirements for web access; and
• Interfaces between data sources and service providers.

	Domain name	Who is eligible ?
1	Gateway to access information about an airline	"Airlines, commercial operators, and other entities who have a unique code allocated by IATA as defined in the Domain Management Policy."
	2-character IATA airline designator used as XX.aero
2	Gateway to access information about an airport	Operator of the airport as defined in the Domain Management Policy.
	"3-letter IATA location identifier used as AAA.airport.aero or, if available, AAA.aero"
3	Access to information about departures and arrivals from an airport for an airline	This domain is managed by the registrant of AAA.AIRPORT.AERO.
	"2-character IATA airline designator or 3-letter ICAO airline designator, followed by 3-character location identifier used as XX[X].AAA.airport.aero or XX[X].AAA.aero"	The registrant is required to filter information to show only flights of airline with the airline designator XX[X] as further specified in minimum content requirements.
4	Information about all arrivals to an airport	Operator of the airport as defined in the Domain Management Policy.
	3-letter IATA location identifier used as AAA.arrival.aero
5	Information about all arrivals from an airport for an airline	This domain is managed by the registrant of AAA.ARRIVAL.AERO.
	"2-character airline designator or 3 letter ICAO airline designator, followed by 3-character location identifier used as XX[X].AAA.arrival.aero"	The registrant is required to filter information to show only flights of airline with the airline designator XX[X] as further specified in minimum content requirements.
6	Information about all departures from an airport	Operator of the airport as defined in the Domain Management Policy.
	3-letter IATA location identifier used as AAA.departure.aero
7	Information about all departures from an airport for an airline	This domain is managed by the registrant of AAA.DEPARTURE.AERO.
	"2-character airline designator or 3 letter ICAO airline designator, followed by 3-character location identifier used as XX[X].AAA.departure.aero"	The registrant is required to filter information to show only flights of airline with the airline designator XX[X] as further specified in minimum content requirements.
8	Information about all airports in the city	Operator of the airport as defined in the Domain Management Policy.
		If more airports operate in the same city the operator who registers the domain name is required to provide information about/links to web sites of all commercial airports in the city as further specified in minimum content requirements.
	"3-letter IATA city code[CCC is the IATA city code attributed to the city, for example LON for London, while LHR, LGW, LTN are IATA airport codes] used as CCC.city.aero, or, if available, CCC.aero. "
9	Information about the status of a flight	Operator of origin airport or Operator of destination airport or Airline operator as defined in the Domain Management Policy.
	Flight numbers used as XX[X]NNNN[X].aero	"The domain will be delegated on a first-come first-served basis. Providing the operating airline wishes to activate service for all its flights, all relevant domains held by airports may be automatically reassigned by the Sponsor to the airline as defined in the Domain Management Policy. "
10	Information about the status of a flight at a given destination	This domain is managed by the registrant of XX[X]NNNN[X].aero.
	Flight numbers used as AAA.XX[X]NNNN[X].aero	The registrant is required to filter information to show only departure/arrival specific information as further specified in minimum content requirements.
11	Information about all flights on a route segment	Operator of origin airport (AAA); or
	Route codes used as AAA-ZZZ.aero	Operator of destination airport (ZZZ); or
		The domain will be delegated on a first-come first-served basis.
12	Information about flight status of an individual flight for an individual airline	This domain is managed by the registrant of AAA-ZZZ.AERO.
	Airline Route codes used as XX[X].AAA-ZZZ.aero	The registrant is required to filter information to show only flights of airline with the airline designator XX[X] as further specified in minimum content requirements.

The following tables specify what are the minimum data items that should be associated and displayed for the .aero shortcut providing required data are available.

	Domain name	Minimum content requirements
1	Gateway to access information about an airline	As specified by IATA RP 1784.
	2-character IATA airline designator used as XX.aero
2	Gateway to access information about an airport	<Standard title line with UTC time>
	3-letter IATA location identifier used as AAA.airport.aero, and optionally AAA.aero	<airport-name>
		<web link to main city serviced by this A/P>
		<web link to Departures for this A/P>
3	Access to information about departures and arrivals from an airport for an airline	<Standard title line with UTC time>
	2-character airline designator or 3 letter ICAO airline designator, followed by 3-character location identifier used as XX[X].AAA.airport.aero and optionally XX[X].AAA.aero	<airport-name>
		<airline-name> with link to airline's xx.aero
		<web link to XX[X] Arrivals for this A/P>
		<web link to XX[X] Departures for this A/P>
		<Indication of data source>
4	Information about all arrivals from an airport	<Standard title line with UTC time>
	3-letter IATA location identifier used as AAA.arrival.aero	<airport-name>
		<web link to main city serviced by this A/P>
		<arrivals title>
		for each arriving flight:
		<Flight-nbr>
		<scheduled time of arrival - STA>
		<origin A/P code>
		<web link to previous flights (conditional)>
		<web link to next flights (conditional)>
		<web link to Departures>
		<Indication of data source>
5	Information about all arrivals to an airport for an airline	<Standard title line with UTC time>
	2-character airline designator or 3 letter ICAO airline designator, followed by 3-character location identifier used as:	<airline-name> with link to airline's xx.aero
	XX[X].AAA.arrival.aero	<airport-name>
		<arrivals title>
		for each arriving flight:
		<Flight-nbr>
		<scheduled time of arrival - STA>
		<destination A/P code>
		<web link to previous flights (conditional)>
		<web link to next flights (conditional)>
		<web link to Departures>
		<Indication of data source>
6	Information about all departures from an airport	<Standard title line with UTC time></p>;;
	3-letter IATA location identifier used as AAA.departure.aero	<airport-name>
		<web link to main city serviced by this A/P>
		<departures title>
		for each departing flight:
		<Flight-nbr>
		<scheduled time of departure - STD>
		<destination A/P code>
		<web link to previous flights (conditional)>
		<web link to next flights (conditional)>
		<web link to Arrivals>
		<Indication of data source>
7	Information about all departures from an airport for an airline	Same structure for departures or arrivals
	2-character airline designator or 3 letter ICAO airline designator, followed by 3-character location identifier used as XX[X].AAA.departure.aero	<Standard title line with UTC time>
		<airline-name> with link to airline's xx.aero site
		<airport-name>
		<departures title>
		for each departing flight:
		<Flight-nbr>
		<scheduled time of departure - STD>
		<destination A/P code>
		<web link to previous flights (conditional)>
		<web link to next flights (conditional)>
		<web link to Arrivals>
		<Indication of data source>
8	Information about all airports in the city	<Standard title line with UTC time>
	3-letter IATA city code[CCC is the IATA city code attributed to the city, for example LON for London, while LHR, LGW, LTN are IATA airport codes] used as CCC.city.aero, and optionally, CCC.aero.	<city-name>
		<number of airports>
		for each airport servicing city
		<airport-code> with link airport site
		<airport-name>
		<Who is source of data>
9	Information about the status of a flight	<title line for Flights: Flight-Nbr + Date (nnMMM format)>
	Flight number used as XX[X]nnnn[x].aero	<Airline-name>
		<From Airport Code + Airport-name>
		<To Airport Code + Airport-name>
		The objective is to compile and display below all information available on this today's flight. Flights with multiple legs appear as multiple occurrences of departures / arrivals:
		<departure info: departing Airport-code>
		<Scheduled Time of Departure>
		<Expected
		<Gate information>
		<Indication of data source>
		<time-stamp>
		<arrival info: arriving Airport-code>
		<Scheduled Time of Arrival>
		<Expected
		<Gate information>
		<Indication of data source>
		<time-stamp>
		<web link to subscription for proactive notification >
		Can be repeated, information supplied when available.
10	Information about the status of a flight at a given destination	Only information pertaining to AAA location. Content same as above.
	Flight numbers used as AAA.XX[X]NNNN[X].aero
11	Information about all flights on a route segment	<title line for Routes: From-To Airport- codes + Date (nnMMM format)>
	Route segment used as AAA-ZZZ.aero	<From Airport Code + Airport-name>
		<To Airport Code + Airport-name>
		<heading line with qty of Flights>
		repeated for each flight:
		<Flight-Nbr> with hyperlink to Flight-Nbr.aero
		<Scheduled Time of Departure>
		<Status>
		status is updated when the information is available: "Departed", "Arrived" with the corresponding times(local times)
		<Actual Time of Departure>
		<Web link to ZZZ-AAA.aero (return Flights)>
		<Indication of data source>
		<time-stamp>
		The operator of the domain name must ensure that all flights can be displayed on equal terms and no bias is introduced in the display of the available flights. Flights should be listed by time.
12	Information about all flights on a route segment for an airline	Same structure as route segment above, but display restricted only to flights operated by XX[X] and by other A/L(s) sharing code with XX[X].
	Airline route segment used as XX[X].AAA-ZZZ.aero

One of the key principles of the .aero shortcuts concept is the accessibility of the service from a wide variety of web-enabled devices including mobile phones, PDAs and PCs. The presentation capabilities of web-enabled devices vary significantly in terms of display capabilities, acceptable data volumes and level compliance with established protocols.

Entities providing the service must ensure that that the web information provided to the user is customised in accordance with the limitations of the device employed by the user and that the presentation requirements and data volumes do not exceed the technical capabilities of the device and communication channels typically used for a given device.

The service must be designed and updated as frequently as it is needed to allow an easy access to minimum information using web browsers on mobile phones, PDAs and PCs.

FURTHER REQUIREMENTS WILL BE INCLUDED FOLLOWING THE FIRST IMPLEMENTATION EXPERIENCES.

1. Minimum interfacing requirements

THIS PARAGRAPH WILL BE COMPLETED FOLLOWING THE FIRST IMPLEMENTATION EXPERIENCES.

2. Recommendation for extensions above minimum requirements

Above the minimum requirements and data format(s), the service operators can provide additional information, either appended in the web page itself or accessible via hyperlink(s). These can include for example:

• availability of minimum required information in different languages;
• provision of additional information like parking availability, accommodation, ground transportation, weather, check-in desk, baggage collection information, etc. ; or
• links to other services (for example subscription to a proactive notification service via SMS), which could be dynamically adapted depending on the domain name requested.

Provision of this information is left to discretion of the registrants, providing the minimum requirements specified in this policy, including the minimum presentation requirements, are complied with.

In the future, this policy may provide more specific recommendations regarding extensions.

This policy assumes that third party service providers may operate the service providers on behalf of registrants. The registrant will remain responsible for ensuring that the service is operated in compliance with this policy.