(fuente: http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/passenger/scheduling/FAQ_Sked.htm)
Scheduling Conference Frequently Asked Questions
When and how often are Schedules Conferences held?
Schedules Conferences are held twice yearly. The conference dealing with Northern Winter schedules is held in June and the conference held in November deals with the Northern Summer schedules for the following year. All relevant dates for summer and winter schedule coordination activities can be found in Appendix 2 of the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines.
Who can attend Schedules Conferences?
Any airline which is licensed to operate air services or which has applied for a license to operate air services; coordinators from slot coordinated airports (Level 3 airports) provided they have been approved by their government and schedules facilitators from schedules facilitated airports (Level 2 airports) provided they have been appointed by the appropriate authority.
Can Non-Airline personnel attend Schedules Conferences?
Conference policy only permits airlines, coordinators and schedules facilitators to attend schedules conferences. However, in the case of government officials, airport operators or their representatives or any other non-airline representatives, exceptions for the purpose of familiarization and normally for one conference only, may be granted by IATA. Non-airline personnel wishing to be invited to a Schedules Conference should send their request to IATA Management at sked@iata.org at least 30 days in advance of the Conference they wish to attend.
Why does IATA charge a delegate fee for attendance at Conferences?
The old business model, which was based on bartering with hotels, commissions, exhibitions, guaranteed room blocks and the assumption that a high percentage of delegates would stay at the designated conference hotel, proved to be obsolete.
In order to minimize IATA’s exposure on guaranteed rooms, lessen its dependency on bartering for services and to provide a margin for the development of future services (such as the new Appointments Calendar) Conference attendance fees, applicable to all delegates, were introduced in 2005.
I am interested in becoming a member of the Scheduling Policy Working Group (SPWG). What must I do to be considered for membership?
Only IATA Member airlines are eligible for participation in SPWG. Members of the SPWG are appointed by the Director-General of IATA. Individuals interested in becoming members of the SPWG should send a Curriculum Vitae together with a letter of support from the CEO of his/her organization to the IATA Director Passenger, IATA Centre, Route de l’Aéroport 33, P.O.B. 416, CH-1215 Geneva 15 Airport, Switzerland.
I am interested in becoming a member of the Joint Scheduling Advisory Group (JSAG). What must I do to be considered for membership?
The Joint Scheduling Advisory Group is an IATA forum comprised of seven airline members and seven coordinators. The coordinator members of JSAG are elected by the coordinator community from the Worldwide Airport Coordinators Group (WWACG). The seven IATA airline members are appointed by the IATA Director-General from the membership of the Scheduling Policy Working Group (SPWG).
How can I order a copy of the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines and how much does it cost?
Copies of the current edition of the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines are available in pdf format and can be downloaded free-of-charge from the IATA Scheduling website at URL /sked
I have a proposal for a future venue for the Schedules Conference. Where can I find the criteria used for determining whether or not a site is suitable?
Venue criteria for Schedules Conferences can be found at: www.iata.org/sked. Completed forms should be e-mailed to the attention of Carolyn Bourke, Conference Manager, IATA Conferences & Exhibitions Department at bourkec@iata.org
How can I subscribe to the IATA Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM)?
Subscriptions to the IATA Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM) can be made through IATA’s Online Store at www.iataonline.com
When do the summer and winter scheduling periods begin?
The northern summer scheduling season begins on the date of Daylight Saving Time (DST) introduction in European Union countries, which currently always takes place on the last Sunday in March. The northern winter scheduling season commences on the last Sunday in October.
Where can I find information on UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) Standard and Daylight Saving Time variations from local time?
Appendix F of the IATA Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM) provides UTC Standard and Daylight Saving Time-Local Time variations for each country where regular scheduled services operate.
Where can I find a list of Schedules Facilitated (Level 2) and Coordinated (Level 3) airports?
Annex 3 of the Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines contains a complete list of schedules facilitated (Level 2) and coordinated (Level 3) airports along with the TTY and e-mail contacts for the schedules facilitators/coordinators responsible for each airport.
Who do I contact, if I wish to commence operations to a Non-Coordinated airport (Level 1)?
Airlines with traffic rights permitting them to operate to a Level 1 airport should notify their appointed handling agent and the relevant airport managing body, or the data collecting agent if one has been appointed, of their planned schedule.
Who do I contact, if I wish to operate to a Schedules Facilitated airport (Level 2)?
Airlines operating to, or intending to operate to, a Schedules Facilitated (Level 2) airport must submit their proposed schedules to the Schedules Facilitator of the airport concerned. Submissions must be made using a Schedule Movement Advice (SMA) message. For complete details on SMA message format please refer to Chapter 6 of the Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM). Addresses to which SMAs should be sent are shown in Annex 3 of the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines (WSG).
Who do I contact, if I wish to operate to a Coordinated airport (Level 3)?
Airlines operating to, or intending to operate to, a Coordinated (Level 3) airport must submit their proposed schedules to the Coordinator of the airport concerned. Submissions must be made using a Schedule Clearance Request (SCR) message. For complete details on SCR message format please refer to Chapter 6 of the Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM). Addresses to which SCRs should be sent are shown in Annex 3 of the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines (WSG).
When can I expect to receive confirmation of the historic slots held by my airline at various airports?
The Slot Historical and Non-Historical Allocation Lists (SHLs) must be distributed for each airport, as soon as the historics have been determined by the coordinator, but not later than:
the third Monday in April for what is on record as historical slots, as actually operated in the preceding Northern Winter scheduling period; the third Monday in September for what is on record as historical slots, as actually operated in the current Northern Summer scheduling period up to that time. It must be noted that information given to airlines prior to the end of the Summer scheduling period must be regarded as provisional until the season is completed.
Prior to the Winter and Summer Schedules Conferences, when must I submit my Slot Clearance Requests (SCRs)?
Airlines must submit their Slot Clearance Requests (SCRs) to the appropriate Coordinators and their Schedule Movement Advices (SMAs) to the appropriate Schedules Facilitators by 23:59 UTC on the 30th day prior to the start of the Schedules Conference.
Having submitted my SCRs to the appropriate coordinator, when can I expect to receive information on the status of my requested slots?
Coordinators must inform relevant airline delegations of the status of all their requested slots as soon as possible but not later than 23:59 UTC on the 9th day prior to the start of each Schedules Conference using the Slot Preliminary Allocation List (SAL) message.
If an airline becomes aware that for whatever reason it may not be able to use an allocated slot or series of slots, what must it do?
The airline must immediately advise the coordinator and return any slots it knows it will not use. In particular these slots must be returned no later than 31 January for the next Northern Summer scheduling period and no later than 31 August for the next Northern Winter scheduling period.
What is meant by a series of slots?
A series of slots is defined as at least five slots having been requested by an airline at an airport for the same time on the same day of the week regularly in the same scheduling period and allocated in the same way, or if that is not possible, allocated at approximately the same time. The expression ’same time’ in this context means within the same coordination parameters.
What is the difference between the terms ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ and the ‘80-20 rule’?
Both terms are intertwined and refer to a requirement for airlines to operate at least 80% of their allocated slots to their coordinated timings or face the possible loss of historical precedence for those particular slots in the next equivalent scheduling season. Conversely, if an airline fails to operate no more than 20% of their allocated slots to their coordinated timings, the airline will retain historical precedence for its slots in the next equivalent season.
When is an airline considered to be a ‘new entrant’ at an airport?
A ‘new entrant’ is defined as an airline requesting a series of slots at an airport on any day, where if the airline’s request was accepted, it would hold fewer than five slots at that airport on that day.
Is a Coordinator obliged to provide data from its database to any airline requesting such information?
In the interests of fairness and transparency, coordinators must make available, upon request, the following information for review by all interested parties: (a) Historical slots by airline and chronologically for all airlines. (b) Requested slots (initial submissions) by airline and chronologically for all airlines. (c) All allocated slots, and outstanding slot requests, by airline and chronologically for all airlines. d) Remaining slots available. (e) Comparisons between (a) and (c) above by time interval coordinated and by airline. (f) Full details of the constraints being used in coordination.
Full details of the criteria being used in the allocation of slots. 
