Miscellaneous charges order

Coupons

In common with older airline tickets, MCOs had a number of passenger coupons, (typically 1, 2 or 4), as well as valueless coupons for the agency's records and the airlines' interline clearing house.

There were two main types of MCO, those with a specific value for each coupon, and those with the residual value moving to the next coupon. These were often used where the cost of a service would not be known in advance – such as paying for excess baggage.

Typically the passengers' copies on the second type would not show any value, allowing payment for inclusive tours without the services' prices being known to the passenger.

MCO issue

Travel agency MCOs were printed blank without airline information, and were endorsed to the airline providing the service (or its local agent if the airline was not represented locally). Like tickets, they were valid for a maximum of one year unless otherwise endorsed for a shorter time.

Future usage

As most MCOs are now issued electronically like e-tickets, they are sometimes referred to as vMCOs (virtual Miscellaneous Charges Order). MCO's are being phased out and replaced with Electronic Miscellaneous Documents.

References

1. "TSM MISSING or MCO/MPD NUMBER REQUIRED - Amadeus Service Hub".
2. (24 February 2004). "Automated Miscellaneous Charges Product Available in Ireland". Breaking Travel News.
3. Fay, John J.. (1993). "Encyclopedia of Security Management". Butterworth-Heinemann.