Hello everyone. Today, let’s talk about the CCA that we often encounter. Many people encounter CCA, but it is more of a very mechanical operation, and the principle may not be well understood. So let’s take a systematic look at CCA today.
CCA, the full name is Cargo Charges Change Advise. Well, if you want to ask me why I am not CCCA, it is obviously three C’s, then I can’t answer. That’s what the teacher meant by “conventional”. But in comparison, CCCA is too uncool, right?
When is CCA used? Many small partners may say: when it is necessary to modify the bill of lading. In fact, we can literally know that CCA was originally done to modify the content related to fees. For example, the shipping fee is wrong, such as the shipping payment method is wrong, such as when the IATA rate is wrong, etc. The following screenshots are from the official IATA document “IATA Settlement Systems Service Provisions – Cargo”.
IATA Definition of CCA
However, we can know from our actual operation that CCA can be issued not only when there is a cost problem, but also when the consignee information is wrong. Mainly because if the consignee information is wrong, the destination station is very likely to be unable to contact the consignee, or contact the wrong consignee. Therefore, it is necessary to issue a CCA at this time.
It is worth noting that the CCA is issued by the airline, not the agency. The agent can make a CCA request, and the airline then performs the action of writing the CCA.
However, don’t think that with CCA, our bill of lading can be arbitrarily beaten, and if it is wrong, we will go to CCA to correct it. This idea is wrong. In addition to the fact that CCA is charged, some places cannot issue CCA. As far as I know, GRU does not accept CCA. This is the requirement of the destination customs. Therefore, if it is a neutral waybill, it is necessary to immediately re-issue a new bill of lading and replace the wrong bill of lading before submitting the bill. If it is an airline waybill, it is more troublesome. You need to notify the airline company to change the tracking number, rebook the space, delete the order and re-report it at the customs (well, this situation is basically unable to catch up with the flight of the day), and a series of actions such as changing the label. For those who have forgotten the neutral waybill and the airline waybill, you can click here to review the past.
So, what do airlines do when they receive a CCA request? First of all, we will first determine where the goods are. Because the goods arrive in different places, the stations that need to be notified will also be different. Assuming a shipment, fly from HKG to FRA, and then transfer to AMS. When leaving the CCA, the goods only arrive at the FRA, so the originating station only needs to notify the FRA, and the FRA will make changes according to the content of the CCA. If the AMS has been reached, all the station heads that have passed through need to be notified, in this example, the FRA and AMS are notified. Why is it necessary to notify FRA after the goods have arrived at AMS? Because each flight, take-off and landing and other actions need to be recorded accordingly, there will generally be related telegrams to report and summarize. One of the very important telegrams is FFM. Of course, CCA is also a type of telegram. If the cargo information is changed, then the FFM also needs to be modified. (Speaking of which, I don’t seem to have told you about the type of telegram? Private message me, are you interested in telegram?). Of course, after the goods arrive at FRA, and they leave CCA, they also need to notify AMS, but at this time AMS only plays the role of the information receiver.
When it comes to CCA, in the past, it was really necessary to sit in front of a typewriter and type word by word. If you have seen CCA telegrams, you will know that the previous telegrams used many abbreviations. For example, “From” would be written as “Fr”, “Aircraft” would be written as “A/C”, etc. The reason is that the telegram method used before is to be charged, and it is charged by the number of words. Typing one more word means more money. This is also the reason why CCA needs to charge.
But later, everyone found out that the cost of telegraph is too high and inconvenient, and it is not always the case that the telegraph machine is always with you. Therefore, in the modern era when the Internet is popularized, the telegram is usually replaced by email. Of course, airlines that still have telegrams are not excluded. In fact, I personally enjoy the typewriter, the feeling of typing is very cool. It is more troublesome if it is wrong.
Therefore, after we send the CCA, we usually ask the airline company to send us the screenshot of the telegram. You might actually see a screenshot of a telegram before. Now it’s more of a screenshot of the email. Telegram and mail, it is only a matter of form. As long as the purpose is achieved, it does not matter in what form the telegram is sent.
Another troublesome problem with telegrams is that everyone has different typing habits. Abbreviations are also not agreed. Take the above example, “From”, many people will write “Fr”, but some people will write “Fm”. That’s fun, a telegram, if it’s all canonical terms, that’s fine. But if everyone’s writing is different, of course it’s fine if they can understand it correctly. Otherwise, it will bring great obstacles to readers, and even cause misunderstandings. Of course, the typing habits mentioned here only apply to the text of the telegram. Other formats of telegram are strictly regulated.
The above is our usual operation, the formal operation should be to raise CCA requirements, and then settle through CASS. There are several types of errata found on the bill of lading, namely: errors found by the agent, errors found by the carrier, and errors found by other airlines (note that the “discovery” error is mentioned here, and the final verification is submitted. The action is still done by the airline). The general process is to make a request to CASS, then fill out the CCA form, then the airline approves, and finally corrects and reflects the CCA on the bill. The following is a relatively standardized CCA form found on the Internet, for your reference only (sensitive information has been hidden).
Sample CCA Form
But many domestic airlines will not be so rigid, at least I have not filled out this form myself. It is also possible that we send emails, and then there is someone in the headquarters who is specially responsible for this matter. Anyway, I have never tried to do such a formal CCA before.
But now that we are talking about the official CCA, let’s also understand the mandatory content that the official CCA form needs to cover. It can be seen that, in fact, the requirements for the production of CCA forms are very strict. Some fields even require a maximum number of words. The following is excerpted from the official IATA document “IATA Settlement Systems Service Provisions – Cargo”:
| CCA Box | Name | Max. # Digits |
| 1 | CCA Number | 10 |
| 2A | AWB NumberAirline CodeSerial Number | 38 |
| 2B | Origin | 3 |
| 2C | Destination | 3 |
| 2D | Date of Execution (AWB) (see Note1) | 7 |
| 3B | Agent Code | 14 |
| 5A | Weight Indicator (K or L) | 1 |
| 5B | Revised/Corrected Gross Weight | 7 |
| 5C | Original/Incorrect Gross Weight | 7 |
| 6A | Currency | 3 |
| 6Ba | Revised Weight Charge | 12 |
| 6Ba | Revised PP/CC Indicator (see Note 2) | 1 |
| 6Ca | Original Weight Charge | 12 |
| 6Ba | Original PP/CC Indicator (see Note 2) | 1 |
| 6Bb | Revised Valuation Charge | 12 |
| 6Cb | Original Valuation Charge | 12 |
| 6Bc | Revised TAX (see Notes 2 and 3) | 12 |
| 6Cc | Original TAX (see Notes 2 and 3) | 12 |
| 6Bd | Revised TTL Other Chrgs due Agent | 12 |
| 6Bd | Revised PP/CC Indicator (see Note 2) | 1 |
| 6Cd | Original TTL Other Chrgs due Agent | 12 |
| 6Cd | Original PP/CC Indicator (see Note 2) | 1 |
| 6Be | Revised TTL Other Chrgs due Carrier | 12 |
| 6Be | Revised PP/CC Indicator (see Note 2) | 1 |
| 6Ce | Original TTL Other Chrgs due Carrier | 12 |
| 6Ce | Original PP/CC Indicator (see Note 2) | 1 |
| 6Bf | Revised Total Charges – PREPAID | 12 |
| 6Bf | Revised Total Charges – COLLECT | 12 |
| 6Cf | Original Total Charges – PREPAID | 12 |
| 6Cf | Original Total Charges – COLLECT | 12 |
After all, it is not used very often, so I will not explain it one by one. Anyone in need can send me a private message, and I will send you the original IATA Settlement Systems Service Provisions file.
Alright, that’s it for this episode. I hope everyone has to help. See you next time.