NDC. New Distribution Capability. This is one, yet critical, enabler in the larger vision of enhanced travel retailing. It’s one of the biggest changes the industry has seen in a long time.
NDC. New Distribution Capability. This is one, yet critical, enabler in the larger vision of enhanced travel retailing. It’s one of the biggest changes the industry has seen in a long time. At Amadeus, NDC is a key strategic priority. So much so, we have a program dedicated to it called NDC [X]. Through this program, and in collaboration with our airline, travel agency and corporate customers and partners, we are delivering on NDC today and bringing this vision of enhanced travel retailing to life.
Here are 10 things you need to know about how Amadeus is driving NDC forward for the good of the industry:
1. NDC content is available and live in Amadeus:
Content via NDC from Air Canada, Air France-KLM, American Airlines, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines is currently being implemented, in pilot mode, or already live and available for travel sellers to book via Amadeus systems.
And when we say content, it’s not only about a flight from departure X to destination Y – it is a new way for airlines to provide attractive and more personalized relevant offers in real-time to travelers. They can work withATPCO’s Routehappy – who we work with too – to push different types of media, service descriptions and information on amenities and branded fares or make this content available to us directly through their NDC API.
Beyond rich content, airlines will be able to create special NDC bundles for their (corporate) customers. This means frequent business travelers will have more tailored packages at the time of booking - such as Wi-Fi, lounge access, or seat selection for all bookings. Also, it’s possible for airlines to implement dynamic pricing strategies via NDC. It’s a technique which allows airlines to build more flexible price offers and adjust price points in real time. In fact,we are already working with airline partners like Air France-KLM to enable this creation of more attractive and customized offers via NDC. With NDC, exciting new types of offers are available and are being distributed to travelers around the world.
2. Technology is the backbone of NDC and Amadeus has the best in the industry: State of the art, high performing tech is needed to process travel bookings via NDC. Airlines need it. Travel agencies need it. Intermediaries need it. Companies need it. This is in our DNA. Actually, our company was founded by airlines who still to this day, over 30 years later, rely on us for our technological and industry expertise.
We enable airlines to distribute NDC content via all of their preferred channels. Altéa NDC, which 25 airlines are signed up to, enables the distribution of advanced merchandising offers and servicing of content via NDC through third parties. Additionally, if they wish, Amadeus NDC Connect allows airlines to easily distribute their NDC content through the Amadeus Travel Platform to the largest network of travel agencies and corporations worldwide, increasing their reach and volume.
For travel sellers and corporations, we bring together all content, including NDC, in one platform, based off open systems, called the Amadeus Travel Platform. Then we make it available in the front-end solution of their choice – Amadeus Travel API (Web Services), Amadeus Selling Platform Connect and Amadeus cytric Travel & Expense. Travel sellers can see all the content in one display for easy comparison, and benefit from truly integrated end-to-end technology across their business.
In addition, Amadeus NDC Connect allows Altea NDC airlines to easily distribute their NDC content through the Amadeus Travel Platform to the largest network of travel agencies and corporations worldwide, increasing their reach and volume.
For both airlines and travel sellers, the performance (response time, transaction volume capability, system cost efficiency, accuracy, robustness as well as support productivity) of all these solutions needs to be high. And we make sure of that. And finally, it’s important to note that we are continually investing and enhancing these solutions for the long-term, all while providing the support to our customers to leverage them as much as possible, so we can all deliver on better journeys today and in the future.
3. Simply booking a flight without servicing capabilities is not good for customer service.Amadeus is making full omnichannel NDC servicing capabilities available. Now that the prime booking flow (the ability to book a flight) with NDC is widely standardized across all airlines, we are doubling our efforts on servicing (post-booking activities such as exchange, cancellation or incident recovery processes), which are not yet sufficiently standardized across different providers and airlines, nor do they fully meet travel seller expectations.
Take vouchers for example – something that was used a lot during the peak of COVID-19. Until recently, the voucher flow had not yet been developed within the NDC standard. Given the circumstances of COVID-19, it became clear that this is an important feature and needed to be developed so airlines and travel sellers could offer a voucher using NDC.
Another example are ancillary services: earlier this year, we fully piloted, tested, andcompleted the integration of paid seats with our partner American Airlines . Flight changes, cancellations, ancillary services selection, reporting, notification in case of involuntary changes, and other more complex servicing capabilities are required to enable NDC adoption on a global scale and we’re well along the path to delivering these functionalities.
4. NDC is part of a broader vision to enhanced travel retailing, requiring time and commitment. Amadeus is in it for the long-haul: Amadeus has actively been involved in the creation of NDC and was the first travel tech player to implement XML in our global distribution system. And actually, it’s not even the end-goal. It’s the foundation for a broader industry vision toward other initiatives such as ONE Order, Dynamic Offers or One Identity. In fact, if we were to start with travel distribution from scratch today – all over again, from zero, we would do it in an NDC way. It’s one of the biggest changes the industry has seen in a long time.
NDC is a key strategic priority for Amadeus, even as we continue to face the challenges of COVID-19. Now more than ever, we need to have a future-proof strategy with a solid and realistic product roadmap, and strong industry-wide collaboration to deliver on the needs of today and tomorrow. NDC is one of the areas where we are –despite the difficult situation– not slowing down but rather accelerating.
5. Implementing NDC is complex. And adopting it is difficult and will require changes from all players in the distribution chain. At Amadeus, we have the expertise, the technology and the network to help get the industry to the next level and, in turn, to ensure greater adoption: The success of NDC will eventually be measured by the level of sustainable adoption not merely by airlines but by all players in the travel distribution value chain. Travel sellers’ adoption is critical to NDC’s success and travel sellers require solutions that allow them to provide top-notch customer service integrated into their existing travel management infrastructures.
We work with travel sellers – big and small agencies around the world, as well as corporations with large business travel spend; in fact, we have the largest global travel agency distribution network – and we’re providing them trainings, so they understand what NDC is and the benefits for them. Now is the time to get NDC ready and we can help agencies do this. Importantly, we’re simplifying our solutions so travel agencies don’t even have to use another tool – they can book NDC content alongside other content in the one screen, within one workflow and one single PNR.
We recentlyhosted a global webinar, open to everyone in the industry, to learn about NDC, the benefits, and the next steps we, as an industry, need and can take to deploy NDC at scale. We’re not only focusing on our customer but also sharing the knowledge with anyone who wants to join the journey with us.
6. Traveler needs and desires are shaping NDC. Putting these first is important, otherwise, what’s the point? Amadeus’ traveler-centric mindset will ensure the whole journey, not only while booking an offer via NDC, is positively impacted: Amadeus’ philosophy is that all new approaches to merchandising and technology standards such as NDC must focus on the end customer’s needs first and foremost. Travelers today want simplicity, transparency, and personalization. Their wish is achieved thanks to access to personalized offers and services, and the ability to compare and shop for those offers in the channel of their choosing.
NDC gives travelers more information about flight services and amenities, richer content including images and videos, and will open the door to further innovation. So, travelers will have more information about what they’re buying and will receive more relevant offers based on their preferences.
7. If the industry interprets the standard differently, NDC will fail. It should be obvious - industry standards need to be standardized. We’re committed to that.We’ve not only been advocating the need for this across the industry, we’ve been influencing the definition of them. We set up a team in our NDC [X] program to focus on building a list of use cases where standards were lacking clarification. We asked for input from our travel seller and airline partners to understand what would work well for them in the future. After consolidating this from all of our partners around the world, and outlining some recommendations,we created a guide for NDC adoption . We are actively collaborating with key stakeholders to strengthen the IATA NDC implementation guide for the industry.
8. NDC means New Distribution Capability. It’s a technical standard, not a business model.All distribution has a cost for providers, through whichever channel. Whether advertising fees to drive traffic to their website via search engines or metasearch, or to connect to a global network of travel sellers through the Amadeus Travel Platform.
At Amadeus, we believe in the value of an effective distribution network for airlines and all travel providers, and that’s why travel providers pay a low fee for the reach and scale they receive. The distribution cost varies according to the point of sale, which reflects the value of the reach of Amadeus’ network of travel sellers in particular in an airline’s non-home markets.
Amadeus always strives to offer the best reach and scale for our airline customers, and the most extensive content for our travel seller customers, under a sustainable economic framework. It’s not only about paying for what’s distributed, it’s about investing in getting the best technology and customer support and in our long-term future as an industry.
9. NDC requires the industry to collaborate and work in agile mode. Amadeus is bringing people together and leading the discussion and the development: Amadeus launched its NDC [X] program in early 2018 and now has approximately 50 active partners. We have a long-list of early adopters of our NDC-enabled solutions too! In everything we do, we work in an agile mode. This way we can add and remove functionalities and integrate feedback from all the parties as we progress.
As part of this, we host regularNDC [X] Advisory Forumswhich bring together program partners to openly discuss NDC. Topics such as the design, implementation, and development roadmap of Amadeus’ NDC-enabled solutions are discussed, as well as relevant topics for our partners such as gaps in current NDC implementations. Collaborating with industry partners during this journey is fundamental for the success of NDC.
10. The certifications to back up our claims – Amadeus is certified by IATA: We currently holddual Level 4 NDC certifications from IATA : as an IT provider through Altéa NDC, and as an aggregator with the Amadeus Travel Platform. And both Finnair and Singapore Airlines have reached the IATA @Scale certification based on Altéa NDC. We are also certified asONE Order Capable as an IT and Order Management System Provider . But what do these certifications actually mean?
Amadeus today is the only technology provider that can holistically and across different user interfaces deliver end-to-end integration with the performance, scalability, market reach, and global support in line with airline and travel seller strategic objectives.
To find out more about Amadeus’ NDC [X] program, check out thededicated webpage andsign up to our Insights page to read all about it.
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