BCD accelerates NDC adoption with Amadeus capabilities
John Palomino from BCD TRAVEL explains how Amadeus’ ability to transform numerous NDC versions and data flows into one standardized experience accelerates adoption and scale operations.
IATA launched NDC (New Distribution Capability) in 2012 with an ambitious vision in mind: to create a common technology standard that would revolutionize how airlines distribute their content to travel sellers and aggregators, ultimately offering them more personalized, innovative experiences – and with the promise that a connection to one airline could be easily replicated for another. Fast forward to today, and the overall vision is starting to come to life. More than 77 airlines worldwide are now registered on the IATA Maturity Index, and 29 of them are currently distributing NDC-sourced content via theAmadeus Travel Platform
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However - there’s still a major challenge standing in the way of the widespread adoption of NDC: it’s not really one standard. Though the NDC schema defines the data elements and message structures to be used, inconsistent adoption and different interpretations of the NDC standard coupled with the use of different versions of the standard by airlines have resulted in a highly complex landscape. Even for two NDC connections using the same NDC version, the differences in the two implementations can be major, especially if the airlines’ NDC IT providers are not the same. This means that once the first connection is implemented, implementing the next ones still requires a very significant effort – which does not get easier even with experience. This lack of consistency across different NDC implementations makes NDC adoption slower, and ultimately more expensive than what it could be.
Why normalization matters
At Amadeus, we take normalization very seriously, and invest significant time, resources and technological power to normalize NDC data for our customers via the Amadeus Travel Platform. Why? Because we want to provide a smooth implementation experience for ourtravel sellers
across multiple airlines, so that they can fully leverage the opportunities and potential that come with the NDC technology and deliver better traveler experiences for their customers - without sacrificing their operational efficiency in the process. We take it upon us to manage the complexity of the individual airline NDC APIs and procedures, with normalization of the content and flows, so that our customers don’t have to.
But what does this mean in practice? What is being done? What is it that needs to be normalized and why?
There are basically two areas where normalization needs to take place - normalization of data and normalization of flows. And both play an equally important role in the success for travel sellers.
Tiny twists or deep divergences - immense impact
Let’s look at some very concrete examples around flight search, something as basic as departure airport and timing. That sounds very straightforward, but some airlines will return the departure date and time in one data field, others will spread them across two. Some airlines will write “Terminal 1” in full length, others will only write “1” in the defined field. Some will include a hyphen between two words in a given data field, others will not. All is within the NDC standard, just slightly different interpretations of it.
And in the new Offer and Order world that NDC is based on, the NDC standard defines the fields and elements that needs to be exchanged between the parties involved in the sale of the ticket, but not how the airlines are structuring the different prices for different passenger types or services, for instance. The result is that each provider will return this information in a different way, making the implementation of different airlines very difficult.
And beyond the data, airlines also have several different flows and processes for handling booking changes, cancellations, pricing and payments of ancillary services and so forth. All within the approved NDC “standard”.
Each of these differences may seem minor in their own, but put together, they create a mammoth task to streamline and continuously manage. In a poll amongst travel sellers and airlines during our latest NDC [X] Advisory Forum, this fragmented content landscape and the various interpretations of NDC was named as one of the biggest roadblocks to widespread adoption of this technology standard.
Our approach to normalization
The variations in data and flow are however only the visible part of the proverbial iceberg. To overcome the roadblocks for adoption and ensure success of NDC for everyone, we also need to consider the fundamental tasks of our travel sellers, including customer care and revenue management. That is why we apply a four-step approach to normalization:
- First we analyze the airline’s NDC features and use cases, the scope of their API, and the data consumed.
- Then we compare the airline’s unique NDC API with other airline NDC APIs already using our Amadeus Travel Platform. Any differences are identified, and efforts are made to align the data and the flows as much as possible.
- Thirdly we validate that this NDC API is in line with the IATA standard.
- Finally, we integrate the new flow into the existing travel sellers’ workflows so that an NDC booking can be seamlessly searched, compared, booked, stored and managed like any other, regardless of which technology was used to source it (NDC, EDIFACT, or any other API) – and fit into downstream applications.
We have observed significant improvements with the latest release by IATA. Amadeus played a key role in defining this version, leveraging the challenges encountered with previous versions. We anticipate a progressively improving situation in the coming years as NDC continues to mature. However, the current landscape includes a mix of older versions, making normalization essential for scaling NDC both now and in the foreseeable future.
Making the promise of NDC a reality
At Amadeus, we are 100% committed to enabling the full potential that NDC can deliver to all. Leveraging our more than 35 years of travel industry IT best practices to apply normalization, we not only support travel sellers embrace NDC with greater ease and less cost, but also accelerating the pace of digital innovation in travel retail. This way, the promise of NDC can finally be realized, unlocking new possibilities for personalized, dynamic offers that benefit both travelers and the broader travel ecosystem.
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