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jessielee214

Travel Data Collective - 0 views

traveldatacollective.com/...ew-distribution-capability-ndc

shared by jessielee214 on 11 Sep 20 - No Cached
  • What is New Distribution Capability (NDC)?
  • NDC aims to transform the airline industry by addressing the current limitations in distribution
  • What is NDC?
  • ...30 more annotations...
  • New Distribution Capability (NDC) is a new technology created by IATA to streamline the airline distribution process.
  • It's an XML-based communication standard originally developed by Farelogix in 2010 to create direct connections between airlines and third party distributors.
  • This was standardized in 2012 by IATA to replace the old EDIFACT messaging standard, which global distribution systems (GDSs) rely on.
  • NDC was orginally created as a way to bypass the GDS providers, but slowly these providers have become more involved in the process. The basic idea is that NDC is supposed to give indirect distribution channels, such as GDS and metasearch, the same capabilities as an airline’s website.
  • Who's Involved in NDC?
  • There are several different players involved in the NDC process: travel agents, airlines, aggregators and IT providers.
  • Travel agents and airlines are straightforward. The aggregators are the different intermediaries involved in communicating the travel agent's request to different airlines.
  • IT providers are responsible for integrating NDC into the airline’s IT infrastructure.
  • The integration layer method is less complicated, and companies such as Openjaw, Farelogix, and Paxport have created solutions by sitting above the airline’s PSS.
  • third party distribution process works as follows when a traveler needs to reach their destination at a certain time and price:
  • The traveler goes to their travel agent who then queries the GDS system.The GDS pulls information about schedules and fares from a third party. The GDS builds the offer, then goes to the airline to get information about availability. When the offer is available, the information is relayed back to the travel agent and passenger who can then see the airline, price and schedule.
  • In a complete NDC solution, the process goes like this:
  • A travel agent will create a shopping request which will be sent to an aggregator. The aggregator will then create an offer request to be sent out directly to airlines. The airlines will then determine a product that fits the offer.
  • The product is sent back to the travel agent through the aggregator and the offer will "evaporate" after a certain amount of time.
  • According to IATA, this process will eliminate confusion over what's included in the offer. It will also be able to simplify the airline ticketing process.
  • How Can NDC Be Implemented?
  • wo recommended ways
  • One is by integrating directly to the airline passenger service system (PSS), the other is an integration layer outside of the PSS.
  • Third Party Distribution Today and Under NDC
  • In order to set up a full NDC suite, airlines have to create an offer and order management system, which will interact with the PSS.
  • How is NDC Being Used Today?
  • There are currently 62 airlines who are either NDC Certified or XML-capable.
  • NDC connections mostly use it in limited cases, and not to its full potential. United has partnered with Amadeus to have an NDC connection to their GDS for selling their economy plus product.
  • Many airlines are piloting these simple types of connections through NDC (instead of developing their own direct connection) as it will be easier to increase the scope with other distribution providers.
  • Other carriers such as GOL are using NDC connections for offer and order management, providing ability to purchase seats, bags, upgrades, meals, car rentals, and travel insurance, as well as ability to bundle the products (this is being done with Navitaire as their IT provider).
  • What's the Future Outlook for NDC?
  • In the future, there are hopes that NDC will be able to connect to chatbots, allow purchasing and upsell through things such as Amazon and Alexa.
  • Part of the challenge is getting airlines, travel agencies and GDSs to spend money on the infrastructure needed to implement NDC.
  • Airlines are hoping that by using NDC connections either through GDS or directly to travel agents/metasearch they will be able to pull in additional revenue for each ticket sold
  • Some airlines such as Lufthansa, IAG (British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus), Meridiana, and Ukraine International Airways are introducing fees for tickets booked through GDS, however the fees are waived for tickets booked through NDC connections.
  • jessielee214 on 11 Sep 20
     
    The article talks deeply in NDC from the past to now and is very clear about how it works. NDC can help airlines to know the need for customs and without the commission. I think one day, NDC can instead of GDS, but it still needs to take such a long time.
kakaboshi

Travel advisors urged to take active role in NDC implementation: Travel Weekly - 1 views

www.travelweekly.com/...ive-role-in-NDC-implementation

Travel NDC GDS Airlines TravelAgents

shared by kakaboshi on 11 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • While the major GDSs -- Sabre, Amadeus and Travelport -- initially resisted NDC, all three eventually reversed course and last year announced that they would develop and test NDC-enabled solutions.
  • "It is clear that the GDSs are now en masse embracing NDC and trying to at least equalize the airline dot-com content and experience and trying to bring that to the indirect channel,"
  • Sabre earlier this month released its first set of NDC application programming interfaces (APIs) with United Airlines. That gave some agency customers the ability to make NDC bookings, which Kathy Morgan, vice president of NDC at Sabre, called "huge."
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • As far as integrating NDC into its agency points of sale, Morgan said some capabilities are expected to be integrated into Sabre Red 360 by the third quarter this year.
  • By 2020, IATA wants 20% of sales with a group of airlines known as the Leaderboard to be powered by NDC.
  • Five airlines are currently supplying NDC content on Travelport's platform, and Ferguson said more will be introduced throughout the year; access to NDC content via Smartpoint will also continue to expand.
  • Considering many major airlines' bookings are split roughly 50-50 between direct bookings and agents, Ferguson said meeting IATA's goal would require that about 10% of agent bookings are powered by NDC by the end of 2020.
  • Gianni Pisanello, head of Amadeus' NDC-X program, said that in 2018, the company worked to develop NDC using test programs with airlines and agencies. This year, Amadeus is in deployment mode.
  • "We're trying to implement this with as many airlines as we can and as many agencies as we can this year," Pisanello said. "Next year, 2020, is really going to be a fine-tuning year." 
  • "We are dependent on airlines and their airline systems to be ready before we can do our bit as a GDS provider," Pisanello said. "And, of course, then the agencies are dependent on us as an intermediary to upgrade them and enable them to integrate those services into their own systems. So there is a sequential path here to the deployment of NDC."
  • The ability to make NDC bookings is expected in Amadeus' point of sale app, Selling Platform Connect, by this summer. As with the other GDSs, functionality will initially be limited. At first, agents will be able to complete an essential booking flow: the ability to search, book and settle. Additional features, such as the ability to change bookings, will be rolled out as they are developed.
  • Now is the time for travel advisors to step up and get involved with their GDS's efforts to implement IATA's New Distribution Capability (NDC), thus helping to shape its future
  • kakaboshi on 14 Sep 19
     
    GDS companies continue to evolve and implement new technology to stay in line with current consumer demands. After initial resistance, they are implementing the NDC program into their system. NDC (New Distribution Capability) is a travel-industry supported program launched by IATA for the development and market adoption of a new XML-based data transmission standard (source: https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/airline-distribution/ndc/Pages/default.aspx) This article discusses the need of the airlines to upload useful content and for the travel agents to be more actively involved in order to make it useful for them. However, with major airlines' bookings split between 50% direct booking and 50% agents, and the airlines' efforts to drive more direct booking traffic, I wonder what is the sentiment of the companies to provide with more content and information on a platform that competes directly with their efforts to increase direct sales from their websites. Selling air tickets directly from their sites not only allow the companies to decrease booking fees and commissions but also allow them to collect much needed date from the consumers who use their services.
lianettfernandez

https://www.travel-industry-blog.com/travel-industry/ndc/ - 0 views

www.travel-industry-blog.com/...ndc

GDS CRS NDC airline

shared by lianettfernandez on 08 Jun 20 - No Cached
  • The other aspect of NDC is that airlines want to take control of the distribution, such as provide offers based on ‘who is asking’, price ancillaries etc. – in order to differentiate from each other.
  • In this example, what used to be a closed environment of a few handful of CRS provider hooking into one handful of GDSs, who open themselves only to a limited number of authorized developers, now appear to open up APIs to everybody. This may be an ultimate risk that needs to be managed.
  • there is absolutely no way that every TMC or even every corporation can integrate with all airlines, which means we need a direct connect aggregator.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • However, not all airlines will migrate to NDC at the same time which would mean a transition period and among the challenges, there is also the unresolved problem who does the ticketing:
  • It takes a number of agreements for each direct connect.
  • Source agnostic Agent Desktops are not easy to develop
  • While I’m sure there are trips which can be better maintained by NDC, there are also trips which will be a nightmare when they have segments of different sources
  • Another issue is the business model. All this new technology will have to be developed and such development costs. While the airlines say they want to inject the same amount of money, just the industry shall distribute it differently as needed, this may be a challenge: It seems like there are more players (such as the aggregators, but also the technology provider of the airline API), which means less money for more entities.
  • And finally, it all comes down to what airlines and GDSs agree upon.
  • NDC is a standard to which airlines can build their API (Application Programming Interface). It is based on XML (I think, the 1st version was actually our XML), which is a language becoming widely successful around the year 2000, to replace an earlier communication language between airlines and providers called EDIFACT (from the 1980s). So, essentially a very old technology is replaced by an aged technology and that is considered “New Distribution Capabilities”. However, an API needs to have a robust schema and XML brings that to the table. Along with NDC, airlines are also changing the shopping process: previously an offer was created by the GDS based on fare, schedule and availability, in NDC, the airline creates the offer and with that can also provide add-ons such as WiFi, lounge access, pre-boarding and other things. In other words, it also allows to personalize offer. It can also mean that a company negotiates with an airlines special business class seats which may only be available to the executives. Consequently, it may help with data collection as well.
  • anonymous on 08 Jun 20
     
    It sounds so easy to use NDC, but the reality is: Not too many bookings are being made. Why? GDSs won't just give up the battlefield of simple bookings (call it 'easily earned money') and only deal with the complicated PNRs. While I am critical of the global distribution system "oligopoly", the sustainability of the redrawn commercial and technological landscape that NDC could produce has to be questioned. The proposition of NDC means that a "formerly relatively lean distribution chain will become a complicated commercial landscape with numerous airlines, numerous TMCs (or corporations) and several technology providers - all being connected to each other on a technological, as well as commercial, level."
anaslip

New Distribution Capability (NDC) in air travel: Airlines, GDS and the impact on the in... - 0 views

www.traveldailymedia.com/ndc-in-air-travel

hospitality industry airlines business

shared by anaslip on 15 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • New Distribution Capability (NDC) in air travel: Airlines, GDS and the impact on the industry By Altexsoft Team On Mar 3, 2019
  • Two fundamental needs connect all airlines: revenue and passenger satisfaction.
  • Considering that getting in touch with the end user is nearly impossible via the channels provided by global distribution systems (or GDSs), a new standard emerged to resolve the issue. The air travel industry confronted big changes when the New Distribution Capability (or NDC) debuted in 2012. Lufthansa, British Airways, American Airlines, and Iberia were the first to adopt NDC. And the technology continues to make its way in airline distribution, as well as other means of improving airline operations.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • NDC stands for the New Distribution Capability, which is essentially an XML standard created by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) to allow airline service providers to deliver rich content and ancillaries to their customers.
  • Personalised shopping experience and access to customer information. Currently, most of the customer personal data remain in the hands of middlemen, OTAs and GDSs. This means that airlines get just basic information about their clients, which doesn’t allow for personalising the shopping experience, the thing that has become a standard in modern travel eCommerce.
  • Content and pricing autonomy.
  • Currently, most airlines publish their tariffs via ATPCO, the tech provider and main source of pricing data.
  • Rich content offers, ancillaries, and discounts. Distributing the flight data via GDS’s EDIFACT (Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce, and Transport), airlines are unable to include ancillaries in their offers.
  • Product differentiation. The traditional GDS model only permits airlines to display prices and schedules.
  • Reduced reliance on legacy systems. Most airlines use legacy passenger service systems (PSS) that contain reservation info, fares, and schedule.
  • As a result, NDC was supposed to break the oligopoly of GDSs that formed over time.
  • According to the latest IATA NDC program update, the list of certified deployments reached 65 carriers. The number seems to have grown significantly since 2017 when IATA reported only 50 airlines adopting NDC. But, compared to the overall number of airlines connected to the major three GDSs, which is over 400, NDC adopters seem to be a minority.
  • ayenkiah on 15 Sep 19
     
    NDC or New Distribution Capability is a new subset within GDS systems to provide airlines with detailed information about customer in order to enhance the personalized service. NDC will be able to provide pricing independence and direction information to airlines about their passengers. The system is more flexible and accurate in order to improve the experience from what GDS would provide.
  • anaslip on 07 Jun 20
     
    This article tells us about a new communication protocol which is called NDC. NDC stands for the New Distribution Capability. You can also find some information about how airline distribution works in general.
kpony001

Air Canada Begins Using a New Way to Distribute Fares to Partners - Skift - 0 views

skift.com/...o-distribute-fares-to-partners

technology hospitality software tech business travel

shared by kpony001 on 28 Jan 19 - No Cached
  • The shape of the future is unclear.For a glimpse at what may come, look to Air Canada, which this week processed its first transaction via a new platform called NDC Exchange.
  • For several years now, Air Canada has offered internet-based connections for online travel agencies and travel management companies to access its airfares. These worked outside of the incumbent three giants of travel distribution, Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport.
  • About 40 to 50 agencies access Air Canada’s application programming interfaces, or APIs, to process about a million tickets a year via direct connections that avoid the intermediaries.
  • ...21 more annotations...
  • it enables the airline to have enhanced control over how the content appears on travel agency reservation systems to make sure they’re presenting their full-service products in the best way and not encouraging customers to shop by lowest price.
  • Air Canada
  • began using NDC Exchange, a platform that does the work on Air Canada’s behalf to transform data from its web services into a way that’s readable by sellers using any of the different versions of New Distribution Capability.
  • NDC Exchange was created by airfare filing clearinghouse ATPCO
  • and SITA,
  • the airline industry has heavy control of both organizations, which may help keep costs below what they would probably have to pay third-party distribution giants to do the same work.
  • The platform could become more valuable if it effectively enabled the cross-selling of ancillary services between airlines.
  • If the vision is mostly fulfilled, the NDC Exchange could take on a life of its own. It could become more than a mere data transformation tool that acts as an integration layer during a presumably temporary spike in updates to the New Distribution Capability standard.
  • “There is a nominal cost to use it for airlines and a nominal cost to use it for the sellers, but if the costs stay low and the system has low latency, then the value would be worthwhile,”
  • Wallis said, “My wish would be to put all of my partners in the NDC Exchange, though it would take more than a year to get there.
  • For this platform, SITA is taking on the role of providing the IT networking for messaging and data services to power the exchange, while ATPCO transforms the data.
  • The NDC Exchange runs on SITA’s cloud-based infrastructure and airlines use its 24/7 call-center support to handle any troubleshooting.
  • Amadeus’s Elena Avila, executive vice president, head of Americas, airlines, said, “Air Canada is a long-term partner that we’re thrilled to be working with both on the IT and the distribution side.
  • Amadeus Anytime Merchandising will equip Air Canada to address evolving industry initiatives, such as NDC.”
  • Sabre announced “a commitment to advance at an industry level” new technological and business practice methods with American Airlines and several key players in corporate travel
  • A Sabre spokesperson said in an interview, “Efforts like the one you highlighted [by ATPCO] are often focused only on offer creation, whereas Beyond NDC is focused on developing end-to-end solutions that let airlines retail, distribute and fulfill across the entire traveler journey.
  • Amadeus announced an NDC-X program that’s working with Qantas and American Airlines and with travel sellers like Flight Centre, Travix, American Express Global Business Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and BCD Travel.
  • The traditional masters of this task — Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport — could choose to plug into it. But they might have to accept commercial terms that would be less lucrative than past arrangements.
  • Verteil Technologies, an Indian IT provider, will use the NDC Exchange to aggregate the New Distribution Capability content and then enable Indian travel agencies to issue standalone New Distribution Capability tickets.
  • Australia- and New Zealand-based corporate travel technology company Serko is plugging into NDC Exchange.
  • Other vendors launching on NDC Exchange include Airlines Reporting Corp., Innfinity and Atriis.
  • kpony001 on 28 Jan 19
     
    Air Canada's new platform, NDC Exchange, which works outside of the GDSes, allows the airline to manage the way its bookings appear on travel agency registration systems. The system was created by ATPCO (Airline Tariff Publishing Co.) and SITA, the latter of which transforms the data while the former provides the data services that make it have the ability to run,. Recently, several GDSes, such as Sabre, Amadeus, along with other entities like Verteil Technologies, Serko, and more, have also began to utilize their own NDC Exchange program.
kuhang

Airlines, agencies push forward with NDC adoption: Travel Weekly - 0 views

www.travelweekly.com/...push-forward-with-NDC-adoption

Airlines NDC

shared by kuhang on 19 Sep 20 - No Cached
  • irlines and travel agencies have mostly pushed forward with New Distribution Capability (NDC) adoption programs during the Covid-19 crisis
  • One of the already partly fulfilled promises of the NDC standard is that it enables airlines to deliver new kinds of content and packages to travelers,
  • The point is that NDC gives airlines flexibility to innovate
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • deployment of the digital distribution standard offers airlines the twin promises of increasing revenues and reducing costs, objectives that are especially urgent during challenging times. 
  • Constrained by liquidity concerns, however, airlines and travel agencies have not, for the most part, sped up NDC initiatives during the Covid-19 crisis
  • American has made quick NDC implementation progress with a couple of agencies, while work with other agencies has slowed or been paused. 
  • kuhang on 19 Sep 20
     
    This article mainly describes the development of NDC in the pandemic period. It's also shows a trend that tourism industry may bypass some level of GDS though NDC in the future.
Danelkis Serra

Agents fear new GDS flight standard will lead to customer poaching - 0 views

www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php

GDS NDC New Distribution Standard

shared by Danelkis Serra on 09 Jun 13 - No Cached
  • fearful that a new industry standard
  • will expose commercially sensitive information
  • New Distribution Capability Standards
  • ...22 more annotations...
  • at least one pilot scheme for the NDC would be up and running later this year
  • NDC is a common standard to enable airlines to provide more detailed information about their flights and ancillary products on global distributions systems and to allow customers to search for flights using a range of criteria, not just price
  • enable third parties to compare fares from all carriers
  • airlines to sell all their ancillary products
  • rovide more information about their customers
  • "pro-competition and pro-consumer"
  • customers
  • more choice
  • lower fares
  • airlines to tailor offers to passengers
  • NDC is not a system but a standard, which will allow airlines to sell via GDS in the same way that they sell on their websites.
  • concerned
  • agents
  • uncomfortable with the idea of a centrally controlled system with information available to all users
  • rival
  • to compete
  • American Society of Travel Agents was opposed to NDC due to a lack of information
  • "Data is the new oil." she said. "You are rich with the data you have.
  • "Agents should not give data away for nothing."
  • representatives from Sabre, Travelport and Amadeus who attended the conference all said they had reservations
  • about NDC and none of them believed it was necessary to develop a common standard.
  • 'understanding the distribution model of the future', it had left him confused."I've got more questions than answers
  • Danelkis Serra on 09 Jun 13
     
    I must admit, I stand along with Alasdair Chalmers MD of DP&L Travel; I am left confused and have more questions than answers. I do not understand the goal and/or reason of the NDS standard.  The article states that it is not a system, but a standard for airlines to provide more detailed information about flights and products on the GDSs.  Benefitting customers with more search options, choices and lower fares.   It raises the controversy of agents being concerned with data availability and feeling uncomfortable with a centrally controlled information....  I think I am missing a big piece because I do not exactly understand what the concern is. I'll need to think about this and reassess....   please share your comments and clarity!   
Endrich Reveil

IATA Urges GDS Systems Reform | Travel Agent Central - 0 views

www.travelagentcentral.com/...urges-gds-systems-reform-35877

GDS NDC travel tourism transport IT

shared by Endrich Reveil on 29 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • The International Air
  • The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is encouraging strong information technology (IT) partnerships to strengthen the air transport industry, but says the Global Distribution System (GDS) model is now holding the industry back.
  • the GDS model is too clunky to adapt easily to the emergence of trends such as fare unbundling and merchandizing,” said Tyler.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • To move forward, IATA said it is working on a new distribution capability (NDC) that will bring the industry up-to-date with online retailers and revolutionize distribution.
  • “The GDSs and system providers have an important role to play in working with us to optimize this NDC and to take advantage of the opportunities it will offer the entire value chain,” Tyler said.
  • Tyler noted that IT continues to facilitate improvements in operational efficiency. “For example, e-ticketing, the flagship program of IATA’s Simplifying the Business (StB) initiative, was about far more than eliminating paper. It brought multiple benefits across the supply chain and greater convenience for passengers.
  • “By 2020, our vision is for 80% of passengers to be able to be offered a complete self-service suite,” said Tyler.
  • Endrich Reveil on 29 Jan 15
     
    Even though the GDS had reformed the distribution system of the travel industry, will it continue to grow and update it's current model to upkeep the growing age of tourism? The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is looking for newer ways to revolutionize the travel industry. Tony Tyler, IATA CEO, feels that the Global Distribution System (GDS) is lacking upgrades and says "the GDS model is too clunky to adapt easily to the emergence of trends". As a result, the IATA is working on a new distribution capability (NDC) that will enable the industry to become on trend with online retailers and transform distribution. However, the GDS will still play an important role in aiding the NDS to get there. Tyler spoke at the SITA Air Transport IT Summit in Belgium, asking the IT partners to help innovate the air transport industry. He also explained that the IT already did and will continue on doing a great job with facilitating the operational efficiency.
dsada005

Southwest's GDS deals to help agents, but how much?: Travel Weekly - 0 views

www.travelweekly.com/...lines-GDS-deals-to-help-agents

southwest

shared by dsada005 on 15 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • Southwest's pending move into the Travelport and Amadeus GDSs, coupled with the carrier's entry into ARC's settlement and reporting system, will simplify workflow for travel advisors and make it easier for TMCs and leisure agencies alike to process Southwest purchases.
  • "If it becomes easier to sell Southwest, the competing airlines may take a look at it and say, 'We might be losing share,' and they may address it in a competitive way."
  • "In some instances, we have found lower fares on the Big Three carriers. I don't believe we will see an increase in competition, since they are already competing in the marketplace."
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Southwest announced on Aug. 5 that it will provide full content in the Amadeus and Travelport systems beginning in mid-2020.
  • Travel advisors booking Southwest through Amadeus and Travelport will be able to change, cancel or modify reservations directly through the systems. Agents who currently book Southwest through Sabre must call the airline for any ticket modification that is not a cancellation.
  • For Southwest, broader entry in the traditional agent channel will serve as a third prong in the airline's distribution offering for business and leisure agency partners, joining its direct channel and the SWAbiz booking tool.
  • The company projects that it will earn between $10 million and $20 million in additional revenue in the second half of 2020 as a result of the move.
  • "It's an intelligent compromise on Southwest's part, because to compete with other airlines in the corporate market they have to sell their tickets through the channels that corporate customers want to use,"
  • Last month, Southwest joined NDC Exchange, an airline product marketplace operated by ATPCO and SITA that facilitates direct-connect capabilities between airlines and agencies using NDC protocols. While NDC is especially useful in enabling airlines to sell ancillary products such as fare bundles and checked bags through the agent channel, Offutt said it's also important as a way to attract ordinary ticket sales through alternative booking paths. 
  • "I think Southwest realized that as NDC moved from aspirational toward practice, they had to go down that path or be left behind,"
  • while the increased functionality will make sales-tracking more efficient for agencies, it will also provide greater visibility of Southwest purchases to competing airlines, thereby making it easier for those carriers to monitor whether agencies with which they have corporate contracts are meeting market-share goals.
  • Southwest's broader entry into the GDSs will result in the legacy carriers boosting the incentives they offer corporate and leisure agencies.
  • smgarcia on 15 Sep 19
     
    GDS systems are predominantly used by travel agencies to book both individual and corporate travel. By expanding their listings to Travelport and Amadeus, Southwest opens themselves up to increases in bookings but also potentially moving into better competition with larger airlines. Moving into these systems also allows them to offer further NDC enabled content, such as fare bundles and checked bags, helping to build even more bookings.
  • dsada005 on 22 Jan 20
     
    Southwest has always been on the outskirts when it comes to the top airlines. The "big three" are known as American, Delta and United. In order for Southwest to stay in the game, they are providing full content in Amadeus and Travelport systems. Amadeus is known for its European market and Travelport is known for its US market. Southwest already belongs to Sabre, which is also a US market. However, "those offerings will both complement and exceed Southwest's current limited-content availability on Sabre" (Silk). Henry Hartveldt states that "given Sabre's leading presence in the U.S. market, Southwest will elevate its participation in the Sabre GDS as well" (Silk). Of course, by only belonging to one GDS presence, Southwest was not able to compete with the big three, however, now Southwest is back in the game. In order to sell your tickets, you must be available in the channels that customers prefer to use. Southwest realized that "they had to go down that path or be left behind" (Silk). Vlitas believes that "Southwest's broader entry into the GDSs will result in the legacy carriers boosting the incentives they offer corporate and leisure agencies" (Silk). Other airlines may fear more GDS entries from other airlines, however, it is clear that GDS is here to stay.
khadija2050

Corporate travel distribution is broken - now some blame the GDSs | PhocusWire - 0 views

www.phocuswire.com/the-beat-live-2019-ndc

travel distribution

shared by khadija2050 on 21 Sep 20 - No Cached
  • , NDC and retailing in the corporate space is the simplification of the traveler’s experience.
  • the traveler buys their fare here, their bag there. Why can’t that all be wrapped up in one bundle and sold at the point of sale for the corporate traveler
  • “It eliminates expense report nightmares
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • The distribution model is broken, and airlines are signing GDS contracts pretty much wit
  • h a gun to their head.
  • customers simply want access to content
  • Our role is to use our size and influence to talk to GDSs, get them to the table, to airlines about how do we move forward.
  • The distribution model is broken, and airlines are signing GDS contracts pretty much with a gun to their head, and I don’t think that’s a healthy or sustainable way
  • But the longer we cling to this old model that’s been around forever and doesn’t work
  • The consensus among panelists was that the GDSs have been slow to advance the technology needed to help airlines achieve their distribution goals with NDC.
  • They’ve been very slow to advance their technology. When NDC becomes a commercial issue, that’s not what [NDC] is
  • GDSs are realizing, you better catch up or you’re going to be in trouble.”
  • has been slow to meet the needs of the end traveler, and it’s up to those in the industry to scrutinize whatever is blocking that path.
  • the GDS doesn’t acknowledge products, it’s hard to build.
  • The customer is suffering. There are products created for their benefit they cannot see and cannot buy
  • It’s not just about shopping, not just about selection
  • “We have to do it in a way where the whole process can be effectively managed for the traveler/buyer. Different suppliers are going at different paces. What we don’t want is an inconsistent experience for the end custom
  • With airlines having different capabilities and services and moving at different speeds, and the GDS having to do individual implementation for each, it becomes more complicated.
  • You did shit across the last decade. The GDS playbook for the past 10 years was, ‘What if we sit here and do nothing and see if it goes away?’ Now airlines have some success, and now your hand is forced. You had ample time to do it
  • khadija2050 on 21 Sep 20
     
    the article highlights the expectations of the airlines and travel management companies from the GDS system and showcase what kind modifications can be made to better the service.
shawndab

Priceline gets Hawaiian Airlines' NDC content: Travel Weekly - 0 views

www.travelweekly.com/...-Hawaiian-Airlines-NDC-content

airlines hawaiian travel

shared by shawndab on 12 Sep 22 - No Cached
  • The airline no longer sells Hawaii interisland flights in the GDSs; they are only available via NDC and direct channels. 
  • It also doesn't have to pay Hawaiian's GDS surcharge of $7 per segment on U.S. mainland flights.
  • shawndab on 12 Sep 22
     
    The IATA's (International air transport association) New Distribution Capability (NDC), is allowing Priceline the option to sell interisland flights in the Hawaiian islands. This deal will also mean that Priceline will not have to pay the GDS $7 per segment surcharge on U.S. mainland flights.
jlewinsky

What is the digital outlook for 2021 in business travel? | PhocusWire - 0 views

www.phocuswire.com/utlook-in-business-travel-2021

travel business travel solution hospitality

shared by jlewinsky on 24 Jan 21 - No Cached
  • The GDSs are finally competing with a wider group than the traditional oligopoly group that they have been complacent with for so many years.
  • I imagine that at some point in the next few years the GDSs and the airlines will finally figure out their commercial challenges and we will get NDC content in the GDS as mainstream. If they do not, a huge amount of development cost by the GDSs has been wasted. 
  • It will be interesting to see how the NDC specialists will adapt to NDC becoming mainstream in the GDS. To compete with the GDS they would need to fill some gaps quickly around hotel, car rental, and I expect they will utilize the wealth of API options. 
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • With more and more airlines adding surcharges for booking on the GDS as well as removing lower tiers of fares, the GDS is simply becoming a more expensive environment to book in. As has been said many times, this model needs to change.
  • The OBTs will face some challenges in 2021, one being with respect to resources.
  • The OBTs might have added to their roadmaps the integration of new information sources that deal with COVID-19.
  • In some respects, the OBT workflows are ideal with regards approval processes, which are likely to be more complex in 2021 compared to a year previous. So, from that perspective the OBT’s have a strength to play on.
  • Automation is no longer a nice to have in 2021, TMCs need to find ways of working that avoid the costly touch of a human being. Fully touchless bookings are the holy grail.
  • Still missing is a system able to grab GDS bookings, NDC bookings, other direct booking sources (e.g. low cost carriers, bed banks) and offer one single place to be able to view and interact with the bookings (modify, cancel). 
  • jlewinsky on 24 Jan 21
     
    This article focuses on GDS emerging competitors now and in the future. Online booking has become more attractive to the consumer, with no surcharges unlike the GDS system airlines use for booking.
olindacatillon

Sabre's (SABR) GDS to Provide Aeromexico's NDC Content - 0 views

www.msn.com/...ar-AA1cukpg

GDS

shared by olindacatillon on 09 Jul 23 - No Cached
  • The Travel Solutions segment’s revenues totaled $677.4 million in the first quarter of 2023, registering year-over-year growth of 26.9%. This was primarily driven by a gradual recovery in global air and other bookings. The segment’s revenues also benefited from favorable rate impacts as international and corporate bookings improved.
  • Sabre has more than 425,000 travel agency partners worldwide at present. The company provides one of the largest marketplaces in the world that manages approximately $260 billion worth of global travel spending annually. The leading travel-related software and technology provider has its customer base spread over 160 nations globally.
  • olindacatillon on 09 Jul 23
     
    This article discusses the integration of Sabre with Aeromexico. They aim to provide customers with the best experience when shopping and buying products. Sabre is the first GDS to distribute Aeromexico's NDC content.
miamigol

Benefits of New Airline Distribution Tools Growing More Clear - 1 views

www.travelmarketreport.com/...ution-Tools-Growing-More-Clear

technology hospitality travel software

shared by miamigol on 10 Sep 18 - No Cached
  • miamigol on 10 Sep 18
     
    This article is about IATA's (International Air Transport Association) New Distribution Capability (NDC) that will give Airlines GDS systems more flexibility in delivering fares and inventory. Right now, the top 4 GDS systems used by major carriers are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan. The airline I work for uses Sabre with a QIK overlay and, based on personal experience, the implementation of NDC is long overdue. It will make it especially easier during irregular operations (cancellations, delays, misconnections) when we need fast and accurate access to other airlines inventory. Since most airline passengers travel only once every few years, the NDC will also emphasize the role of travel agents. They will be provided with enhanced tools to access more accurate inventory, better routing, fares, and packages that may be unnoticeable to non-frequent travelers when they book directly on the airline's website or OTA's. Furthermore, it will allow airlines and travel agents to collect data about passenger's preferences in order to provide future tailored business or leisure packages.
cpaez007

Airline ticket distribution: How airlines might reduce Global Distribution System (GDS)... - 0 views

pwc.blogs.com/...ystem-gds-fees-by-encoura.html

shared by cpaez007 on 04 Feb 18 - No Cached
  • After a quick search I found and booked the same ticket through an online travel agency for a bit more than the price on the airline website, but less when you included the €8 fee. Unfortunately this small change in booking method would have cost the airline a substantial amount of money. Here’s why…
  • Selling costs generally represent around 4% to 8% of overall airline expenses
  • Many airlines sell a large proportion or the majority of their tickets through indirect channels.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • A key driver for the high cost of selling tickets through indirect channels is the fees charged by Global Distribution System (GDS) companies for each ticket sold. With airline profit margins under constant pressure airlines need to find ways of reducing distribution costs by selling tickets to customers directly instead of through 3rd parties.
  • The fees to distribute tickets through the GDS are relatively high averages around US$12 per return ticket [2]. In 2012, it was estimated that approximately US$7 billion in GDS fees was paid by airlines which was over twice the industry’s expected net profit for that year [3].
  • Quite simply, the GDS is something that airlines cannot live without. Why? If your competitors are using the GDS and you are not then your tickets will not appear in any searches by 3rd party distributors meaning it is unlikely your tickets will be sold by the 3rd party.
  • Even low-cost carriers such as Air Asia and Ryanair that have avoided the GDS for years have recently started selling tickets through the GDS as they have realised that they are missing out on revenue from not selling tickets through the GDS.  
  • The ‘New Distribution Capability’ (NDC) is a XML-based data transmission standard set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and provides a set of guidelines for communications between airlines and 3rd party distributors. The NDC will allow for the sale of ancillary products (for example, baggage, meals, special seating etc.), something which the GDS currently cannot handle. However, while the NDC has the potential to help airlines boost revenue, there are still questions as to whether there will be any benefits stemming from reduced distribution costs.
  • How can we make our direct channels so attractive that customers will want to use them over indirect channels?”
  • The simplest solution is to ensure that the user experience on the airlines website is seamless and easy. Users are highly likely to abandon online bookings and use another booking website if they encounter difficulties. Simple actions such as ensuring customers are not diverted to an error page can translate into a significant increase in direct bookings
  • Airlines might also want to re-think the way it provides incentives and commissions for ticket sales.
  • With the trend moving towards airline consolidation (for example, partnerships, equity interests and mergers) airlines might also consider how they can work together to sell each other’s tickets on their websites. This strategy goes well beyond the sale of interline or codeshare tickets and will give customers benefits including the ability to book multi-airline itineraries directly from an airline website. Of course airlines must be wary of how they do this to ensure they are not in breach of any anti-trust regulations.
  • There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and for an airline to decide on the best distribution strategy it will need to conduct a solid analysis into their customer behaviours, channel usage and also the commercials of their different distribution systems.
  • cpaez007 on 04 Feb 18
     
    In this article we discuss the issues that airlines are having with the GDS system. They give an example of someone attempting to purchase a ticket through an airline website, and then through a travel agency. The direct airline method was only cheaper, if the guest provided information to a direct bank account. The cost for airlines to sell is a bit less than 10%, and they are sold mostly through indirect channels, like travel agencies. The main reason this can happen, is the integrated GDS system. A GDS system is a data facility that shares inventory information for various airlines to different 3rd party channels. The issue with this, is that the total in fees for the use of the GDS system was around $7billion, which is twice the amount of net profit they are receiving. People state that the airline system cannot survive without the GDS, but is that statement really true? Airlines like Air Asia or Ryanair have really attempted to focus on selling tickets directly, and really expand on their profit. How can this be achieved? Well, airlines are making the booking process easier for guests to manage, which gives them more of a reason to book through there. Also, they are offering greater loyalty rewards for directly booking through the site. Different incentives need to be created to attract guests to book directly. Lastly, they would like to create another distribution system, to put GDS out of business. This new system will work to allow guests to handle meal and baggage fees. Concepts that the GDS cannot handle. With that said, will this new system reduce costs for airlines? I guess they will have to wait and see.
mmoutsatsos

Travelport Delivers New Retailing Tools for Advisors | Travel Agent Central - 0 views

www.travelagentcentral.com/...ern-retailing-tools-travelport

travel software hospitality

shared by mmoutsatsos on 24 Jan 22 - No Cached
  • Travelport+, with enhanced, modern retailing tools to make it easier for advisors to offer more choice and deliver better service to their clients.
  • Trip Manager portal on Travelport+, offering travelers the ability to service their own trip and carry out fast, easy transactions on the go.
  • Travelport also updated its servicing capabilities to improve airline connectivity and empower advisors to serve travelers more efficiently, with less back-end work.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • undergoing an upgrade with better room, rate and rules details as a result of enhanced connectivity with Hilton.
  • Travelport’s desktop tool, Smartpoint, can access a suite of features aimed at simplifying everyday tasks. Enhancements include more customized itinerary quotes in Trip Quote as well as faster Assisted Ticketing capabilities that streamline complex ticketing and exchange tasks for advisors.
  • Travelport+ tools and agency capabilities continues with simplified access to enriched travel content from multiple sources, including NDC (New Distribution Capability) standard content. Travelport says it is the first and only global distribution system (GDS) to sign NDC content distribution deals with three major European airline groups (Air France-KLM, International Airlines Group (IAG) and Lufthansa Group).
  • self-service option for travelers using the new portal allows agencies to preserve resources while offering travelers an improved experience with the ability to easily add extras to their trip, such as adding meals, bags, selecting seats and automatically checking into their flight.
  • Enhanced APIs make it easier for advisors to understand offers and compare brands with similar attributes on a like-for-like basis. Travelport customers will also be able to easily identify upsell offers with NDC and ATPCO fares for a simpler, more modern browsing and shopping experience.
  • Agencies can better manage the hotel bookings they sell with Content Optimizer, a simple self-service rules engine.
  • so agencies can easily create and customize their own content rules.
  • mmoutsatsos on 24 Jan 22
     
    Travelport+ the next-generation GDS platform.
keugent

New Distribution Capability (NDC) in Air Travel: Airlines, GDSs, and the Impact on the ... - 0 views

This article highlighted the two fundamental needs that connect airline, revenue and passenger satisfaction. It went on to the benefits of the new distribution capabilities, which includes personal...

https:__www.altexsoft.com_blog_travel_new-distribution-capability-ndc-in-air-travel-airlines-gdss-and-the-impact-on-the-industry_

started by keugent on 13 Sep 19 no follow-up yet
mirandajaye

At long last, Southwest to enable GDS bookings: Travel Weekly - 1 views

www.travelweekly.com/...uthwest-to-enable-GDS-bookings

shared by mirandajaye on 12 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • Southwest Airlines at long last will provide content and full booking capabilities
  • hey expect content to be ready for bookings by mid-2020
  • The agreements will bring "the highest level of participation
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • enable buyers and agents to book, change, cancel and modify reservations through the GDSs
  • outhwest has been investing in both of those other "legs," as well
  • joining ATPCO and SITA's NDC Exchange platform
  • Southwest projects that the GDS presence will bring between $10 million and $20 million in additional revenue
  • mirandajaye on 12 Sep 19
     
    The article provides information on how Southwest Airlines will finally be participating in the GDS system starting in the year 2020 which is coming up soon. They feel as though this will help their customers modify and customize their reservations and also be able to change, book their own and cancel their reservations at their leisure without needing a Travel Agent. They know they have not been the easiest airline to work with and feel as though this will help and bring in $10-20 million more for them in revenues. I feel as though this is a good move for Southwest Airlines.
hankunli

Southwest Airlines Expands Booking Access and Content in the GDS to Reach More Business... - 2 views

Summary: This article by Southwest Airlines （SWA for short） and Skift has some vital points to know. First, SWA has improved its cooperation with GDS companies to an "industry-standard level" inste...

hospitality technology solution

started by hankunli on 04 Jun 20 1 follow-up, last by hankunli on 04 Jun 20
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