NDC
HOPES & FEARS: NEW DISTRIBUTION CAPABILITY
NDC is supposed to be a revolution for the good, making content-access easier for all – but some believe it may limit, not widen, choice. Martin Cowen reports
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‘DISTRIBUTION’ IS CONVENIENT shorthand for, arguably, the most complicated aspect of the business travel world. What is the most effective way for you – the buyer, the travel management company (TMC), the corporate, the supplier, the global distribution system (GDS) – to distribute the most appropriate content (the air ticket, the transfer, the hotel, the train) to the end-user – the business traveller? Or, what is the best way for the supplier (the airline, the hotel chain, the train company) to distribute its content to the re-seller of that content (the TMC, the corporate, the GDS) who then
sells it on to the end-user – the business traveller? Or how does the supplier (see above) sell its content (see above) directly to the corporate or the travellers directly without incurring a cost from the re-sellers (see above)? So when the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) announced at its 2012 World Passenger Symposium last October that it was developing its New Distribution Capability (NDC), some thought that it signalled a paradigm shift in how air content will be sold in the future. The reality, five months after the IATA announcement, is a lot more complicated than it first might appear.
WHAT IS NDC? In simple terms, NDC is a set of technology standards which will give airlines the ability to distribute all their content through third parties. All airlines will use the same IATA-verified standards, which means that third parties – GDSs, TMCs, procurement departments, plus new entrants – can access the same content that airlines are selling directly, and redistribute them on the airlines’ behalf. The NDC project is being led by Eric Leopold, IATA director passenger. He says: “Today, airlines are offering a wide variety of products and services on their websites to appeal to the business traveller – early boarding,
MARCH/APRIL 2013
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