NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS CONTINUED FROM THE BACK
Schumacher suggested people might choose to stay at home for the referendum, adding: “It will be like no other election.” On the impact of a Brexit, he
said: “Nobody knows. We carry on regardless.” Schumacher also downplayed the effect of a falling pound on US bookings, saying: “The US is perceived as value and a safe destination.” Nat Pieper, Delta Air Lines’
senior vice-president for Europe, took a similar view. “If the UK pulls out, it isn’t going to be like a light switch,” he said. “Our partnerships with Virgin Atlantic and Air France-KLM will continue. With London, Paris and Amsterdam [as hubs], we have the ability to be agile. “Whatever happens with the pound, we’ll try to deal with it. We’ve got a lot smarter at reacting to swings in currency.” Leading corporate travel
executives agreed. Adam Knights, managing
director of travel management company ATPI, said: “ATPI hasn’t taken a position, but we have operations in all EU countries. They will still need to deal with each other. Volkswagen is still going to want to sell cars in Britain. I can’t believe we aren’t going to come to trade deals with Germany and France. “Obviously, your euros and dollars won’t go as far for the next few months.” Clive Wratten, chief executive
of travel management firm CTI, said: “Generally, uncertainty is not good. Being in the EU makes it a whole lot easier to travel in Europe, but people need to travel [and] we’ll facilitate it.” Lufthansa chief executive
Carsten Spohr said last month: “When it comes to our industry, a common market is not as
important as to many others.” › Comment: Andrew Swaffield, Monarch, page 32
BUSINESS TRAVEL SHOW 2016: Iata’s NDC, Lufthansa’s GDS fee and the
Agents reserve judgement as NDC progress ‘so slow’
Senior corporate travel figures clashed over the value of airline association Iata’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) at last week’s Business Travel Show in London.
Paul Tilstone, consultant and
corporate envoy on NDC for Iata, said: “How successful would a restaurant be if the menu didn’t represent what’s on offer and the waiter can’t really tell you? “NDC is four years old, but the
kick-off standard was delivered just four months ago. We’re at the beginning. It’s the first step to personalisation and richer content. “The system at the moment is just not good enough. Personalisation and richer content through the NDC standard offers a potential solution. “It will facilitate the purchase of ancillaries, make shopping more personalised and produce better insight into products.” But Champa Magesh, Amadeus UK and Ireland managing
Corporates fear NDC will fragment fares distribution
Business travel executives questioned the rationale for Iata’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard for distributing air fares and ancillaries to agents.
Adam Knights, managing
director of travel management company (TMC) ATPI, said: “The technology already exists. We say to corporate customers: why would an airline want to market direct to you? The value of a GDS
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travelweekly.co.uk 3 March 2016
many ways to get to the same point. It’s a free market in technology. “Amadeus powers most of the
airline dotcoms. This is not a standard-dependent discussion.” Moshe Rafiah, chief executive
of technology firm Travelfusion, which is involved in NDC trials, said: “NDC is basically about giving airlines control of distribution. “Airlines want to bring what
they are able to do direct to indirect channels. [But] progress is painfully slow. This is not going to roll out in a significant way unless we see a significant speed-up.” Mark Cuschieri, chairman of the
MAGESH: ‘There are many ways to get to the same point’
director, said: “Let’s not make NDC more than it is. The world hasn’t waited for NDC. Rich content is already here. “I take exception to the idea that one standard is the only way to do it. There are multiple standards and
[global distribution system] is you can interline.” Jason Geall, vice-president and UK general manager at American Express Global Business Travel, said: “Corporates want content in one place. If you fragment distribution, it’s not easy to have in one place and track travellers.” Clive Wratten, chief executive
of CTI, another TMC, said: “The level has not been found with NDC. Distribution is fractured.” Bob Schumacher, UK and
Ireland managing director for US carrier United Airlines, said: “We’ll continue to distribute through GDSs and TMCs because it is most efficient.”
WRATTEN: ‘The level has not been found with NDC’
However, he added: “We have
to get into more segmentation [of offers]. GDSs are getting there. NDC could be a facilitator.”
Institute of Travel and Meetings, said: “We’re supportive of NDC. We want informed choice at the point of sale. We want transparency. “Anything that can enrich
content has to be a good thing. NDC could be beneficial.”
But he added: “It’s not happening
fast enough, [and] where personalisation differentiates on price it raises concerns.”
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