EDITOR’S LUNCH


The Mall room at the Royal Automobile Club, central London


most advanced in NDC? Is it possible you’ve taken it too far, too soon?” Koester replied the airline was simply contributing to progress by investing in IT and manpower for distribution, so buyers and agencies can benefit from new content. He added it’s also up to agencies to embrace this model. “I’d like to put it down to the buyers to hold their agency accountable for ensuring they don’t miss out on the benefits of NDC bookings,” he said. Last year, Lufthansa unveiled its first


NDC-enabled, direct-connect solutions with Click Travel and Clarity. When asked if more were due soon, Koester said direct channel projects with agencies are in the pipeline. He expects them to go live in the next months.


KEY TAKEAWAYS ■


■ ■


■


CORPORATE TRAVEL BUYERSmust engage with their TMCs on NDC


AIRLINES are not investing in NDC “to get rid of the GDSs”


BOOKERS can save around £28 for


return tickets via Lufthansa’s NDC channels


THE FUTURE is coming and the travel industry “must prepare”


Koester and Willa then asked the buyers whether they include questions about NDC in their RFPs. The general response was that it’s too new to have been included in that process. Willa said that many of the buyers could


be paying the GDS fee without knowing because the charge is included in the fares they pay through any non-NDC channel. One buyer countered that their travellers


may end up spending more on their flights anyway if ancillary content is made so readily available via NDC channels. Koester returned the question to the


buyers, asking: “Do you even know what your current ancillary spend is?” He also suggested that GDSs are limiting


the distribution of ancillaries, saying many corporate travellers use other booking options outside of the travel programme, and in future NDC has the potential to change this and bring back transparency to corporate buyers.


PUSHING FOR CHANGE The conversation then shifted to the current belief of many buyers that Lufthansa and the airline industry had taken the decision to invest in NDC without consulting the corporate end-users, with many attendees agreeing that they felt as though they had been left behind.


BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


Willa replied: “We feel like nothing


would have changed if we had waited until everyone is ready for NDC. “We offered two very well-received Distribution Dialogue Events for agencies in 2016 and 2018, and we want to help them to go this path with us, which is why each one gets a dedicated application manager to see them through the integration.” One buyer flipped that statement, asking


if the airlines are getting the support they need to move NDC beyond a conversation and into rapid adoption. Koester responded: “I wouldn’t say


there’s anything holding us back; it just takes time. “From the travel buyers’ perspective, the


best thing to do now is to talk to your TMC about NDC,” he added. “We’re giving our TMC partners the tools they need to work autonomously on the API, from bookings to cancellations and refunds.” The final question was one that has probably been on many buyers’ minds: Will the travel industry ever stop talking about NDC? Willa replied: “Technology rarely stands still, so probably not.”


nTo attend the next Editor’s Lunch, email events@panaceamedia.com


BBT July/August 2018 43


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