business Essential news, comment and analysis BA’s Stephen Humphreys:


‘NDC will change the way we price, bundle and present our offer to customers’


BA says it is ‘moving away from restrictions of GDSs’


Carrier admits NDC is ‘not a silver bullet’ but will ‘unlock opportunities’. Ian Taylor reports from GTMC conference


British Airways is moving away from distribution “defined by GDS relationships” and “restricted by the GDSs”, according to head of global sales Stephen Humphreys.


He spelled out the significance


of BA and Iberia’s imposition of an £8 charge “per fare component” on GDS bookings last week, which adds £16 to a return ticket for agents without fee-waiver agreements. Humphreys told the Guild of


Travel Management Companies (GTMC) domestic conference in London: “We’re working our way


64 travelweekly.co.uk 9 November 2017


from a system-centric relationship to a more customer-centric one.” The IAG-owned carriers insisted


the fee would apply to all bookings “not made using an NDC-based connection” or made direct when they announced it in May. NDC is Iata’s New Distribution Capability standard for ‘direct connect’ portals. Yet the airlines have agreed


a series of deals with travel management companies (TMCs) and leisure agencies to allow “bookings through existing platforms without a charge”,


although so far only via Amadeus. Humphreys told the GTMC: “Distribution is at the centre of the digital space now. There are a couple of big forces at play. One is around GDS relationships. We’re moving away from a content strategy defined by our GDS relationships to one not restricted by the GDSs. The other is around how we manage that change. “NDC is not a silver bullet.


But in time it will unlock a lot of opportunities. We are trying to move forward in consultation with the industry.” Asked about GDS fee waiver


agreements signed with Carlson Wagonlit Travel, HRG, American


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