NDC: Qantas and Singapore Airlines leaders in Asia Pacific 

IATA expects that by the end of this year airlines certified to its New Distribution Capability (NDC) will account for 59% of global passenger traffic. However, while NDC has become mainstream in some regions such as Europe, it has so far struggled to catch on in Asia. Several major Asian markets still do not yet have any NDC-compliant airlines.

There are now close to 50 airlines globally that are compliant with IATA NDC Level 3 standards.

Only five of these airlines are from Asia Pacific excluding China: Qantas, Singapore Airlines, SIA's regional subsidiary SilkAir, South Korea-based T'Way and Taiwan-based China Airlines. (There are another 11 airlines from mainland China and Hong Kong that are compliant.)

Major commitments to NDC made by Qantas and SIA over the past year should push several of their peers to make similar commitments. Qantas and SIA are widely viewed as innovators and trendsetters in the Asia Pacific airline sector.