ARC and British Airways Successfully Test Enhanced Settlement Platform

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) is pleased to announce the successful testing and implementation of enhancements to its settlement platform, initially announced late last year.

In October, ARC began the testing process with airline partner British Airways to ensure the functionality and flexibility of these enhancements. As a result of this collaboration, ARC's settlement platform is now ready to facilitate the full spectrum of distribution strategies for ARC participating airlines, including New Distribution Capability (NDC), while continuing to support existing systems and processes. This implementation gives airlines and travel agencies more options to create bilateral agreements that make enriched, customized air travel content more accessible.

"British Airways is excited to be the first test partner for ARC's enhanced settlement functionality, which enables us to evolve our distribution strategy with the travel agency channel. ARC has always been a trusted partner to British Airways, and we have valued their flexibility, responsiveness and collaboration during this testing process," said Simon Brooks, senior vice president, sales for North America. "These enhancements will aid us in developing our relationships with agencies, and they set the stage for our growing distribution strategy in the U.S."

With ARC's enhanced platform, each airline can implement the features that best match its distribution strategy. This includes the ability for airlines to set settlement parameters for NDC transactions, the option to use neutral ARC or airline ticket stock, the acceptance of both ARC and IATA sales file formats and multiple credit card billing options.

"ARC is proud of this milestone, which will enable a wide variety of distribution strategies today and in the future," said ARC's Senior Manager of Industry Relationships Shelly Younger. "ARC is committed to supporting our industry by enabling them to manage their partnerships in the way they choose. We are pleased to team up with British Airways as part of our ongoing commitment to increase efficiency, reduce complexity and provide flexibility for our customers."