Powering a better tomorrow for travel today with NDC
NDC is the biggest technology advance our industry has seen since e-tickets more than two decades ago, and together with ONE Order, represents the start of a wider transformation of the industry. It enables something that is core to IAG and Iberia's business strategy: to embrace digital retailing practices that provide a better customer experience. NDC allows this with richer, more relevant, and more dynamic content. The reality is, our digital native customers naturally want the kind of experience they already see in many other parts of their day-to-day lives. That's why we are firm believers that NDC is the future of travel distribution.
Testament to this is the fact that, despite the strain posed by COVID-19, we kept up the momentum on NDC with Amadeus and reached a landmark deal earlier this year. We chose Amadeus as our long-standing partner to embark on this journey as it has been leading the implementation of NDC at a global scale.
Now more than ever, there is a need for more scalable end-to-end solutions that are deeply integrated into the travel agent ecosystem - so agents can focus on providing the best possible customer service. This strengthened partnership will mean our bookings made via NDC can be processed and serviced efficiently within an agent's usual working environment. This will accelerate adoption - crucial to make NDC successful - and in turn, boost the value the standard delivers.
So, what will change with NDC for Iberia? In the second half of this year - when we expect that our NDC content goes live in Amadeus - agents worldwide will be able to search, compare, book, and service Iberia's NDC bookings on a single screen through its go-to Amadeus solution, including Selling Platform Connect and the Amadeus self-booking tool for corporations. Agents will not just benefit from an improved selling experience, but will also be able to access rich fares and a suite of exclusive NDC products to personalize its offer - such as Additional Price Points, Dynamic Pricing for Ancillaries, Price guarantee for "on-hold" tickets, voucher redemption, and early access to price offers and discounts.
I firmly believe this agreement sets the stage to change our industry for the better, with an increased focus on traveler needs as we get closer to recovery. And we're just at the start of the road, only beginning to see the potential that NDC holds. I am confident that together with Amadeus, we will make many discoveries along the way to enrich our distribution offer even more.
Source; Amadeus Blog
Author: Cliff Trotta; Head of Distribution, Iberia