Travelport global head of travel partners: Industry needs 'normalisation' for NDC to deliver ROI

Travelport group VP and global head of travel partners Damian Hickey, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit - Airlines in Transition, stated (24-Apr-2026) that in order for New Distribution Capability (NDC) to deliver its promised return on investment (ROI), the aviation industry needs "to have the courage to actually move beyond where we are today", to simplify, unify and modernise its technology and platforms. Mr Hickey commented: "NDC has absorbed years of investment… but many are still asking 'where's the payoff?'". He noted that airlines have each implemented NDC differently, with unique integrations through different APIs, schemes, standards, service rules and workflows. Mr Hickey stated: "While NDC was meant to simplify, it's just got a lot more complicated". He said: "Normalisation can become that economic engine to unlock profitability and generate that return on investment". [more - CAPA TV]