Continuing its efforts to help standardize the “development of robust and scalable NDC connections specifically designed for business travel,” American Express Global Business Travel on Monday made public its Minimum Marketable Product document. The MMP is an evolving framework that describes the “capabilities needed for NDC to work successfully for business travel.” It currently lists…
American Airlines and Accelya, developer of the carrier’s NDC interface, on Monday announced a breakthrough for post-ticketing support in next-generation airline distribution. They said they made unused EDIFACT tickets exchangeable through NDC connections. “It’s available broadly to any travel retailer or aggregator that can support the use of an unused ticket in an exchange,” said…
AmTrav CEO Jeff Klee, an NDC supporter, sounded exasperated on his company’s May 16 webinar. He wanted to acknowledge the gaps in American Airlines’ NDC implementation without giving undue fodder to its skeptics. The challenges with NDC were not trivial, but in Klee’s view, throwing out the baby with the bathwater could have severe consequences…
Some travel management company representatives are unhappy with revisions to American Airlines’ ARC agreement addendum that set conditions for fees charged to their clients on bookings with the airline. Some TMCs have told clients they would need to charge higher fees on NDC bookings to cover reduced productivity and GDS incentive revenue. Precedents for this…
Airline officials and other proponents of the New Distribution Capability have described its servicing challenges as “edge cases,” but travel management companies are finding more than that. Limitations on exchanges and unused ticket tracking are the most crucial on growing lists of issues. It’s no wonder that, by most accounts, corporate adoption of American’s NDC…
“I’m gravely concerned.” Jeffrey Verman’s 26-year-old travel agency has been through multiple crises. The hit he expects from NDC-enabled airline programs is extra bitter, coming as it will from business partners rather than a virus or terrorist. “I survived 9/11, SARS, recessions, wars,” said Verman, CEO of Toronto-based Plus Travel Group, which is handling about…
“Blended” travel at American Airlines is trending down and approaching its historical level, potentially undermining one element of a narrative about why the company changed just about everything it does with the managed corporate travel market. Some of its arguments about how the market has changed met with skepticism. That doesn’t mean it’s going to…
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