Half of 326 travel buyers polled in April 2024 by GBTA said they had not started to implement NDC — essentially unchanged from polls 2023 in April and October.

About 34 percent said their companies had begun implementing NDC-enabled channels, with varying degrees of success, up from 18 percent a year earlier.

According to Global Business Travel Association researchers, “Travel buyers perceive little progress with NDC. However, it is possible that some travel programs are booking NDC fares without realizing it. In addition, some travel programs have experienced challenges with NDC. A larger number say they have experienced challenges with the rollout (24 percent) than say the transition has gone smoothly (10 percent).”

Just 3 percent indicated they had experienced a challenge-free NDC implementation, up negligibly from April 2023.

In another result that showed no change, 5 percent of respondents said their companies budgeted for “potential additional servicing costs for NDC-related bookings.” As in the year-earlier survey, about six in 10 said they neither budgeted for higher fees nor intended to do so.

Discover NDC’s emergence at certain airlines, promise for delivering bundles, impact on travel policies and travel management company operations, generally slow adoption around the market, and where travel buyers are in understanding and implementing solutions.