When American Airlines announced its alternative distribution program, one of the connectivity options it endorsed was to use third-party aggregators. These would be companies certified by AA for processing offers and orders in accordance with the International Air Transport Association’s New Distribution Capability. At the industry level, IATA has certified six aggregators for that. They include…
Boston – Travel management professionals agree that to be effective, new airline distribution programs need to offer at least as much functionality as existing systems do. Based on expert commentary at last week’s Global Business Travel Association convention here, it would appear that a solution to be welcomed by all key parties is a ways off….
You generally will not see interviews published here, but an opportunity that came up last week made an exception worthwhile. What follows are excerpts of separate interviews with top executives at the three largest travel management companies. We spoke by phone with American Express Global Business Travel president Philippe Chérèque last Monday, Carlson Wagonlit Travel…
Timing on global distribution system readiness to hook up New Distribution Capability connections for full functionality remains a mystery. Sabre, for one, has committed to achieving that goal with American Airlines. When GDSs do bring in the highest-level NDC functionality of, say, American Airlines, what will that mean for travel management companies that want to…
Travel management company executives have mixed views on the American Airlines New Distribution Capability program announced Friday. Some are fine with it, acknowledging there is work to do. More are happy with the airline’s creativity but concerned about the technical and process challenges. Unease about the impact of direct bookings on agent and tech productivity…
American Airlines will pay participating travel agencies $2 per net segment booked and ticketed using certified NDC connections at all points of sale on AA-marketed flights. The program requires agencies to cover distribution costs, but comes with a near-term content parity commitment. It also enables new possibilities for corporate bundles, waiver-and-favor management and risk management data. They’re…
[UPDATE, May 26, 2017: IAG informed industry partners that British Airways and Iberia would add a $10 fee as of Nov. 1, essentially for each one-way trip, on tickets purchased in global distribution systems. The fee will be displayed as a “Q charge” in fare constructions, and included in itinerary fare quotes. Refunds will align with the…
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