Travel management companies want to maximize revenues, corporate program managers want smooth servicing and no one wants debit memos. New integration between a pair of travel tech firms hopes to accomplish all of that and address some of the challenges of alternative airline distribution models. The key is using automation to overcome airline contract complexity….
Travel tech startup Spotnana several weeks ago activated “advanced,” direct integration with American Airlines to give travelers and agents booking and full post-ticketing capabilities, ARC/BSP settlement and access to new products. By using the airline’s NDC-compliant application programming interface from Accelya, the pair went live with offers that are not currently available in Sabre. “We…
Following his intimate involvement in an award-winning NDC corporate travel program, Tony D’Astolfo of Serko, in his unique way, spotlights one of the unsolved issues: the economics. Many have debated whether airline distribution evolution is mainly about the technology or the money. Both matter. They say you should never talk politics or religion. These days…
Education sessions at the Global Business Travel Association’s annual convention last month had a few main themes, with risk, sustainability and payment getting lots of attention. Distribution also enjoyed significant airtime, but not the hotel or car rental kind. Airline distribution sessions were packed. For many, the prevailing feeling was that the industry had picked…
United Airlines is testing continuous pricing on some U.S. routes. The concept frees airlines from the traditional alphabet-based fare class structure and permits more flexibility with smaller jumps between price points. Distributing such fares through all channels is a challenge, and United is pressing ahead on direct booking for corporate accounts. It’s planning a new…
Travel technology consulting veteran Norm Rose urges a push for smart contracts to improve the efficacy of negotiated corporate travel agreements. Emerging as the next generation of the internet, Web3 has a broad definition. It includes virtual reality in the metaverse, blockchain, token-based economics and decentralization of technology. For the corporate travel industry, the focus…
Ten years after the International Air Transport Association introduced its New Distribution Capability standards for web-based protocols to sell airline products, corporate travel bookings using those protocols remain a drop in the bucket. Including leisure bookings, NDC’s penetration of indirect distribution for IATA member airlines in the quarter ending in March was 10 percent, driven…
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