16th February, 2022
Progress made by IATA’s XML-based data standard, NDC, comes under scrutiny from time to time, and one of the areas that is worth evaluating is how airlines and the travel industry can gear up to offer all the essentials of a trip.
In a recent webinar, hosted by Ai Events, there was discussion around what options airlines currently have, including NDC API, when it comes to integrating products from all other verticals and offering a seamless booking experience, and at the same time ensuring the entire servicing, fulfilment, payment and other key aspects are met as a retailer.
Organisational structure
Before delving into technology, airlines need to gear up for an apt organisational structure, said Oliver Ranson. He referred to lack of creativity in commercial products, commercial management, usage of NDC etc. “It is time to be more agile and be prepared to fail. It could be that certain airlines embrace the NDC standard, while other might opt for another route (for example, the superapp way),” said Ranson.
As for NDC, if on one hand, there is discussion around aspects like where NDC tends to struggle – the standardization itself, normalization of the different versions and flows used by airlines, interlining etc., on the other technology specialists point out that NDC content can be combined with air from other content sources, and also hotel, car rental etc.
NDC has been around for a decade or so, so how should airlines look at it?
NDC should be seen as an opportunity – for instance, in the loyalty arena, to serve their customers better, said Stig Williams, Head of International Travel & Partnerships, Avis Budget Group.
(In one of the earlier webinars, Ryan Harris mentioned that NDC allows the passing of loyalty information. The way it works via the indirect channel starts from traveller having the choice to share personal details, including their FFP number with the seller, and eventually airline works on a personalised bundle or any tailored offering. So is it working? “Looking at the schema today – there are optional data fields. That possibility exists. What systems are going to be used to facilitate the same. Who is using what? Who is providing what?…possibility is there but usage is restricted or not being exploited,” Harris had said).
Comprehending the utility
Scott Brennan, CEO, LinksRez highlighted the fact that other verticals have been “ignored” and the NDC standard from the beginning has been quite “air-centric”. “…there is other stuff too that matters, there is an opportunity for the standard to develop further,” he said, adding that airlines need to fully comprehend the utility of the standard themselves first. For instance, for how long NDC and traditional technology such as EDIFACT will sit alongside each other?
Conor O´Sullivan, Chief Product Officer, Datalex mentioned that NDC is gaining traction. At the same time, airlines must prioritize their commercial strategy, as it is also possible to offer all the trip essentials in one offer. Look at offer and order normalization and gear up for servicing the customer throughout the journey.
As for RoI, Ranson recommended that airlines need to look for use cases first rather than integrating or deciding on the technology before any commercial decision, including one related to NDC.
Also, it worth following how other options related to electronic exchange of business information among all sectors of the travel industry are shaping up.
Ritesh Gupta
Ai Team
