Last year was… well… just a little bit intense for business travel …
For the industry as a whole and for anyone trying to travel for work or manage a program.
Not only did business travel volume get closer and closer to breaking pre-pandemic records, but new technology, processes, and systems have seemingly changed the travel booking experience for good.
You’re in this industry, too, you get what we’re getting at.
Since April 2023, one item stands out from the rest for causing an influx of process updates, questions, and quite frankly… chaos.
That is – New Distribution Capability.
Better known in this acronym-happy industry as NDC.
Through the NDC, an overwhelming majority of airlines are customizing the traveler experience with new ticket packages and continuous pricing models. These modern offers were historically only available through direct bookings.
NDC is becoming the new airline industry standard that aims to modernize the way airlines sell their products and services through travel agents and other distribution channels.
How NDC got here
Let’s go back in time for a moment…
Before the 1960’s and 70’s, airline reservations were completed manually with paper cards for each booking. When Computer Reservations Systems (CRSs) were introduced, things changed drastically. Each airline started with their own CRS to process reservations – that is until Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) came into play in the 80’s and 90’s.
Still in use today (at Gant we use the Amadeus GDS), these revolutionary systems allowed dozens…then hundreds…then thousands of airlines to sell tickets from a single platform. They grew to include hotels, car rentals, and other travel too. GDSs like Amadeus, Sabre, and Worldspan became extremely popular as travel agencies and travel management companies (TMCs) – like us – could use them to operate more efficiently.
Fast forward to the late 90’s-2010’s – the internet changed everything (again). Consumers now had the option to book directly to the airline’s websites or use direct-to-consumer online tools. As time went on, EDIFACT became the ‘thing’ limiting the types of tickets and packages airlines were able to offer. So, they decided to create a new, more robust way to distribute their content to travelers.
Cue the entrance of NDC.
On September 1, 2015, the International Air Travel Association (IATA) released the initial set of standards for NDC. Though, after that, nothing much was done with it for nearly a decade.
It wasn’t until the last few years when European airlines like British Airways and Lufthansa Group started to offer these special fares on a limited basis. Shortly after in late 2022, United Airlines became the first US-based airline to provide continuous pricing options available through what are now considered NDC bookings.
From there, it all happened really fast.
In April 2023, American Airlines began selling NDC fares and heavily pushing customers to book through their direct booking channels (since that’s the only place they made them available). That meant travelers who wanted to book with American wouldn’t have access to these new (and more personalized…and oftentimes cheaper) tickets if they booked on the existing GDS channels. Other major airlines like Air Canada, Air France, and Virgin Atlantic were quick to follow in their footsteps.
Because the actual changeover happened so quickly, this was a HUGE deal for travel providers as basically no one had the necessary technology to establish NDC connections to Online Booking Tools (OBTs) yet. Though airlines almost immediately began to form agreements with GDS providers to bridge this gap, the race to offer NDC content was anything but smooth for most.
Where NDC is going
More and more airlines have continued to form agreements to sell their NDC content through major GDS providers. The GDS providers have already established dozens of agreements with vendors/carriers/suppliers around the world, and they are actively expanding their offerings almost daily. At Gant, we’re busy adding and developing tools to support the addition of NDC to the industry.
As time goes on and technology catches up with demands, we (like most of the industry) expect that the initial-stage limitations will disappear. Eventually, hopefully soon, we’ll all be enjoying a more seamless and customized travel experience, and the booking and service snafus that defined the launch of NDC will be nothing more than distant memories.
NDC and business travel
Is today’s NDC content right for your company? That’s not a simple yes/no answer. It completely depends. Yes, there are lower fares available for some itineraries, however, due to the possible limitations and rule differences, that lower fare may or may not be the best option for your team based on traveler behavior and program needs.
Why does it matter whether your travelers are booking NDC fares through an agency/GDS instead of simply booking direct with the airlines?
Giving your travelers the option to book directly with the airlines may save you some money upfront, but it will cost you and your TMC visibility into the reservations in the long run. Which could possibly be cost you money in a lost unused ticket or missed waiver, lead to expensive, out-of-policy bookings, or even cause poor traveler satisfaction (since only the airline will be able to assist with changes or cancellations). Plus, it creates a gap of data for Duty of Care initiatives and a loss of tracked data within your program reporting.
Booking NDC with Gant Today
Since early 2023 when American Airlines initially announced their plans to offer NDC-specific pricing, our development team has been busy creating solutions. We’re currently able to offer NDC content through our in-house OBT, TripCircuit as well as with a Gant full-service agent.
We launched the Gant NDC Chrome extension so that our clients with a Concur Travel program can also take advantage of discounted, airline-direct fares. Without causing them to sacrifice the data, policies, or processes that are ever-so vital in a managed travel program. With this easy-to-add and easy-to-use extension, travelers simply complete their usual air search in the SAP Concur Travel tool, and the Gant NDC Chrome extension simultaneously completes the exact same search. A pop-up shares results, and if an NDC fare is booked, the integrated Gant systems apply Concur Travel policy, route for any approvals, and bring the trip data right back into your program reporting. NDC fares booked through a Gant agent do the same.
More on Gant + Concur Travel here.
Additionally, our GDS provider, Amadeus, is helping lead the way in the industry and developing integral connections for the two booking capabilities (GDS and NDC). They’re even able to offer NDC content natively within their own OBTs, Cytric by Amadeus and Cytric Easy by Amadeus. We are so impressed by these cutting-edge tools that we became one of the first TMCs to make them available in the North American market.
Booking NDC with Gant in the Future
A new, tech-centric era of corporate travel has arrived, and we’re all for it. As a result, we’re working to streamline the processes to book and/or service NDC fares. We’re proud to be a part of all this innovation going on around the industry.
SAP Concur, is currently rolling out a new UI/UX for their tools. Concur Travel is getting a serious facelift… that includes the ability to offer NDC fares within the OBT. (NDC fares are currently slated for later this year for the Amadeus GDS).
NDC FAQs
What is the difference between an NDC ticket and a “typical” GDS or EDIFACT-based ticket?
NDC is a technology standard developed by IATA. It allows airlines to distribute their content and services directly to travel agents, corporate travel departments, and other travel providers. The NDC standard enables airlines to offer a broader range of products and services. These include personalized offers, ancillary services, and bundled products, that may not be available through traditional distribution channels. By using NDC, airlines offer customers a more seamless and customized travel experience.
On the other hand, traditional GDS or EDIFACT-based tickets will not include personalized offers, ancillary services, and bundled products.
What is the difference between EDIFACT and NDC?
EDIFACT is a global standard for electronic data interchange (EDI), and it’s widely used in the travel industry. It’s a structured messaging standard that allows suppliers and providers to exchange information with agencies and others. This standardizations offers improved efficiency and reduced errors. These messages can be sent between different computer systems using different communication protocols, such as FTP or AS2.
Currently, both EDIFACT and NDC are messaging standards now used in the travel industry. They serve different purposes and have different capabilities. While EDIFACT is focused on structured messaging for business document exchange, NDC is focused on airline distribution and retailing. NDC messages are based on XML.
What happened to traditional GDS fares?
GDS fares are still available. Same as always. However, some NDC-enabled airlines are limiting the distribution and availability of certain fares and fare packages exclusively to their NDC offerings.
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Current client and want to know more? Your Gant account manager can help with that. Or check out our toolbox resources in the Gant Gateway.
Not a Gant client yet and want to know more about how Gant can help you rethink business travel? Get in touch at [email protected].
