Before the pandemic hit, NDC was the biggest buzzword in the travel industry. The NDC Leaderboard Airlines goal was to have 20% of their indirect sales powered by an NDC API by 2020.
Before the pandemic hit, NDC was the biggest buzzword in the travel industry.The NDC Leaderboard Airlines goal was to have 20% of their indirect sales powered by an NDC API by 2020.Despite the unprecedented crisis, NDC has remained just as important as before for many industry players and is gaining momentum, as it is one of the paths to recovery and pivot into better airline retailing in the travel industry. In fact, some airlines have reached IATA’s Leaderboard objective, opening up a new world of opportunities.
At Amadeus, we’ve been working with many airlines to bring NDC to a global scale. Let’s see how NDC can broaden airlines’ distribution possibilities and make sure they are always ahead of the curve.
Distribute new and enriched content across relevant channels
Digital transformation has put more power into the hands of consumers who are nowadays connected 24/7 across multiple sites through multiple devices. Consumers want options and the choice to take their own decisions. They also want a total trip experience: from inspiration to search, booking, and recommendations post-trip. They want not only personalized offers but also simplicity and clarity when researching and booking travel in their channel of choice.
This has accelerated the need for airlines to transform and develop effective retailing strategies that can create more value and control of their offer. NDC allows airlines to create and distribute dynamic, tailored offers and rich content to travel agents in real time.It is the technological protocol facilitating and introducing concepts of offer and order and is at the same time channel and business model agnostic.
Travel agents want an array of airline content and, with Amadeus, airlines are connected to the largest network of travel sellers globally
The Amadeus Travel Platform gives airlines access to the biggest network of travel sellers worldwide, which means they can distribute their NDC offers to a wide audience. They can leverage our Travel Platform to integrate their NDC API, so travel sellers can buy and service offers quickly and efficiently. Airlines can also seamlessly distribute their content using Altéa NDC into the Amadeus Travel Platform with a simplified ‘no hands’ implementation thanks to Amadeus NDC Connect.
With Amadeus, airline NDC offers will be visible for travel agents in one merged display with non-NDC offers. This means they can easily search and book content via NDC in their usual booking environment; be it through the cloud based Amadeus Selling Platform Connect solution, the Travel API, or the online booking tool Amadeus cytric Travel and Expense. Ultimately, travel sellers are looking for differentiated content that appeals to their travelers – and Amadeus offers access to this content to suit all kinds of players be it retail, online, business travel agencies or corporations. And importantly, they benefit from 24/7 customer service, quick on-boarding, training and more – so they can focus on servicing their customers without having to bother calling airline call centers to add services or make changes.
Enhanced retailing experience
Retailers such as Amazon have set very high expectations in customers in terms of service, speed and offer. From inspiration to shopping, the payment experience, and overall customer service, all have become instant. These effects of the new digital world are rapidly spilling over to the travel industry. 71% of consumers desire aconsistent experience across any channel and 68% would pay more to the company that provides great service.
With NDC, airlines too can enhance the retailing experience and optimize their distribution strategy in real-time in all NDC channels. This can be achieved in a very short time with the capabilities ofAmadeus Altéa NDC andAmadeus Anytime Merchandising . These solutions give airlines control over how their flights and ancillary products are presented and sold. Additionally, they give airlines the ability to quickly and easily connect to existing and new partners, expanding the distribution reach from airlines through metasearch, social media and other new innovative touchpoints.
Instant and dynamic notifications
With NDC, airlines can build relevant offers at the right time in their different channels, which helps further strengthen their brand. For example, airlines can deliver more tailored bundles to corporate customers through NDC across all relevant channels. With instant and dynamic notifications, as well as customized communications, passengers can receive updates on NDC bookings from their travel agency as changes occur.For example, they can get information about additional available services, flight changes or even lockdown and travel restriction measures taken by the destination’s authorities.
Innovative, future-proof, and scalable solutions
There are still many differences in the way airlines deliver content via NDC. However, at Amadeus we are integrating the NDC content ensuring there is a full normalization of the different versions and flows used by airlines for the travel sellers . Airlineswill just need to set up their merchandising policy in one place, and thanks to the capabilities of Amadeus Altéa NDC it will replicate in all channels, both direct and indirect – meaning there’s no need to sync policies due to the single NDC flow and omnichannel servicing.
For travel sellers, we take care of the complexities of integration, so they can search, book and manage different airlines’ NDC and other content in the same and efficient way. We offer complete integration and interoperability, to ensure there is full end-to-end integration of content via NDC in the travel seller’s environment. With this, travel agents are more likely to adopt NDC and book these new airline offers.
We are inviting our airline customers to join theNDC journey now. So, everyone can start benefiting from the opportunities modern retailing brings.
This is the value that only Amadeus can offer today. We are the only technology provider that holistically and, across different user interfaces, delivers end-to-end NDC integration and servicing with the performance, scalability, market reach, and global support that meet the strategic objectives of our airline and travel seller partners. We are committed to make NDC work across the industry together with our customers and rebuild travel for the future.
So, are you ready for a new world of possibilities? Are you ready to drive NDC forward with us?
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