Introducing the NDC Offer Repository – A solution to the NDC scalability challenge

July 4, 2022

Last updated: November 16, 2022

3 Min read

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Angel Gallego

Executive Vice President, Travel Distribution, Amadeus

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Airlines and digital travel retailers have showed the value they can deliver together, but there is a demand from both players to change the rules of the game in order for the relationship to truly flourish.

Changing the rules of the game is only part of the solution. There needs to be a change in where and how the game takes place, while keeping the same referee and making sure that the spectators are satisfied.

There are some very specific challenges related to how airlines and digital travel retailers deal with travelers who are still at the inspiration stage of their journey, looking at city pair options, prices, departure dates, etc. Problems arise when these low-intent-to-book searches hit airline IT systems because airline systems have to respond to these general queries as quickly and as accurately as if the traveler was close to conversion. Today, the costs of returning results in NDC for these use cases where there is little chance of a sale, are the same as when the traveler is about to complete the purchase.

IATA refers to these as the NDC scalability challenges in the leisure market and released awhite paper on the subject back in 2019.

Amadeus has not only taken on board the market dynamics highlighted by IATA but also listened to what our airlines, online travel agencies, metasearch engines and other leisure travel partners have to say. We have come up with a proposed community-based solution which will change the dynamics of how airlines and digital travel retailers will work together in the future.

We are calling this the NDC Offer Repository and today release a white paper of our own which maps out our initial ideas. We believe that there is a way to take the best of what NDC is offering already today and extend it so that digital travel retailers can access NDC content in a more scalable way at the inspiration stage. Airlines will be able to generate more revenue from being present earlier in the shopping process; digital travel players will have access to more airline inventory and will be able to leverage airline NDC content for their more innovative use cases; travelers will have a wider choice and a better digital experience.

Our Offer Repository will be optional for airlines, because we understand that not all carriers are impacted by the scalability challenge. We see it as an evolution of the existing standard which reinforces the philosophy that underpinned the launch of NDC nearly ten years ago - giving airlines autonomy and control over how their inventory is sold by third parties.

IATA is setting up specific working groups to look at the options. The NDC Offer Repository is a work in progress and we welcome and encourage feedback to our proposal.

Overcoming the challenges with search at the inspiration stage is critical to how airline tickets will be sold in the future. The work starts now.

Want to learn more about the NDC Offer Repository?Download the white paper !

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