NDC New Distribution Capability Airline Distribution

 

What is New Distribution Capability (NDC)?

 

NDC (New Distribution Capability) is a travel industry-supported program (NDC Program) launched by IATA to develop and market a new XML-based data transmission standard. The NDC Standard enhances communication between airlines and travel agencies and can be implemented and used by any third party, intermediary, IT supplier, or non-IATA member.

NDC in the airline industry gives airlines more control over distribution, allowing them to offer highly personalized and distinctive products and services. Furthermore, NDC for airlines enables new and innovative travel experiences. NDC strives to provide a seamless shopping experience for travelers while giving airlines more control over their product offerings and direct connect aggregator options.

For Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), the integration of an NDC conversion tool opens up a world of new opportunities. It gives them direct access to real-time offers and content from airlines, allowing them to provide their customers with highly accurate and current information. This integration also makes it easier to create innovative booking experiences, dynamic packaging, and personalized recommendations, all of which help to increase conversion rates and customer loyalty.

 

NDC Level 4 Certification from IATA

 

FlightsLogic is NDC Level 4 Certified, and this Level 4 NDC certification enables us to participate in the NDC Registry, which lists all organizations that are NDC-Certified or NDC-Capable in accordance with the IATA NDC Guide. 

Our NDC Capable Level 4 Certification will allow travel agencies to access NDC content without incurring additional GDS fees, expand their airline content with ancillaries and competitive rates from various airlines, and offer flight tickets and ancillaries to worldwide clients. 

We partnered with NDC (New Distribution Capability) to provide end-to-end integration of airline content based on client needs via NDC Connectivity. It may be implemented by any business, including an IT supplier, an intermediary, a third party, or a non-IATA member, to drive forward the NDC and ease airline distribution globally. NDC facilitates revenue growth, cost reduction, and increased customer engagement. NDC enables airlines to modernize their product sales to travel agents, corporations, and passengers. 

Our proprietary system allows us to continuously adopt NDC as it becomes available from airlines, providing travelers with a choice between our NDC solution and global distribution systems. At FlightsLogic, we specialize in tailor-made NDC platform creation services that perfectly align with your airline's needs. Our development team works closely with you to understand your objectives and specifications.

As a leading NDC service provider, we develop solutions that allow you to provide richer content and personalized fare options, thereby improving the traveler booking experience. Adopting NDC strengthens partnerships, improves offerings, and positions your airline for a competitive advantage.

 

How NDCs Work?

 

Step 1: Implementation and Integration

 

Airlines integrate the NDC standard into their systems and then update their offerings, fares, and ancillary services to match the NDC format.

 

Step 2: API Connectivity

 

NDC APIs are integrated into distribution channels' systems, such as travel agencies and aggregators, allowing them to connect directly to NDC-supporting airline systems.

 

Step 3: Search Inquiries

 

A consumer begins a flight search by entering travel preferences, dates, and destinations into a distribution channel's user interface.

 

Step 4: Real-Time Queries And Personalized Offers

 

The distribution channel sends a real-time query to the airline's NDC API, which processes it and generates a personalized offer based on the consumer's information. It includes various fare options, seat choices, and additional services tailored to the traveler’s profile.

 

Step 5: Booking & Confirmation

 

The traveler selects their preferred options from the personalized offer, and the distribution channel sends a booking request to the airline's NDC bookings system. The airline confirms the reservation, issues an electronic ticket, and communicates the booking information to the traveler and distribution channel for itinerary management and post-booking services.

 

Why NDC?

 

NDC enables the travel industry to transform the way air products are sold to corporations, leisure, and business travelers by addressing the industry's current distribution constraints, such as product differentiation and time-to-market, access to complete and rich air content, and a transparent shopping experience.

Basically, NDC is a communication protocol meant to replace the obsolete EDIFACT protocol, which has been in use since the 1980s and is used by GDSs. A new XML protocol enables the delivery of rich information and ancillaries directly to online travel agencies, GDSs, and travel management businesses via a set of standard APIs commonly used in the travel industry. XML is significantly more versatile and scalable. Finally, NDC solutions will help airlines achieve their primary goal of selling ancillary services.

Through this Level 4 Certification, travel agencies may benefit from unique NDC Content without incurring additional GDS charges and increase their airline content with the best flight rates and ancillaries to optimize flight ticket reservations and revenue. The NDC initiative aims to provide a standardized framework that will allow airlines to provide customized offers, auxiliary services, and pricing alternatives in real time. 

It fosters more efficient and customer-centric interactions, which helps airlines differentiate their products in a competitive market. NDC's API enables airlines to differentiate their products while seamlessly distributing airline data to online travel agents (OTAs), resulting in a better customer experience and increased airline profits.

Increase control over their distribution strategy, allowing for more unique solutions and reducing dependency on third-party distributors.
To distinguish and promote beyond a simple, text-based price sort, and generate new income through expanding offers, including extra products and services.
Reduce distribution expenses by implementing surcharges in the GDS and leveraging commercial agreements with distribution firms.
Increase traveler engagement by gaining information about consumer preferences and providing tailored promotions.

In the ever-changing environment of the airline business, maintaining competitiveness and achieving consumer expectations are critical. The New Distribution Capability, often known as NDC, is a fundamental technology development that has transformed how airlines operate and connect with passengers. TMC may gain access to air ancillaries and rich content such as internet, luggage, meals, and seat selection during and after the booking process via NDC.

The NDC's goal is to address the limitations and difficulties of the traditional airline distribution system, which relies heavily on obsolete systems and protocols to disseminate pricing, availability, and related services to travel agents and online travel agencies. 

NDC encourages innovation in the travel industry by allowing developers and technology companies to create new applications, tools, and platforms that improve the travel experience. With NDC, airlines can tailor offers to individual travelers based on their preferences, travel history, and loyalty status.

 

New Distribution Capability (NDC) Advantages

 

Personalized offer creation : The NDC flow enables airlines to personalize their customer experience. As a result, GDSs, OTAs, TMCs, and other distributors can provide tailored offers to end users — travelers.

Flexible, real-time ticket pricing : Currently, most airlines publish their tariffs through the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO), which has become the primary source of pricing information. It stands between airline revenue management teams and distributors, preventing prices from being quickly adjusted to changing demand. NDC enables carriers to use dynamic pricing or tailor fares in real time based on market conditions and passenger profiles.

Reduced dependency on legacy systems :  Most airlines rely on legacy PSSs, which may have poor performance and a variety of other limitations because PSS providers lag behind in modernization. An NDC-capable engine operates outside of legacy systems and can present information from PSS databases via airlines' private interfaces.

Rich shopper experience: Airlines that use EDIFACT can only distribute limited flight information. For example, they cannot sell additional services through third-party vendors. This results in financial losses because carriers rely heavily on ancillaries for profit. The NDC addresses this issue by allowing carriers to merchandise.

• excess baggage,

• extra legroom,

• onboard WiFi and entertainment,

• pre-ordered meals,

• day of departure changes and upgrades,

• carbon offsets, and more.

Apart from that, NDC enables airlines to provide distributors with images, detailed product descriptions, promotional messages, comprehensive seat maps with pricing information, and other flight-related content. In addition, resellers can allow customers to choose seats, use different forms of payment, and use loyalty program miles or points.

Avoiding GDS surcharges: Travel managers can avoid the additional fees or surcharges that airlines impose on bookings made through the GDS, resulting in cost savings and increased control over travel arrangements.

Better data management: NDC delivers complete and accurate data on airline reservations, allowing travel managers to manage and evaluate their programs. It can assist them in identifying cost-cutting opportunities and improve traveler satisfaction.

Enhanced Customer Experience: NDC in the airline industry enables airlines to offer passengers personalized, bundled travel products and services. This level of customization promotes superior customer experiences, thereby increasing brand loyalty.

 

Why Choose FlightsLogic?

 

FlightsLogic has been the top choice for airlines and travel agents looking to improve air content distribution transparency, lower operating costs, and expand their travel businesses globally. We've been working with airlines, travel agents, travel agencies, and consumers to streamline the airline distribution process by solving restrictions in product differentiation, rich information access, and shopping experience.

NDC Airline offers several advantages for airlines, travel brokers, GDSs, IT suppliers, and travel startups and organizations. We are committed to driving NDC forward in order to provide additional retail benefits to travel industry businesses.

Using our NDC Level 4 Certification status, travel agencies may gain access to exclusive NDC Content, such as competitive ticket rates from a variety of airlines, as well as ancillaries such as seat upgrades, luggage, and onboard meals, in order to improve the passenger booking experience and maximize flight sales. 

As the world's largest distribution platform and the leading provider of IT solutions to airlines, FlightsLogic benefits from distinct capabilities in both IT and distribution. This critical distinction enables us to minimize time to market while also developing and executing global end-to-end transactions, including IT and distribution capabilities. We are committed to being at the forefront of NDC discussions and assisting our customers in making the best decisions for their travelers.

Our goal in bringing NDC content on board is to retain our distinct global marketplace, which combines innovative technologies and trustworthy services to suit all our clients' requirements.

FlightsLogic, a trusted partner in NDC integration for airlines, provides expertise, tailored solutions, and ongoing support to help airlines and OTAs navigate the complexities of this innovative technology and realize its full potential. By collaborating with FlightsLogic, you can stay ahead of the competition, improve the customer experience, and increase revenue. 

 

Benefits Of NDC For Airlines:

 

• Enable airlines to consolidate and present all travel inventory in a single platform

• Offer customized packages based on customer preferences

• Efficient airline distribution

• Sell ancillary services

• Deliver rich airline content to customers

• Add airline products to their product offering and increase sales capability.

 

How can travel companies benefit from New Distribution Capability ?

 

In travel, NDC is a data transfer standard intended to address the limitations of legacy distribution systems like GDS. In an increasingly competitive airline industry, service providers must distinguish themselves by providing ancillary services and tailoring offers.

Online travel agencies, travel management companies, and corporate travel management tools can reduce their reliance on Global Distribution Systems by using NDC in travel supplies. 

The NDC Standard enhances airline and travel agency communication capabilities. The NDC Standard is open for implementation and usage by any third party, intermediary, IT provider, or non-IATA member.

Airlines appreciate the role of NDC in the travel industry and consider the new standard as a business enabler. It enables them to distribute a wide range of content and provide information on ancillaries such as meals, Wi-Fi, and baggage booking. The New Distribution Capability (NDC) is a popular technological innovation that promises to bridge the gap between airlines, travel agencies, OTAs, TMCs, and travel consultants.

NDCs help travel managers, online travel agencies, and travel management companies to provide business travelers with a better booking experience. The airline distribution system has been around for a while. It gives Travel Agents a single point of contact for booking tickets, researching pricing offers, and requesting ancillary services based on customer needs. 

The distribution system began with CRS, which linked agents with airlines to automate the ticketing and booking processes.

 

Conclusion: Future-Proofing Your Business with NDC

 

New Distribution Capability (NDC) represents the future of airline distribution and is critical to success in the digital age. As an accredited NDC integrator, FlightsLogic can help you implement NDC quickly and efficiently. Our experienced team of NDC experts guides businesses through all stages of implementation, providing consulting, advisory, development, and testing services.

In conclusion, implementing NDC technology in airlines is a strategic move that has the potential to transform how airlines interact with customers, streamline operations, and remain competitive in a rapidly changing industry. The ultimate goal of the NDC platform for airlines is to provide a more personalized and seamless booking experience for customers, all while giving airlines more control over their distribution channels and the ability to offer a wider range of additional products and services.

If you're ready to take your airline's distribution capabilities to the next level through NDC integration, consider FlightsLogic, a leading provider of NDC integration services. Our NDC API development and connectivity solutions are designed to help airlines succeed in today's travel environment. NDC streamlines the booking process by providing real-time access to inventory, pricing, and availability information. This simplification improves conversion rates and increases customer satisfaction.

FlightsLogic works closely with airlines to identify all channels for NDC implementation, including the airline's website, mobile app, and travel agent partnerships. By carefully evaluating each channel, FlightsLogic can determine the best path for NDC rollout for maximum impact.