Iata’s NDC guru has hit back with a tongue-in-cheek response to GDS companies’ comments that they are ahead of the curve when it comes to the NDC and its capabilities.
Eric Leopold, Iata’s director of passenger services, in his latest entry on Iata’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) blog, addresses the issue of whether or not GDSs are “behind or ahead of NDC”.
This comes after Travel Weekly recently ran the article: ‘GDS companies’ say they’re way ahead of Iata initiative’, in which Amadeus and Travelport said they already had products in the market with capabilities that Iata said its NDC would deliver. The article followed the roll out of a video demonstrating how Iata’s NDC would work at the recent Iata AGM.
“Travelport argues that capabilities demonstrated in the NDC video can be implemented by other technologies. I agree! The value of an industry standard is not to be different or better: it is to be common, so that systems can inter-operate and customers can compare.
“Amadeus argues that it has capabilities that NDC would enable. I agree! The NDC standard is not inventing merchandising or XML. Vendors like Amadeus and Travelport have got merchandising and XML capabilities. The NDC standard provides the industry with a common data exchange format, rather than a myriad of non-compatible, proprietary, vendor-owned, technical solutions.”
He continues: “Travel agents and corporate travel buyers will be pleased to hear that two GDSs recognise the value of industry standards – I thought we knew this already – and have the technology to support NDC.
“The capabilities shown in the NDC video are coming to your screens very soon,” Eric concludes.
To view Iata’s NDC video click here.
‘Are GDSs behind or ahead of NDC?’ - Iata
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