FLIGHT Centre Travel Group
(FCTG) will be the first TMC
in South Africa to unveil an
improved graphical user
interface of the NDC-enabled
Amadeus Selling Platform
Connect, NDC-X.
FCTG will start making
NDC bookings via the new
integrated solution on
Amadeus in the coming
months.
FCTG SA has been
selected because it is an
important Amadeus partner
in several markets, Amadeus
says, and it has a presence
in both leisure and business
travel.
The key takeaway of
this new programme is to
ensure that all air content
is available to experts
and customers in a single
technology solution, which
will deliver choice and
will allow for increased
productivity, says Sue
Garrett, gm of product and
marketing at FCTG SA.
“We are testing NDC-X in a
contained test environment
at this stage. We are working
closely with Amadeus and
our global teams to scope
out changes required from a
South African perspective,”
says Sue.
The upgraded NDC-X will
enable users to access a
large range of content and
compare flights and bundles
from multiple sources. The
platform will show availability
of content that includes
hotels and low-cost carriers,
and the group is currently
testing Lufthansa content.
The system is designed
to create an end-to-end
workflow to “meet the needs
of all constituents”, said
Amadeus in a statement.
Amadeus has been working
with airlines and travel
seller partners to design
the system. The new design
incorporates feedback from
Flight Centre and Amadeus’s
other NDC programme
partners.
The platform will offer
airlines greater flexibility to
merchandise their products
and will support better and
faster adoption of NDC.
The platform will also make
it easier to train and upskill
travel sellers.
The upgraded interface will
be rolled out in a phased
approach, starting in the
second quarter of the year.
For more on this story,
see TNW’s Travel Technology
feature on page 6.
