Here comes the NDC...

TPCONNECTS – an
agnostic travel booking
software platform – is
officially the first aggregator
to fully implement the NDC
standard in the SA market.
The platform, which aims
to make the process of
selling ancillary products
more efficient, has been
integrated with all major
GDSs, hotel aggregators
and car and transfer
suppliers. It aggregates
this content on one screen
and presents it in such a
way that travel agents will
be in a better position to
compare bookings and offer
better value to customers,
says Kristine Fernandez,
TPConnects director of
business development. “For
a TMC, this cuts the time
it takes to complete the
booking process by up to
almost 50%.”
Kristine explains that
TPConnects enables airlines
to distribute the same
differentiated content as
found on their websites –
such as seats, preferred
meals, duty-free products
and chauffeur services. “In
2014, air travellers spent
an estimated US$28,5bn
(R384bn) on ancillary
options,” she says.
TPConnects is currently in
the final stages of signing
up four large South African
travel agencies, says
Kristine. “South Africa is
an important market for
TPConnects because of the
vast amount of corporate
travel that happens in
and out of SA. A number
of agencies have shown
interest and we are in talks
with most of them.”
The introduction of
TPConnects in the market
comes at a time when
travel agents are looking
for more information on the
opportunities associated
with the NDC. This is
according to the study ‘NDC:
Travel Agencies’ Enabler to
Success’ released by Iata in
conjunction with the World
Travel Agents Associations
Alliance.
Among the findings
revealed in the report
is travel agents’ use of
multiple channels to book
flights and the need to
respond to airlines’ evolving
product strategies. “Our
study shows that the
majority of agents feel
airline websites have an
advantage over GDSs in
terms of content,” says Otto
De Vries, ceo of Asata.
The study shows that,
on average, 76% of
travel agencies book
airline ancillary products
and services, mostly
through airline websites.
Participants expressed
their concern that moving
back and forth between
screen displays led to less
productivity. The majority
of agents who participated
in the study believe NDC
can help them be more
competitive and customerfocused
in this regard.
However, agents also feel
that NDC providers have not yet provided an acceptable
level of detail regarding how
they intend to bring NDC
to market. A South African
travel agency owner was
quoted as saying: “We keep
asking our GDS and airline
reps for specifics about NDC,
and all we get are blank
stares and ‘I don’t know’s’.”
The aggregator role in
an NDC environment is
the role that is performed
by the GDS in today’s
environment, explains Perry
Flint, Iata head of corporate
communications for the
Americas. They aggregate
fares and schedules from
multiple airlines and present
them to the travel agent.
“NDC contemplates a similar
role, which could be fulfilled
by today’s GDS – or by a new
entrant into the market.”
However, Kristine is quick
to point out that TPConnects
does not bypass the GDS
but rather connects all
players, integrating suppliers
into a central platform. “We
are an IT provider, not a
content provider. We’re only
connecting all the different
systems and presenting
them as one.” Commission
structures travel agents
have in place with their
current GDS will continue
uninterrupted, says Kristine.
However, she adds that
TPConnects also plans to
work with airlines directly.
“We are currently working
with an airline in the Middle
East that is likely to become
the first ‘holistic’ customer,”
she says. This modular
approach helps airlines
to retail travel products,
deliver rich content and
bundle offers. “If an airline
is offering ancillary revenue
through a GDS such as
Amadeus or Sabre, our
system will automatically
pick it up. If there is no
ancillary revenue offered by
the airline, then the airline
has the choice to sign up for
TPConnects’ merchandising
option to offer certain
ancillaries.”
TPConnects is a Dubaibased
technology and
distribution company, which
was founded in 2014. The
company is currently active
in the UAE, India, Sri Lanka,
the UK, Germany and the US
and provides travel agents
in these countries with
cloud-based travel booking
software.