LH’s Direct Connect delivers better pricing and more content

EARLIER this year, TNW surveyed
agents, asking them what
their feelings were about Iata’s
NDC (New Distribution Capability).
Chief among participants’ concerns
were that it could compromise
consultants’ productivity; it would
require additional agent training; and
it would allow clients to bypass travel
agents.
The integration of Lufthansa’s
Direct Connect into TTS’s online
booking solution, Travelit, puts paid
to these fears, says Tourvest. In fact,
it has helped the group secure better
pricing and a wider range of content.
There is no change to how agents
and corporate clients book tickets
because these are made through
the Travelit system. Pricing of
Direct Connect fares is also more
competitive because bookings are
not subject to the €16 (R263) GDS
surcharge and prices are on a par
with those available on Lufthansa’s
website, says Dr André Schulz, gm
Lufthansa Group Southern Africa. As
a Direct Connect partner, TTS has
access to exclusive fares.
Philip Katz, ceo of Travelit, adds
that direct connections shorten the
supply chain between airlines and
their customers, enabling the former
to offer better pricing.
In the future, the solution will also
enable TTS agents and corporate
clients to book tickets and ancillaries
within a single workflow, resulting in
further time savings.
Philip is excited about how the NDC
will dramatically increase the amount
of choice that agents can offer their
clients. He says while working within
the parameters of the GDS, airlines
are restricted to no more than 26
fare classes; the NDC does away
with this restriction. The limit is a
result of fare classes being assigned
letters of the alphabet.
He explains that, instead of offering
fares, airlines will respond to agent
requests with offers through the
NDC. There will be no limit on the
number of offers an airline can serve
and these can be specifically tailored
to a particular client.
Lufthansa expects to roll out
differentiated offers in the next
few months, says Claudia Noack,
account manager at Lufthansa.
One of the other benefits of the
NDC is that it will mean the death
of ADMs. Philip says because the
airline will present agents with
offers based on a request, the
airline controls the offer and this
eliminates any chance for error on
the agent’s side.
At present, TTS is the only TMC in
South Africa that has signed up for
the Direct Connect solution. Claudia
says the airline is in advanced
discussions with other TMCs to roll
out this solution.