SINCE IATA announced it
will begin implementing
the New Distribution
Capability (NDC) on a
voluntary basis, the GDSs
have confirmed that they too
will begin to implement NDC
connectivity standards.
The United States
Department of Transportation
(DOT) recently granted final
approval to Resolution 787,
which is the foundation
document for the NDC.
Iata is currently in year
three of its five-year roadmap
towards full implementation
of the voluntary standard.
The association reveals
that the next big step will
involve the public release
of the first comprehensive
set of end-to-end schemas
– concerning shopping and
order management, booking,
payment and ticketing. “These
schemas are expected to be
available shortly,” says Perry
Flint, Iata’s head of corporate
communications for the
Americas.
He says Iata will continue
to work with airlines, travel
management companies,
online travel agencies,
corporate buyers, global
distribution systems and other
technology players through
a number of forums and
working groups, at industry
events as well as through the
participation in NDC pilots.
“Pilot programmes are a very
important aspect of the NDC
implementation. Five were
carried out in 2013, two more
got underway earlier this year,
and new pilot participants
Aeroflot, Aer Lingus and Qatar
Airways were announced at the
Iata annual general meeting in
Doha in June.
Travelport has been
proactively working with
airlines to connect via XML
based connectivity, with the
new technology at the heart
of its merchandising platform
and agency booking flow. With
the implementation of the
NDC standards beginning,
the GDS will continue to work
with airline partners as and
when they choose to use NDC
standards as the basis for
their XML schemes.
Sabre says that like many
others in the industry, it is
working with Iata to define
additional NDC XML schema
for the airline industry. The
company says it has flexible
technology options and is
able to utilise the connectivity
preference of its customers.
Amadeus is also already
working with a number of
airline customers, playing a
significant role in developing
the functionality of the
distribution. “We are investing
in XML connectivity and have
been for several years. We
have already launched EMD,
Ancillary Services, Media
Solutions, Fare Families
worldwide, and we are working
on multiple other projects,”
says Peter Long, gm of
Amadeus Southern Africa.
“By restricting its approval
to the creation of an XML
standard for communication as
it has done, the DOT has left
the development of business
models and other key activities
to the market and we fully
endorse this approach,
particularly as the approval
also includes adoption of all
those conditions submitted
by Open Allies and others,
relating to privacy, data
ownership and compatibility
with existing standards,”
he adds
