Article · March 2, 2023

NDC: a new era for airline distribution?

The standard that is reshaping how air travel is sold

NDC modernises the distribution and sale of air tickets and ancillary services. Launched in the early 2010s, adoption has been slow - because it forces the industry to rethink existing business models.

For the travel industry, NDC - New Distribution Capability - modernises and simplifies the distribution and sale of air tickets and their attached services, for airlines, aggregators and agencies alike.

The standard, launched in the early 2010s, has been slow to be adopted across the sector: implementing it means questioning the business models the industry has been built on.

A little history

For more than thirty years, the travel industry has relied on GDSs (Global Distribution Systems) to aggregate airline content - available seats, schedules, fares, special conditions - and make it available to travel agencies.

That model has two major limitations. First, GDS distribution costs weigh heavily on airlines. Second, the underlying technology, EDIFACT (Electronic Data Interchange for Administration), dates back to the 1970s and is now obsolete: its constraints prevent airlines from evolving the way they distribute fares and from simply offering their new services.

Hence the idea of a new model - and the birth of NDC.

An article by IMPACT CONSULTANTS.

IMPACT CONSULTANTS
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