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Airlink, the leading airline in Southern Africa, will commence the adoption of New Distribution Capabilities (NDC) in its dealings with the travel sector starting July 31, 2024.
This move to implement NDC (version 21.3) comes after over a year of meticulous effort by Airlink’s commercial division to refine and upgrade the airline’s distribution capabilities, ensuring they remain aligned with global advancements in distribution practices.
The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) NDC revolutionizes the interaction between airlines and their trade partners, offering travel content in a more comprehensive format aimed at enhancing the shopping experience, booking process, and opportunities for upselling for agents.
NDC is introduced as a replacement for the outdated Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce, and Transport (EDIFACT) protocol, which dates back to the 1980s.
“By introducing NDC, Airlink and its industry partners can start taking advantage of the way airlines content is made available. Importantly, this allows us to reduce costs while also enhancing our competitiveness,” said Rodger Foster, CEO and Managing Director, Airlink.
“The introduction of IATA NDC by Airlink will provide our partner agents with an unparalleled level of service and access to richer content. Partner agents can seamlessly service their bookings, manage ancillary services, provide real-time updates, and resolve customer inquiries promptly,” added Mr Foster.
“Ultimately, this is about ensuring Airlink remains abreast of industry best practices while strengthening long-term sustainability and providing significantly-enhanced benefits for our trade partners and joint customers,” he said.
Airlink collaborated with Thomalex in developing and testing its NDC solution. This partnership has now been expanded, with Thomalex appointed as Airlink’s initial NDC aggregator partner. However, to broaden Airlink’s global NDC reach, the airline will continuously evaluate additional connectivity solutions and potential partners for future integration.
For continuity, all Airlink published fares currently accessible to the travel trade via the traditional GDS EDIFACT channel will remain unchanged. However, trade partners will need to transition to NDC to access additional content and preferential terms on Airlink sectors booked and traveled in C, J, Y, K, and H classes from July 31, 2024, to July 30, 2026.
Starting July 31, 2024, a partial distribution cost recovery charge will be imposed on agents utilizing the traditional EDIFACT channel for domestic, regional, and global distribution markets. The initial cost recovery amounts per sector are as follows:
- Domestic (POS ZA): USD 6.00
- Regional (POS Africa): USD 9.00
- Global (Rest of World): USD 11.00
Background on NDC:
NDC is a data exchange format built on Offer and Order management processes, enabling airlines to create and distribute relevant offers to customers across various distribution channels.
It is supported by the travel industry and launched by IATA to develop and promote market adoption of a new XML-based data transmission standard (NDC Standard). This standard enhances communication and capabilities between airlines and travel agents and is open for implementation and use by any third party, intermediary, IT provider, or non-IATA member.
Airlink has implemented Amadeus Altea NDC, version 21.3.
The post Airlink Embarks on a New Era by Adopting IATA’s New Distribution Capability for Enhanced Travel Services in Southern Africa appeared first on Travel And Tour World.
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