APG touts new NDC-compliant platform with lower distribution cost

Sandrine de Saint Sauveur, president & CEO of APG

APG, the Paris-based GSA airline representation network, is touting benefits for airlines of all sizes through its newly launched NDC-compliant platform, given the lower distribution cost relative to traditional GDSs.

Commenting on the APG Platform, powered by Orchestra, Sandrine de Saint Sauveur, president & CEO of APG, said: “Not all airlines are equal. Some are more advanced and sophisticated than others. Our platform allows even small airlines to showcase their rich content and to sell it through travel agents, whereas in the past airlines had relied on their own websites.”

de Saint Sauveur: APG Platform a solution for airlines of all sizes

She added that the platform enables airlines of all sizes to sell ancillaries and show product differentiation through the platform. “It allows smaller airlines to change their marketing not just base it on the old school of load factor, price and flying time.”

At the recent APG World Connect 2018 launch in Monaco, de Saint Sauveur shared that 12 airlines were already connected to the platform with more to come after the commercial contracts have been signed.

Iskandar Abdullah, regional vice president and board member of the APG Network, as well as group president, APG Malaysia & APG Singapore, said: “Some airlines from Africa have already signed up and we expect some major ones in Europe, the US and Asia to sign up soon. There are more than 200 airlines already linked to the APG Interline E-Ticketing (APG IET) hub and these can easily be converted to our APG Platform with rich content.”

APG also has content from car rental companies, hotels, tour packages and cruise excursions, among others, which travel agencies connect to through APG’s 110 offices around the world specialising in commercial and fulfilment of sales through direct distribution.

“We are the only organisation with travel agency licensing to do fulfilment and assist our airline clients to access another channel of distribution,” stressed de Saint Sauveur.

Meanwhile, commenting on NDC, Montserrat Barriga, director general European Regions Airlines Association, opined that small and medium sized airlines have started to realise that NDC gives them an opportunity to earn ancillary revenue, beyond the limitations of their own platforms.

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