RESULTS of IATA’s study to look at how its New Distribution Capability (NDC) can benefit travel agents have been released, revealing that most consultants believe NDC will be of value to them and are hoping to know more about the IATA-led, industry initiative.
The study, done in collaboration with the World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAAA), finds that on average, 76 per cent of travel agencies book airline ancillary products and services with most using airline websites to do so, rather than via GDSs.
Travel consultants are concerned about the loss of productivity associated with moving back and forth between their standard screen displays and airline websites in order to book ancillary options, as GDSs are technologically limited in providing greater retailing options.
The study further finds that a majority of consultants believe NDC can help them be more competitive and customer-focused and will make selling airline ancillary products more efficient, and that they should be compensated for selling these add-on offers.
It is thus NDC’s goal to develop a new, XML-based data transmission standard that is intended to enhance communications between airlines and travel consultants.
Currently, air travel distribution systems are based on pre-Internet message protocols that are inflexible, disallowing many modern retail website features such as customised offers. This is seen as disadvantageous for travel consultants, as products and services found directly on airline websites are often more robust.
“The study bears out that the travel agent channel as currently situated is not able to efficiently meet all the needs of air travellers. NDC will address this gap by enabling efficient access to content that currently is available only on airline websites,” said Aleks Popovich, senior vice president financial and distribution services, IATA.
The study also revealed that the development of branded fares, sometimes referred to as fare families, has created some confusion in the travel agency community. Around one in four travel agencies are uncertain whether they book fare families or branded fares.
