THE IAG Group, consisting
of British Airways and Iberia,
is expanding the exclusive
content that it offers through
its NDC channels.
Roll-out will be implemented
gradually across routes with
lowest fare options reflecting
solely through NDC channels.
No-bag basic fares will be
removed from the GDS.
According to an IAG
statement, Iberia will offer
its basic fares on selected
domestic routes through NDC
solutions from mid-December.
BA would gradually roll out
exclusive NDC content on its
European routes during 2020.
IAG is rolling out Long
Haul Additional Price Points
propositions, giving agents
access to more fare options
across a number of routes,
including those in the North
Atlantic region. Some Short
Haul Additional Price Point
propositions are already in
place, giving agents access
to more fare options when
booking via NDC channels.
IAG says the decision is
driven by agent demand with
more than 4 000 agencies
around the world connected to
the group’s NDC APIs directly
or via aggregator services,
facilitating access to a richer
and more complete airline
inventory than through legacy
systems, says the group.
A local spokesperson for BA
told TNW there were no plans
to remove the basic fare from
the SA-London route, adding
that the airline continued to
see growth in bookings made
through NDC connections in
SA. “We do not yet have any
commercial agreement for the
GDSs to distribute our NDC
content so basic fares will
not be distributed by GDSs
after they are withdrawn from
standard GDS content.”
IAG’s mass NDC adoption
plans follow its Iata Level 4
NDC certification. They are
also on track to achieve NDC
@Scale Certification, the
highest level, by the end of
2019 and acknowledges that
the airlines have a minimum
set of recognised capabilities
to drive high volumes of NDC
transactions.
