Delta Air Lines has said that it will begin trialling the first iteration of NDC with select partners later this year, but stands fast on making sure the retail market’s needs are met.
“We want to elevate the entire corporate travel ecosystem,” said Sara Reid, MD and Sales Innovation & Business Development for the airline. She was speaking on a panel at the Elevate + TravelConnect 2024 conference, reports Travel Weekly.
To ensure a successful rollout, the carrier is engaging with various parties within the travel industry to understand their current needs and challenges.
“Delta is working with all stakeholders within the travel ecosystem (corporates, agencies and GDSs) to build the right capabilities and will roll it out when the technology is mature enough to be successful in the marketplace,” Jimmy Eichelgruen, Delta’s Director of Sales for Africa, Middle East & India told Travel News. “Customer and partner feedback will guide our approach, and we will work closely with all our stakeholders to ensure our customers’ most important needs are met.”
Avoiding mistakes
Reid said the airline’s existing distribution strategy has not changed and that the intention is to implement an NDC solution when the airline is ready to provide thorough servicing capabilities.
“We believe that if this journey is done right, servicing will be better than it is in the Edifact world,” she said.
When American Airlines changed its distribution strategy and moved an enormous amount of its content over exclusively to NDC and other direct channels a year ago, it sparked backlash from travel agents worldwide, including the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA). Travel Weekly reported that some of the issues ASTA flagged were:
- The inability to reserve bookings,
- Air bookings must first be completed before an agent can book air travel, car rental and accommodation,
- There is no virtual payment capability,
- The NDC does not support rules or custom fields, which are key for agencies that manage corporate accounts.
According to Eichelgruen, Delta believes new technology should be introduced to the market only when it is mature enough to maximise its benefits and minimise risks.
“It is critically important to not only have transparent display and booking capabilities, but also the necessary servicing capabilities required to deliver a seamless traveller experience,” he said.
