Speaking at the “NDC is coming – what does it mean for the travel manager?” panel on the first day of the show, Mark Cuschieri, ITM chairman and executive director, group corporate services, global travel management, UBS, said: “It could be beneficial. We’re on version 15.2, since the first test four years ago. It’s not happening fast enough.”
Currently, several airlines are selling through NDC standards, including British Airways and Lufthansa and Moshe Rafiah, chief executive of technology provider, Travel Fusion, said: “The vision is great, and the promise is there, but the progress is painfully slow. There’s a contrast between the intentions and hopes, and the facts on the ground. It’s not going to take off unless new airlines come onboard.”
Champa Magesh, managing director at Amadeus UK and Ireland, meanwhile argued that “the world hasn’t waited for NDC”.
“I’m not against or for,” she told delegates, “but you talk about rich content – it’s already here. Amadeus would much rather look at the door-to-door experience, which we are already doing with our new cytric tool. And NDC only serves airlines, not hotels.
“While NDC is a standard, let’s not make it any more than that. You as a travel buyer shouldn’t care about the standard. But what I take exception to is there is only one standard. It is what it is, an XML standard. Your R&D team might get excited…”
However Paul Tilstone, founder and chief executive, Festive Road and NDC corporate envoy at Iata, argued how NDC was the “poster child of change” and allowed for greater personalisation of ancillaries for airline customers.
“I am a critical friend [of NDC],” he continued. “At the start the language was wrong, and it alienated the GDSs. I was also critical of the level of engagement the airlines had with travel buyers.”
