NDC has been in the works for more than a decade. However, it’s still a somewhat foreign concept to many who book travel for work. JTB Business Travel is channeling NDC content to make Travel Arrangers’ and Travelers’ experiences better.
New Distribution Capability (NDC) has been touted as a new solution that will offer more options to Travelers, Travel Arrangers and Travel Managers. It will supposedly provide more personalization capabilities and better, more personally tailored travel content and pricing.
That doesn’t mean NDC hasn’t come with its challenges. We’ve already discussed many of them in our article on navigating air sales in the NDC era. Many find NDC air sales to be complicated. However, JTB Business Travel has anticipated the switch to NDC for quite some time now, and we’re making the process as easy and seamless as possible.
To help business travelers make the most of this shift and glean the benefits of booking NDC fares while minimizing downsides, JTB Business Travel is enabling NDC content in a few ways. Here’s what you need to know.
![Image of Travel manager, making arrangements using new distribution capability software](https://i0.wp.com/jtbbusinesstravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JTB_Blog_ArticlePhotos_horiz-2024.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1)
What is NDC?
As a quick recap, if you’re still relatively unfamiliar with how NDC works and what it is, you’ll want to check out our previous articles on NDC vs. GDS and their differences. In short, though, NDC is an XML language-based airfare retail initiative. It allows airlines to make personal offers to Travelers using rich visuals based on personal data.
The overall goal is to provide Travel Managers and Travelers with better pricing and more personalization.
How is JTB Incorporating NDC Content Into Its Services?
JTB Business Travel believes that ultimately and despite initial challenges and complaints, NDC can offer a better shopping experience for Travelers with more personalized, higher-value content.
Because of this, JTB Business Travel is providing its clients with full NDC content across all sales channels, both online and offline, with a JTB Travel Advisor’s help, for carriers that provide NDC content, such as American Airlines, United Airlines and Lufthansa Group. This ensures you enjoy a range of options when it comes to booking NDC fares. It can also help normalize NDC fares faster, lessening the NDC learning curve.
How will NDC benefit you?
What are some of the tangible benefits you can expect thanks to JTB Business Travel’s NDC adoption?
Primary benefits include lower fares, fewer surcharges, personalized pricing, add-on and ancillary booking.
Additionally, NDC utilizes continuous pricing. We believe continuous pricing could ultimately benefit business travelers, allowing for cheaper fares, particularly when there is limited availability.
If you’re unfamiliar with continuous pricing, you can read up on it in our recent coverage of the complexities of airline continuous pricing. However, you need to know that, essentially, continuous pricing replaces the old-school method of determining airline fares.
In the past, airlines filed their fares in advance. They offered up to 26 fares for each flight, but no more than 26. Now, though, using continuous pricing, airlines can offer an endless number of fares. They can adjust the fares for each user based on that user’s data. Continuous pricing looks at fare availability, demand, Traveler history and other data points. Then, it offers a fare that will be most attractive to the Traveler or Travel Arranger.
![image of business Traveler on airport, carrying case](https://i0.wp.com/jtbbusinesstravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JTB_Blog_ArticlePhotos_vertical-2024-2.png?resize=768%2C1024&ssl=1)
What Can You Expect Right Now?
Of course, as mentioned, NDC and the continuous pricing model are still in their infancy, relatively speaking. A 2023 Global Business Travel Association survey found that most Travel Managers were not using NDC to book their travel. There are many reasons why this is the case, including tech limitations and a learning curve. As a whole, it doesn’t seem that the business travel management ecosystem is fully ready for NDC.
So, what’s possible right now, and what can you expect from JTB Business Travel in the months ahead?
- JTB Business Travel currently provides an NDC booking experience from airlines that are available to book via Sabre, the global distribution system (GDS) used to aggregate content and fares.
- In Q2 of 2023, we began offering NDC content from American Airlines and, in Q1 of 2024, from United Airlines, Avianca, Singapore Airlines, Finnair and Scandinavian Airlines, to be followed by Lufthansa in Q2 2024.
- In Q3 or Q4 of 2024, we expect to add KLM and Air France, as well as IAG airlines such as British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus.
- You can book using NDC content in GetThere or in Concur (when migrated to EoT), or offline when working with a JTB Business Travel Advisor.
- NDC bookings will be reflected in your Prime reports and analytics, and NDC bookings will be monitored for GRM or queued to your duty-of-care partner, such as Crisis24 or ISOS.
Keep in mind that as NDC technology evolves and tech maturity differs according to the airline, booking NDC fares may come with certain limitations, such as the inability to change your fare multiple times or book a particular seat. Travelers will be notified of any limitations when booking.
It is worth noting that NDC bookings may not yet be compatible with all travel program technologies, such as Cirium, which you may use for your JTB Business Travel Trip Disruption Assistance, or MagnaTech, which powers JTB Business Travel’s unused ticket management solution. MagnaTech is expected to be compatible with NDC fares starting later this year.
Need More?
While NDC comes with a lot of exciting possibilities, new capabilities and a potentially better travel experience, it’s not without its challenges and limitations. Your Travel Manager and organization will need to decide if NDC fares are a good choice for your teams and manage any limitations appropriately.
To stay up to date with all business travel news and trends, be sure to visit the JTB Business Travel blog, where you can read more on NDC, continuous pricing, carbon accounting and other important topics.