Amadeus has responded to claims from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that the travel tech company is “holding back” the development of the NDC technology standard.
The distribution giant has written to Blane Workie, the Department of Transport assistant general counsel, to “set the record straight” following a presentation from IATA on April 4, 2019, at the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee.
IATA’s presentation accuses GDSs of “anticompetitive conduct” and points to the investigation by the European Commission launched in November 2018 to look at whether agreements between booking system providers Amadeus and Sabre and travel agents are “in breach of antitrust rules.”
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In its letter, Amadeus says IATA has created the current situation of adoption of the NDC standard “difficult and costly for the whole industry.”
The GDS goes on to say that is has been “actively engaged with IATA and industry stakeholders” on NDC since August 2014 and points to recent comments from IATA on positive relationships with GDSs.
The letter then sets out to address in detail the allegations from IATA including GDS “market power,” anticompetitive business practices and being a block to innovation.
It concludes by describing IATA’s representation of GDSs as “inaccurate, misleading and disappointing.”
On why the GDS took so long to write to the DoT, an Amadeus spokesperson says: "We felt it important to carefully review and consider the contents of the IATA presentation before responding."
The Travel Technology Association, a U.S. lobbying group for distribution and online travel companies, said in its response in early May that IATA's comments were not "fact-based" and "counterproductive."