Delta Air Lines is taking a measured approach in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and the International Air Transport Association’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) standards.
At Business Travel Show America this week, Steve Sear, EVP of global sales and distribution for Delta, explained why the airline isn’t rushing use of either.
“Similar to NDC, we’re going to take AI on a journey as well,” Sear said onstage in an interview with Jen Bankard, senior director of content solutions and conferences for The BTN Group.
According to Sear, with NDC, Delta wants to take its time to work with its partners and customers through the integration process.
“We don't want to push it out,” he said, addressing the audience of corporate travel partners, buyers, providers and suppliers in the room. “We want you to pull.”
Delta’s NDC approach
Officially launched in 2015, adoption of the IATA technology standard has been slow. Still, certain airline carriers have taken what Bankard called a “more aggressive approach” to NDC. American Airlines, for example, made a hard push for NDC in 2023 that it later reversed. United and Lufthansa made early efforts as well.
Delta was the final of the three major U.S. airlines to get on board with the movement when it partnered with Accelya and Google last year.
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But company representatives have been vocal about the airline's course of action with NDC; as Bob Somers, SVP of global sales for Delta, said last year, they want to “do it right,” as opposed to doing it “fast.”
Bankard asked Sear what Delta is doing differently amid industry struggles to adopt NDC, specifically why the airline has taken a collaborative approach that keeps global distribution system (GDS) content and channel parity intact and how that might drive adoption.
“What I like is that you're going to have a consistent approach,” Sear said. “Corporate is our bread and butter. The ecosystem that supports corporate is TMCs, GDSs—we have to be good … we have to have … very good customer experience and provide value for your traveler. So our approach, we think, is kind of intuitive.”
Sear said Delta wants to consider what its partners need, adding the airline is going through the adoption process deliberately with companies like Accelya and Sabre.
“It’s what I would call an iterative process to make sure it is valuable,” he said.
As legacy distribution standard EDIFACT reaches its “end of life,” Sear said Delta wants to make sure that NDC lands in the right place. Sear expects a multiyear iteration process to refine the program to its best version.
Delta’s AI approach
Sear also discussed Delta's use of AI at the event. In January, Delta launched an AI assistant and has been exploring AI pricing.
“It's a complement to our people,” Sear said. “It will never replace our people, and that's really important to us.”
Sear said the company’s path with AI is similar to its NDC approach, and though it’s “still super early,” he sees value in the technology. Specifically, AI allows Delta’s team to better engage with customers, he said. He referenced the call center as an example. Instead of handling routine questions, employees are able to handle “the tough questions” and help travelers resolve issues as needed.
It’s also helped with schedule creation, which can be invaluable in high pressure situations such as weather disruptions.
“We have a better chance of being able to get through those disruptions,” Sear said.