The distribution landscape is shifting as the airline industry moves closer to wider New Distribution Capability (NDC) adoption and the next phase of offer and order.
“The most exciting thing is to see servicing and the post-ticketing functionalities really prove themselves and drive operational efficiencies within the travel agencies that are using direct connects and being quite successful with it,” said Jeremy Jameson, VP of the Americas division at Mystifly.
“We are also seeing the data being brought together to be able to move towards that evolution of offer and order, and so I think it’s all coming together. Obviously, I would say it varies from airline to airline, varies from agency to agency, but I think we’ve shown that the schema works, it’s fit for purpose and now it’s full speed ahead.”
According to Jesus Monzo Faubel, senior director of flights (west) at Pkfare, with NDC, there are two different paces of NDC adoption.
“On one side, we have the airlines, specifically—mostly Europe and the U.S.—that are leading the way toward the adoption and not only deploying the technology but also implementing some sort of content differentiation strategies and distribution strategies that are helping boost this adoption,” he said at The Phocuswright Conference.
Travel sellers make up the other side, with Faubel pointing out their challenges with post-ticketing and technology investments.
“That’s where the role of intermediaries is vital for that transformation, where we enable that connection to happen and make it easier for them to really get the content and enable [them] to consume the content from us.”
Jameson also stressed the need for airlines to prioritize their customer data platform.
“Customer centricity is real, and the data architecture of what we’re trying to achieve and the move to offer and orders should be about how are you keeping track of the shopping and booking behavior of customers on your airline as well as within your ecosystem,” he said.
The pair also discussed artificial intelligence’s role in the retailing space, personalization and more in the PhocusWire studio with Linda Fox.
Watch the full conversation below.
Ancillaries, AI and agentic—where is airline distribution heading?