Travelport has demonstrated a live end-to-end agentic flight purchase using existing New Distribution Capability (NDC) and payment infrastructure.
The global distribution system (GDS) worked in collaboration with Booked AI, Basis Theory and Mastercard to complete the transaction, in which an artificial intelligence (AI) travel agent searched, booked, paid for and ticketed a flight.
According to the company, the completed transaction shows how airlines can enable agentic booking without ceding power to third parties.
"AI agents will become a major channel for air travel, and airlines shouldn’t have to give up control of the sale or the payment to be part of it," said Travelport CTO Andrew Jordan.
"This booking shows they don’t have to: Consent is verifiable, the underlying card number never touches the agent and the airline gets paid on rails it already trusts."
Booked AI's agent used Travelport TripServices to access a flight offer from an international airline using New Distribution Capability (NDC). Once the traveler approved the itinerary and price, Mastercard Agent Pay facilitated the transaction using a tokenized payment credential secured by Basis Theory.
The payment process incorporated Mastercard's Verifiable Intent technology, which checked the transaction against the traveler's authorization. The agent could complete the purchase without accessing the customer's card number.
The airline remained the merchant of record, "demonstrating that airlines can sell through AI agents while keeping control of how they are paid," Travelport said.
"We’re expecting too much from general-purpose agents right now," said James Armstead, CTO at Basis Theory. "The experiences that will get people using agents are well-designed paths, like booking travel, that let consumers describe the trip they need and empower the agent to handle the booking, with a secure way to pay on their behalf."
Booked AI, which provided the agent used in the transaction, develops AI-powered booking technology for corporate travel and travel management companies (TMCs). Its platform supports bookings through messaging channels, email and an app, and can be integrated into TMC operations.
The demonstration comes as airlines grapple with the implications of AI agents accessing their content and completing transactions on behalf of travelers.
United Airlines on Wednesday announced restrictions on unauthorized third-party AI agents, including those accessing its content through travel agencies and aggregators. The airline cited concerns about customer data, unintended purchases and regulatory compliance.
United said it is updating its booking, ticketing and distribution policies as part of the effort.
Research published this week by Propellic found that personal AI agents Muse and Instinct frequently routed flight bookings through Duffel, which provides booking APIs for both platforms.
Duffel has direct airline connections, including with United, but also sources content through Travelport. Its airline directory lists 112 airlines under Travelport, illustrating how airline content can reach AI agents through multiple distribution relationships.
Travelport did not specify when the capability would be commercially available. PhocusWire has reached out to the company for additional details.