Airline distribution developments such as new commercial approaches and the move to offer-order have been the topic for many debates in 2024.
Discussions around IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) technology standard are ongoing but general adoption is still quite low and there seems to be an acceptance, or perhaps resignation, that although there has been a little acceleration, it will take more time.
David Gunnarsson, CEO of Dohop and Charles Rajjou, CEO of CitizenPlane, were on hand to discuss recent developments during an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference 2024.
Gunnarsson has noted a little acceleration in adoption but said NDC was “always a means to an end” and attributed any acceleration to airlines and technology companies “jumping on the offer-order bandwagon.”
He also said that even the carriers that have embraced the technology standard are still only using a fraction of what it could be used for.
Gunnarsson and Rajjou went on to discuss the move to offer and order, the danger of leaving key stakeholders behind with NDC penetration so low and the remaining challenges for airlines looking to improve the retail experience for customers.
Artificial intelligence will likely play a role but the question is how quickly. Rajjou said airlines needed to take AI into account as offer and order systems are developed as well as to aling with more general travel shopping and booking behavior from younger generations “to ensure air content fits with the move we are seeing.”
He also said he could see a time, perhaps even in 2025, when travelers no longer have to enter origin, destination and number of travelers into an online search form.
Watch the full discussion with PhocusWire executive editor Linda Fox:
The Phocuswright Conference 2024 Executive Interview: Up and away - Airline distribution in 2025