Sounding Off: NDC still means different things to different people

Michelle McKinney Frymir, CWT

"If you ask 50 travel people what NDC is you get 60 different answers."

Quote from Michelle McKinney Frymir, CEO of CWT, in our In The Big Chair interview on PhocusWire this week.

Each Friday, PhocusWire dissects and debates an industry trend or new development covered by PhocusWire that week.

So much time has been devoted to talking about IATA’s distribution standard NDC since it was first unveiled in 2013.

The standard hit turbulence even in the immediate aftermath of the launch with some elements of the distribution chain, such as travel intermediaries, questioning its real motives. 

There was a lengthy period of defining what the standard meant and who for.

Many now admit that perhaps in that initial phase, IATA mis-sold NDC, with one of the criticisms levelled at its development being too much talk of costs.

That’s hardly surprising though as the question of who will foot the bill remains a constant on everyone’s lips.

While it’s true that commercial conversations have clouded the debate over the years, so too have the variations around the standard, or iterations of the standard, which different carriers have used to develop solutions.

And now despite much progress with the standard, stumbling blocks remain.

Some large airlines have said they’re reverting to traditional distribution methods while others have not yet embarked on their NDC journey.

Meanwhile IATA is trying to move the conversation on from NDC to airline retailing and has just announced an Airline Retailing Maturity index as a successor to the NDC certification program.

Those that have invested in the standard, such as some large airlines and their GDS partners, remain optimistic but still believe a multi-year transition period is required.

But as CWT’s Frymire points out, disruptive technology often elicits different views, which take time to settle, before common ground can be established.