by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:55 AM ET, Thu April 11, 2024
Delta Air Lines announced plans to begin testing a New
Distribution Capability (NDC) process with several of the carrier’s key
partners later in 2024.
According to Travel
Weekly, Delta’s managing director of sales technology and global sales
support, Sara Reid, revealed the airline will not implement a GDS surcharge or
remove content from legacy NDC systems.
Speaking at the Elevate + TravelConnect conference, Reid
acknowledged that Delta’s “distribution strategy has not changed,” but the
airline is looking to “elevate the entire corporate travel ecosystem.”
In addition, Reid said the carrier has started communicating
with travel agencies, OTAs, GDSs and corporate clients to develop a system that
meets their demands and can handle any potential issues.
The plan for Delta is to develop and implement the new NDC
process only “when the airline is ready to provide thorough servicing
capabilities.” The airline also stated the service will be more effective than Edifact
technology, which has reached its limitations.
Reid revealed that Delta will unveil NDC design partners
next week.
In related news, the American Society of Travel Advisors
(ASTA) continues to oppose American Airlines' controversial
NDC rollout. Beginning May 1, American will stop awarding AAdvantage miles
and loyalty accrual points through agencies unless they are deemed
"preferred," a status achieved by having a 2024 incentive agreement
with the airline or by booking through American NDC channels and reaching
progressive sales thresholds of 30 percent by April 21, 50 percent by October
31 and 70 percent by April 30, 2025.
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