British Airways has announced that it is strengthening its New Distribution Capability (NDC) platform with significant new initiatives which will enable agents to better integrate and manage NDC in the operational environment.
The initiatives are expected to accelerate the benefits available to customers who book through NDC enabled travel agents.
From the end of March, travel agents connected to NDC will benefit from enhancements to complex servicing capability, which will allow them to accept or search between different flight options, without the need to contact a call centre.
British Airways’ NDC platform will now include full servicing prior to ticketing for agents who offer their customers a delay between booking and ticketing. According to the airline, this will give agents the ability to change dates and times for held bookings. This follows the launch of a new 24/7 NDC Service Escalation Process which complements existing support structures already in place.
The airline is also expanding its Long Haul Additional Price Points across more routes and introducing extra price points on Short Haul. The lowest three Short Haul Basic inventories will now only be available through NDC and direct channels for customers starting their journey from the UK.
British Airways’ Head of Distribution, Rogier van Enk said: “These enhancements demonstrate our commitment to delivering more choice and value to customers and trade partners. It’s just the beginning of our 2020 distribution strategy and we will continue to listen and collaborate with our agency partners as we expand our New Distribution Capability offering. If there is ever a time for trade partners to join us on this journey, it’s now.”
The additional price points and Short Haul Basic content will be available through any trade partner connected to British Airways’ NDC APIs and through the airline’s direct channels.
The latest changes to BA’s new distribution strategy will drive it closer to achieving IATA’s goal of 20% of indirect bookings through NDC APIs by the end of 2020. The airline said that it has already exceeded this target in the UK.
