[Updated to include changes to GDS fees]
Airlines in the International Airlines Group (IAG) are to make their NDC content available to Amadeus agents and corporations, the two companies have announced today.
The availability of British Airways and Iberia NDC content through the Amadeus Travel Platform is targeted for the second half of this year, with Vueling following in 2022. Aer Lingus content will follow “in due course”.
The companies said that the deal would give Amadeus-connected agents and corporates access to “current and future personalised offers such as Additional Price Points (continuous pricing)”. Lufthansa announced an NDC-powered continuous pricing initiative last October.
Distributing the content through the Amadeus Travel Platform will make it available to agents through Amadeus Selling Platform Connect, corporates through the cytric online booking tool and other platforms through Amadeus APIs.
Agencies booking NDC content through Amadeus will now pay a fee of £1.60 or equivalent in local currency per passenger segment journey instead of the previous distribution technology charge of £11 levied for GDS bookings. The new fee will be reviewed later in the year.
“This is an important moment for the travel industry as we welcome one of the world’s leading airline groups into our NDC family. We are proud to have deepened our partnership with IAG, which will unlock new retailing capabilities and push forward global NDC adoption,” said Javier Laforgue, executive vice president of airline distribution & content sourcing at Amadeus.
Rogier Van Enk, head of distribution at British Airways, said, “NDC is the future of retailing for our industry and we’re excited about the possibilities that it is enabling. This deal will create more choice for our trade partners, including personalised content and new exciting offers to come in the future.”
American Airlines announced a similar agreement earlier this week.
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