SAS Scandinavian Airlines has agreed a new distribution deal with Sabre which will include the carrier’s NDC-based fares.
The expanded “multi-year” agreement will allow Sabre-connected TMCs and agencies to “retain competitive access” to SAS's fares and offers through the tech company’s portals.
Kati Andersson, vice president, digital transformation, at Scandinavian Airlines, said: “We want to enable our travel agent partners to provide our customers with the best possible offers and experiences.
“Our enhanced distribution agreement with Sabre will allow us to take the next step in our retailing journey, while ensuring that travel agencies will have more options to access our rich content using both traditional and NDC technologies.”
Earlier this year, SAS said it was abandoning its plans for a wholesale distribution model after signing a new deal with Sabre’s GDS rival Amadeus in March. There has yet to be any announcement about a similar new distribution agreement between SAS and the other major GDS owner Travelport.
Following this latest technology deal, SAS will now work with Sabre to release its NDC offers in the “coming months”.
Alessandro Ciancimino, vice president of airline distribution at Sabre Travel Solutions, added: “We're confident that Sabre is uniquely positioned to solve the travel ecosystem challenge of providing a unified technology solution for all key industry participants that brings together EDIFACT and NDC content as we transition to a new world of offers and orders.”