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As Air France KLM raise their booking surcharge to EUR 13 per “one-way ticket” for the non-NDC GDS bookings, what does it tell us about NDC progress in the air travel distribution landscape?

👉 Each airline moving to digital retailing rolls out its own commercial policy, with or without surcharge, per market, per type of travel agent, at its own pace. The only thing in common is the technical standard, NDC, and yet any kind of API would do 😉

👉 While two years ago pundits were pessimistic about a 20% NDC target, AF/KL claims that “currently 80% of leisure OTA volume is NDC-enabled”. The next milestone is about reaching 100% API-based distribution 🙈

👉 The temporary “private-channel” deals were a way of “making the transition” smoother, while the absence of surcharge supported the business case for implementing NDC-compatible booking tools.

While some airlines are asking the right questions (Why digital retailing? What is NDC? How to manage the transition?), other airlines – who started the journey earlier – have the answers, the benefits and embark on the next phase of the journey 🚀

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Air-France-KLM-surcharge-corporate-bookings