xsThe managed travel industry is looking toward an omni-channel future where airlines may do direct connects with an agency or even direct with a corporate online booking tool. A technology-first travel management company could establish itself as a hub of direct connects, but “NDC” and “direct connect” are not synonymous, especially now, as GDSs dive into the NDC initiative.
smThe managed travel industry is looking toward an omni-channel future where airlines may do direct connects with an agency or even direct with a corporate online booking tool. A technology-first travel management company could establish itself as a hub of direct connects, but “NDC” and “direct connect” are not synonymous, especially now, as GDSs dive into the NDC initiative.
The managed travel industry is looking toward an omni-channel future where airlines may do direct connects with an agency or even direct with a corporate online booking tool. A technology-first travel management company could establish itself as a hub of direct connects, but “NDC” and “direct connect” are not synonymous, especially now, as GDSs dive into the NDC initiative. Traditional TMCs could leverage GDSs for the majority of content through traditional pipes but also leverage these partners for certain personalized content through NDC pipes. Air content aggregators will continue to play a significant role. Challenges remain: Interlining with additional carriers for one itinerary, servicing bookings at the TMC level and pushing trip data into back-office systems for reporting. Additional technology will have to solve those problems.
Traditional path & GDS NDC path: Data flows through the agency desktop or OBT back to the GDS.
Traveler chooses a flight.
Profiled corporate traveler initiates a travel request through an online booking tool or by calling the agency.
Agency profile management system identifies traveler and applies known preferences, requirements and policy.
Request could take multiple routes: to the global distribution system, to an aggregator or direct connect to carriers.
NDC Path: The TMC directly pings the airlines
Traditional Path: ATPCO & OAG send their respective data to the GDS, which constructs and returns the offers to the TMC
The agent or OBT aggregates and communicates the options to the traveler, flagging or blocking nonpreferred options based on the corporate travel program’s configurations.
NDC paths: Airline registers the booking, potentially settles the transaction and sends the data to ARC/BSP; integration with midoffice and back-office systems currently is unsolved.
Traditional path: ARC/BSP settles payment and returns data to the agency back office and to the airline. NDC path: ARC/BSP settles payment if airline has not and returns the data to the agency back office and to the airline. If airline has settled, ARC/BSP acts as a pass-through to the agency back office.
Airline registers the booking and removes that content from the shelf.
Traditional Path: The GDS simultaneously pings ATPCO & OAG NDC Path: The GDS pings an aggregator or directly pings airlines
NDC Path: Aggregator pings an aggregator
NDC Path: The airlines construct the offers and return them either directly to the TMC or via an aggregator or GDS
NDC Paths: The data flows directly through the agency or OBT back to the airlines
Traditional path: GDS registers the booking and sends it to the agency midoffice/back office and to the Airlines Reporting Corp. or IATA’s Billing & Settlement Plan.
The managed travel industry is looking toward an omni-channel future where airlines may do direct connects with an agency or even direct with a corporate online booking tool. A technology-first travel management company could establish itself as a hub of direct connects, but “NDC” and “direct connect” are not synonymous, especially now, as GDSs dive into the NDC initiative. Traditional TMCs could leverage GDSs for the majority of content through traditional pipes but also leverage these partners for certain personalized content through NDC pipes. Air content aggregators will continue to play a significant role. Challenges remain: Interlining with additional carriers for one itinerary, servicing bookings at the TMC level and pushing trip data into back-office systems for reporting. Additional technology will have to solve those problems.
The managed travel industry is looking toward an omni-channel future where airlines may do direct connects with an agency or even direct with a corporate online booking tool. A technology-first travel management company could establish itself as a hub of direct connects, but “NDC” and “direct connect” are not synonymous, especially now, as GDSs dive into the NDC initiative. Traditional TMCs could leverage GDSs for the majority of content through traditional pipes but also leverage these partners for certain personalized content through NDC pipes. Air content aggregators will continue to play a significant role. Challenges remain: Interlining with additional carriers for one itinerary, servicing bookings at the TMC level and pushing trip data into back-office systems for reporting. Additional technology will have to solve those problems.
The managed travel industry is looking toward an omni-channel future where airlines may do direct connects with an agency or even direct with a corporate online booking tool. A technology-first travel management company could establish itself as a hub of direct connects, but “NDC” and “direct connect” are not synonymous, especially now, as GDSs dive into the NDC initiative. Traditional TMCs could leverage GDSs for the majority of content through traditional pipes but also leverage these partners for certain personalized content through NDC pipes. Air content aggregators will continue to play a significant role. Chal-lenges remain: Interlining with additional carriers for one itinerary, servicing bookings at the TMC level and pushing trip data into back-office systems for reporting. Additional technology will have to solve those problems.
Traditional path & GDS NDC path: Data flows through the agency desktop or OBT back to the GDS.
Traveler chooses a flight.
Profiled corporate traveler initiates a travel request through an online booking tool or by calling the agency.
Agency profile management system identifies traveler and applies known preferences, requirements and policy.
Request could take multiple routes: to the global distri-bution system, to an aggregator or direct connect to carriers.
NDC Path: The TMC directly pings the airlines
Traditional Path: ATPCO & OAG send their respective data to the GDS, which constructs and returns the offers to the TMC
The agent or OBT aggregates and communicates the options to the traveler, flagging or blocking nonpreferred options based on the corporate travel program’s configurations.
NDC paths: Airline registers the booking, potentially settles the transaction and sends the data to ARC/BSP; integration with midoffice and back-office systems currently is unsolved.
Traditional path: ARC/BSP settles payment and returns data to the agency back office and to the airline. NDC path: ARC/BSP settles payment if airline has not and returns the data to the agency back office and to the airline. If airline has settled, ARC/BSP acts as a pass-through to the agency back office.
Airline registers the booking and removes that content from the shelf.
Traditional Path: The GDS simultaneously pings ATPCO & OAG NDC Path: The GDS pings an aggregator or directly pings airlines
NDC Path: TMC pings an aggregator
NDC Path: The airlines construct the offers and return them either directly to the TMC or via an aggregator or GDS
NDC Paths: The data flows directly through the agency or OBT back to the airlines
Traditional path: GDS registers the booking and sends it to the agency midoffice/back office and to the Airlines Reporting Corp. or IATA’s Billing & Settlement Plan.
Profiled corporate traveler initiates a travel request through an online booking tool or by calling the agency.
Agency profile management system identifies traveler and applies known preferences, requirements and policy.
Request could take multiple routes: to the global distri-bution system, to an aggregator or direct connect to carriers.
Traditional path: The GDS simultaneously pings ATPCO & OAG. NDC paths: The GDS, aggregator or travel management company directly pings the airlines.
Traditional path: ATPCO and OAG send their respective data to the GDS, which constructs and returns the offers to the TMC. NDC paths: The airlines construct and return the offers.
The agent or OBT aggregates and communicates the options to the traveler, flagging or blocking nonpreferred options based on the corporate travel program’s configurations.
Traveler chooses a flight.
Traditional path & GDS NDC path: Data flows through the agency desktop or OBT back to the GDS. NDC paths: The data flows through the agency or OBT back to the airline.
Traditional path: GDS registers the booking and sends it to the agency midoffice/back office and to Airlines Reporting Corp. or IATA’s Billing & Settlement Plan. NDC paths: Airline registers the booking, potentially settles the transaction and sends the data to ARC/BSP; integration with midoffice and back-office systems currently is unsolved.
Traditional path: ARC/BSP settles payment and returns data to the agency back office and to the airline. NDC path: ARC/BSP settles the payment if airline has not and returns the data to the agency back office and to the airline. If airline has settled, ARC/BSP acts as a passthrough to the agency back office.
Airline registers the booking and removes that content from the shelf.
Acknowledgments: BTN would like to thank the following individuals for contributing to the creation the diagram above: ARC president & CEO Mike Premo, SAP Concur supplier & TMC services EVP Mike Koetting, WTMC VP of global travel management Jennifer Steinke & Pass Consulting CEO Michael Strauss.