632 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM 5.2. The NDC value proposition for travel agencies To build NDC solutions, airlines need to closely work with travel agency partners. The NDC standard is “channel” agnostic. It can support a direct relationship between airlines and agents. It can also support a relationship in which an aggregator connects to the airline to access the content it will subsequently aggregate and pass on to its travel agent clients. Travel agents will find a real improvement in NDC, with better access to offers and superior accuracy. A travel agent can expect better productivity from its agents: they will be able to deliver more value to their customer, benefiting from richer and more consistent offers from the airlines, true comparison shopping and transparency in pricing and content. Better productivity for travel agents could also be expected, as the current multi channels situation (several systems for LCCs and others to sell tickets and then ancillaries, with reconciliation of data on top) should be simplified by integrated solutions, where the offer comes in one system only. Better accuracy and less risk of errors are also to be expected. Offers as transmitted by airlines contain their conditions as a package: offer time limit, acceptable types of payment. Rules are part of the offer, therefore agents avoid interpretation mistakes (of complex fare conditions for instance) and synchronisation errors, which occur nowadays with multiple entities involved in constructing an offer and its corresponding ADMs. Travel Management companies’ (TMCs) position is specific among travel agencies: they service both Travel Managers and Corporate Travellers. So, they end up in the middle of the debate between tightly managed travel-cost control, risk reduction-versus total freedom when booking business trips. NDC can help TMCs propose the best of both worlds to their customers: cost containment, reduced risk and enhanced traveller experience, as it allows personalisation. Personalisation requires that each corporation analyses in depth its travellers and their needs, hence a variety of business service opportunities for the TMC community will arise: analysis of individual traveller profiles, construction of adapted products (bundles, tailored fares), adjustment for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and negotiation support with the provider. Furthermore, TMCs can provide their customers with detailed reports to validate their initial strategic choice to accept personalised offers. They can give them the opportunity to choose whatever distribution channel is better for them (direct API, GDS). So NDC gives TMCs the opportunity to propose each corporation a tailored structure and improve their current services.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4NzM5Nw==