TravTalk India Online Magazine
Initially perceived as a threat to GDS, NDC has been integrated by travel technology providers to deliver complex retailing solutions. However, adoption hesitancy among agents and OTAs still persists. As modern retailing shifts from traditional ticketing to dynamic order management, it demands tripartite collaboration between airlines, GDSs and agents.
Hazel Jain
When NDC was born, dynamic pricing was not even a part of the conversation. It was all about ancillaries and bundling. Today, dynamic pricing is not just here—it’s a strategic priority for nearly every airline. But NDC is now powering the next wave; real-time dynamic pricing across every channel, including corporate travel.
Anil Parashar, Chief Executive Officer, InterGlobe Technology Quotient, says, “NDC is a great combination of the new technologies and the new offering that the travel agent can use. It’s an evolving subject and it could take until 2030 for all airlines to migrate to it. Currently on Travelport, there are about 20 airlines available in India and I think that is a good number to start with. Airlines themselves are in different stages of maturity – some have moved forward, some are in nascent stages, while others have not even started.”
In terms of agents, some have gone faster than the others. But the content is increasing and with the national carrier now onboarding NDC, Parashar thinks the adoption will be faster even among travel agents.
Ritam Saha, Assistant Director – Passenger & Cargo Services for India, Nepal and Bhutan, IATA, shares their aspiration for NDC. “We sincerely want at least 30 per cent of the total airline sales to be coming from the NDC channel. The good part is that we already see one of the airlines bypassing that number, and there are others who are marching steadily towards that goal,” says Saha.
Underlining some issues travel agents face in adopting NDC, Suprabh Oza, Director, MyTravelBazaar.com, says that since this is a new technology being adopted by the GDS companies, it is not at par with what they have been using, especially the EDIFACT part of it.
“Airlines are also pushing for it since they want something that allows them to curate their content easily and share it with us on our SUDOS. So, it is an effort that needs to come not only from GDS companies, but also from the travel agents,” he adds.
