American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has processed live bookings using American Airlines’ NDC-enabled content through the new Amadeus Travel API.
Announcing the ‘milestone in travel retailing’ at the GBTA Convention in Chicago, the companies say they aim to exercise the API’s full functionality and end-to-end booking flow and servicing, including cancellations, exchanges and ancillaries when capabilities reach scalable production levels.
The news comes after Amadeus launched the API solution, which is an enhanced version of its flagship Web Services platform and is NDC-enabled. The tool gives TMCs access to new content and fares from airlines.
Commenting on the live NDC bookings, Alison Taylor, senior VP of global sales and distribution at American Airlines, said: “American is focused on offering our customers experiences that are unique to us and to them, and NDC puts us on that path. Today’s milestone is a significant step closer to making NDC-enabled content broadly available through Amadeus-powered travel companies.”
Michael Qualantone, executive VP of global supplier relations for Amex GBT, added: “The possibilities we have in business travel have never been more exciting as we work with our customers and partners on the evolving distribution landscape. We are delivering solutions that will enhance access to content, improve transparency and shopping, and enable servicing capabilities with an end goal to drive value for our customers and partners.”
Gianni Pisanello, VP of Amadeus’ NDC-X programme, said: “We’ve now reached another critical milestone with two travel industry giants. As we continue to progress toward delivering on our commitment to make NDC work for all stakeholders, we believe that standardisation across the industry is the single most important factor in easing implementation, broadening adoption and creating a technical environment where airlines can explore new types of content, and travellers can readily consume it.”
amadeus.com; amexglobalbusinesstravel.com; aa.com