British Airways is rolling out a range of servicing options and additional payment methods via IATA’s New Distribution Capability standard (NDC).
Agents are able to adopt NDC through existing booking systems, giving them access to booking options previously available through airlines’ own websites.
IATA unveiled new technology standards as part of NDC around six months ago. These are designed to create a more personalised way of selling flights and ancillaries through TMCs and other indirect channels.
The latest updates mean that agents booking British Airways flights through NDC enabled systems will now be able to:
· Pre-book additional luggage
· Advise the airline of catering requests for pre-order in Club World and First, pre-paid in World Traveller and World Traveller Plus or special meal orders
· Add Executive Club and On Business numbers to enable tracking
· Pay British Airways via IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP)*
British Airways head of distribution Ian Luck said: “The introduction of NDC is a critical chapter in the evolution of distribution for the travel industry.
“There are more channels than ever for customers to buy through and more products for them to choose from. That brings with it the challenge of ensuring consistent access to useful information and content, which demonstrate the full range of products on offer and the value they represent.”
He added: “Customers have a choice of who they fly with and we want to make sure they can choose from our full range of products and they know as much as possible about what British Airways offers. NDC enables us to do that.”
Sign up to BBT’s twice-weekly newsletter