The Air France-KLM group has signed a distribution deal with
Amadeus that will see the airline group’s NDC offers made available to travel
agents through the Amadeus Travel Platform if those agencies sign bilateral
agreements with both Air France-KLM and Amadeus.
The group said it has been working with Amadeus over the
last few years to connect its NDC services to the platform, with the booking
flow of shop, order and pay already integrated. This means pilot travel agents
will be able to book via NDC through the platform in Q4 this year, with the
full integration with servicing capabilities expected to be completed in the
first half of 2021.
Once completed, agents will be able to search, compare, book
and service Air France-KLM content in one merged display through their chosen
Amadeus solution, whether the Travel API or Selling Platform Connect. In
addition, Amadeus will enable corporate travellers to book via NDC channels
through cytric Travel & Expense.
Pieter Bootsma, chief revenue officer at Air France-KLM
commented: “NDC is a key innovation for Air France-KLM as it allows Air France-KLM
customers to benefit from more attractive and customised offers, such as continuous
pricing and tailor-made bundles. This agreement is an important step in our
distribution strategy, completing our existing NDC distribution network,
especially for travel agencies with a higher level of servicing needs, such as
business travel agencies.”
Decius Valmorbida, president travel unit at Amadeus, said
the agreement is a “significant step on our NDC journey to enable adoption at
scale”.
The deal is an expansion of Amadeus’ NDC X programme, which
was established to bring together airlines and travel sellers globally to
collectively advance NDC technology.