Etihad Airways is to expand the distribution of its content through NDC after it announced a partnership with India’s Verteil Technologies.
The companies will launch an IATA-certified NDC distribution platform called Verteil Direct Connect, which “will enhance the digital distribution for Etihad and provide travel agents with more effective merchandising, access to rich content, and product personalisation”.
The partnership will enable Etihad to expand its NDC distribution globally but with a particular focus on India, Verteil’s home market. The move follows the launch of Emirates' NDC gateway for agencies in October.
Dieter Westermann, vice president revenue management at Etihad, said: “Etihad’s adoption of NDC earlier this year was a major milestone and it has given us the ability to connect with innovative new-age travel technology companies like Verteil Technologies.
“With a population of more than 1.3 billion, India is one of the most important strategic markets for Etihad, and before the outbreak of Covid-19, Etihad was operating 150 return flights per week between Abu Dhabi and 10 key Indian gateways. As government restrictions are slowly eased, our partnership with Verteil Technologies will offer a greater reach into this key market and neighbouring countries across Asia.”
Jerrin Jos, founder and chief executive officer, Verteil Technologies, said: “This partnership is a testament to the critical role Verteil is playing when it comes to the development and promotion of NDC content distribution worldwide. We continue to work diligently in making the Verteil platform deliver greater innovation, more diverse content and enhanced booking experience for our customers.”
In January, Etihad announced a partnership with easyJet to use NDC for connecting flights. The airline achieved IATA’s level 3 certification in March.