Ai Video: Is the 21/20/20 target for NDC feasible?

5th September, 2019

IATA’s NDC standard is under constant scrutiny – how far it has come and how far it still has to go?

This week, as shared by IATA, the name of five airlines emerged -  American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines. These airlines have demonstrated that their NDC deployments have a set of recognized capabilities to drive volumes of NDC transactions that will contribute toward their 20% target by end of 2020. In all, 21 airlines have committed that by the end of 2020, 20% of their indirect sales will be made using NDC.

There are several ways to market with NDC, but it is the role of GDS that is being closely analysed. And it could very well be the deciding factor in assessing how close airlines (especially with a majority of these carriers being full service ones) are set to meet the 21/20/20 target.

“GDSs are critical to the adoption of NDC,” stated Ian Tunnacliffe, who presented at the recently held Mega Event Asia Pacific (#MegaAPAC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Is the 21/20/20 target feasible? This is a critical landmark for sure. As Tunnacliffe says, “If that happens (meeting the target) then NDC will definitely have arrived.”

He added that certification of GDSs in this context is only a “small route”.

So are GDSs going to drive big volumes in the foreseeable future? What about others that are also focusing on the NDC content?

For more, watch the video featuring Ian Tunnacliffe.