Non-TMC corporate airline bookings have jumped from 19% to 31% since January, according to the latest figures from Traxo.
The data specialist says the surge of New Distribution Capability (NDC) adoption, spurred by the actions of American Airlines, has prompted “a material uptick” in non-TMC flight bookings.
“While NDC was intended to be purely about upgraded technology, some airlines have shaped their NDC-related policies to achieve commercial goals such as direct bookings. As a result, NDC has sometimes been ‘weaponised’ to encourage corporate travelers to book directly, attracted by benefits like enhanced personalisation, dynamic pricing and cost savings,” said Andres Fabris, CEO and Founder of Traxo.
“The NDC landscape has transformed rapidly, significantly reshaping corporate travel. The push for direct distribution by airlines and active corporate engagement on our platform underscores a shift towards more cost-effective and flexible booking options.”
More than 10 major airlines have made notable announcements about adopting NDC in the last 12 months, according to Traxo’s NDC Tracker, which monitors 73 airlines worldwide.
It was developed to help travel managers keep track of current NDC news and how it will affect their travel programmes.
Based on its observations of announcements via the tracker, Traxo has identified a number of NDC approaches being taken by airlines:
- Agency Assistance: Providing agencies with financial support to make NDC updates
- Fare Access: Pulling fares from EDIFACT and/or reserve inventory for only NDC sellers
- NDC Discounts: Purposefully lowering the prices of NDC fares and ancillaries
- EDIFACT Fees: Imposing distribution surcharges either across the board or for select fares and routes.
