The wait is over for NDC in corporate travel
When it comes to maximizing access to the best content for your business travel needs, Sabre is leading the charge.
Airlines’ New Distribution Capability (NDC) strategies are taking off. Online booking tools are joining the game. As demand for NDC increases from your customers, will you be ready?
The flexible technical backbone that is NDC supports more relevant and efficient travel experiences. With NDC, businesses can provide tailored options that better support their team’s needs and travel patterns--and align with policies.
Sabre is proud to lead the way. We’re currently the only global distribution system (GDS) to power NDC content for several leading corporate travel management tools, including: GetThere, Sabre’s own corporate booking tool, SAP Concur, the world’s leading brand for travel, expense, and invoice management solutions, and Atriis, a collaborative corporate and agency multi source platform.
Sabre is the first GDS to power NDC content for SAP Concur, GetThere and Atriis
Sabre integrates and normalizes NDC offers alongside traditional content, making it efficient for OBTs to display a wide array of options to corporate travelers, regardless of the content’s technical source.
The integration of Sabre’s NDC APIs by major corporate booking applications is a pivotal milestone in the travel industry, driving higher demand for airlines’ NDC offers in corporate travel and expediting the transition from traditional ATPCO/EDIFACT distribution to NDC connectivity. This shift gives corporations access to policy-compliant personalized offers, enriching the travel experience for employees.
But, booking travel is just the start. It’s how well someone can navigate planned and unplanned changes that make-or-break a trip experience. As a result, NDC fluency will become table stakes for travel management companies (TMCs) as airlines increasingly differentiate NDC offers and traditional options, and corporate booking tools (CBTs) activate NDC content.
Sabre supports trips end-to-end. If a corporation’s TMC partner uses our agency booking solution, Sabre Red 360, it can put NDC content at its team’s fingertips without missing an operational beat. We support a robust set of NDC servicing capabilities, including cancellations, voids, refunds and voluntary exchanges for solo travelers and groups. We’ve worked hard to integrate NDC into agency workflows – including mid and back-office processes – to help TMCs maintain their operational edge as they support their corporate customers.
“At SAP Concur, we’re continuing to roll out new experiences as part of the evolution of Concur Travel – a journey that will reshape corporate travel programs as we create a world where travel and expenses practically manage themselves. The inclusion of NDC content is a key part of this evolution. We’re pleased to have a strong, dedicated integration partner in Sabre to help us power these new experiences for travelers.”
Charlie Sultan, president of Concur Travel at SAP Concur
Each travel stakeholder – airlines, agencies, CBTs and corporations – has work to do to make NDC successful. Sabre is one of the few companies that collaborates with each of these players. As a result, we can look “beyond NDC” – beyond the letter of the NDC technical schemas, beyond the confines of our industry vertical – and apply a more holistic perspective to NDC development. This results in NDC capabilities that work as expected – wherever you sit in the travel ecosystem – from Day 1.
To learn more about how Sabre can help you add NDC to your corporate travel mix, check out our “Quick Facts.”
BEYOND NDC | QUICK FACTS
1. We help NDC and ATPCO/EDIFACT coexist - Our product teams have optimized the display of our agency booking solution, Sabre Red 360, so that NDC offers appear alongside traditional ATPCO/EDIFACT options. For developers, our Offer and Order APIs integrate and normalize different types of content, so that NDC offers and traditional options are returned in a single API call.
2. We support end-to-end workflows - Sabre sits at the crossroads of travel, working with all links in the travel value chain: airlines, agencies, online booking tools and corporate buyers. As a result, we’ve designed our NDC capabilities to support end-to-end workflows. We’re thinking not only about “happy paths,” but also about edge cases that are important to your operations. We’re optimizing our capabilities to manage offers and orders efficiently across the full lifecycle of trips.
3. When plans change, we keep travelers moving - Travel involves surprises—some good and some not so good. When plans change, we give you the ability to cancel, refund, void and exchange NDC content using the Offer and Order APIs and Sabre Red 360.
4. Access NDC from multiple on-ramps - Whether you’re an agency, corporate travel buyer or developer, connect to us in the way that works best for you: use the REST/JSON Sabre Offer and Order APIs, Sabre Red 360, or our online booking tool, GetThere. Additionally, SAP Concur and Atriis customers can now access NDC content distributed through the Sabre GDS.
5. We handle the tech, so you can handle the travel - Accessing NDC offers from airlines requires technical development skills and time. We are currently live with 19 airlines and are working with 50 more leading airlines to integrate their content into the Sabre marketplace. That way, you connect to us once and gain access to many airlines instead of building and managing dozens of connections.
6. We scale with you - Whether your daily bookings number in the tens or thousands, Sabre’s robust systems are ready to scale to support your business’ needs. The world’s leading airlines and thousands of agencies around the world depend daily on Sabre to keep their travelers moving.
7. We move at the speed of your business - People are time-starved and attention spans are shrinking. The difference between a sale and a missed opportunity is defined in seconds. Sabre’s Google Cloud-based technology and industry-leading shopping response times puts NDC content at your fingertips when you need it.
8. Let us handle the security stress - Sabre’s technical design process accounts for the rapidly evolving digital security landscape, including 3D-Secure protocols and regional data privacy regulations.
9. We have a seat at the industry table - The NDC standards continue to mature. A number of IATA working groups are helping to close gaps in the standards for business-critical use cases. Sabre representatives participate in those forums. As a result, gaps in the NDC standards are closed with answers that benefit the broader community—not just one link in the travel value chain.
Sabre is recognized by IATA as a system provider for both airlines and travel sellers in the ARM index.
10. We’re here every step of the way - Travel is becoming a world of hybrid content – of NDC offers and ATPCO/EDIFACT options. You don’t want to miss out, but maybe you’re not sure when or how to start. Sabre’s account representatives, technical sales engineers, consultants and support teams are ready to answer your questions and help you, whether you’re starting your NDC journey, or well on your way.
Are you ready for NDC? Learn how to optimize your business travel program today.
Built with Shorthand