The Buyer Journey:
NDC Upends Programs, Still Holds Promise
By Donna M. Airoldi
After American Airlines made good on its plans to pull content from EDIFACT channels just over a year ago, the airline industry is largely following its lead, with some lessons learned. United has removed certain content from EDIFACT and turned on continuous pricing made possible by NDC. Delta in April announced it, too, would introduce NDC, likely by the end of this year, in testing environment. There's no doubt the industry is in a transformative state.
In Part 2 of BTN’s “The Buyer Journey” conversation, senior transportation editor Donna Airoldi continues her conversation with buyers and key consultants about increased complexity, with some hints emerging about why engaging with these changing airline strategies could deliver value—but largely haven’t yet.
Responses have been edited for clarity.
BTN: The NDC ramp-up hasn’t been totally smooth. We know there have been gaps in certain functionality, challenges with servicing, etc. Where does work still need to be done—and where do you think the responsibility will land in the ecosystem?
Rita Visser
Steven Mandelbaum
Dorian Stonie
Kim Hamer
Rita Visser, director of global travel sourcing & GPO, Oracle:
One of the ongoing challenges with NDC is the lack of standards. Almost every airline has their own process. So right now, again, because of the lack of standards, we can't just turn something on and say, 'Okay, we hope it works.' We do complete some testing. That will continue with our next steps as well with any of the other carriers that bring [NDC] to us through Sabre Red 360 at this point.
Steven Mandelbaum, SVP of business solutions, EAB:
I don’t know if this is NDC related, but I think [shared ticket servicing] is just the reality of how the industry is moving forward—looking at being able to be serviced by the TMC and by the airline. … The problem is that the data doesn't always flow back that way, or sometimes too much data comes back to the individual traveler. … I think that NDC may make this worse if the philosophy is that the TMC or the carrier can now service the ticket. … But if it's more explicit that anyone can service it, then to the extent we have policy, and the TMC is following policy, we don't know that the carrier is following the same policy.
The infrastructure to power a corporate travel program is complex. All that complexity primarily lives at the TMC. That's the value-add they provide.
Dorian Stonie, senior director global travel, Salesforce
For many airlines, EDIFACT credits cannot be used for NDC content. We need to look at ways to be able to convert those unused credits over to whether it be a UATP card or refunds, so that we can use those funds for the new NDC content. It's something that each travel manager is going to have to talk to their TMC about.
Kim Hamer, partner, Results Plus Consulting:
There's a lot of questions around unused tickets depending upon where it falls, but I do think that process is manageable. I think the TMCs have been trying to work with carriers and with buyers to find a solution that's feasible. And you also have to look at your percent of tickets issued as to how many you have that are potentially exchanged or unused as to what kind of process you put in. You can establish different communication paths based on the frequency and the need as to how you want to manage those.
Stonie:
Our ultimate goal is to get all of our systems aligned, and I don't think we'll ever be 100 percent. It's always going to be a hybrid model with all the airlines in the world, a mix of EDIFACT and NDC. But I see a growing portion of our major airlines, our top 10 carriers moving to NDC content very, very soon.
BTN: How is continuous pricing with United working for you?
Stonie:
We have seen a savings of anywhere between 5 percent to 10 percent on continuous pricing. And this is either for actual booked trip fares going through our TripLink booking channels to some deeper reviews of our 2023 ticketing where we could have seen 5 percent to 10 percent additional savings. … [It's] another reason why we're accelerating NDC.
Suzanne Boyan, travel and meetings manager, ZS Associates:
Continuous pricing, call it what you want. It's the same as what American's doing, which is keeping your lowest fares on your website.
Rebecca Jeffries, travel services manager, Toyota Motor North America:
I'm very excited about continuous pricing. If they're seeing a certain snapshot in time, if they're seeing that they've got a half empty plane still, let's drop this fare a bit. I just think it's an opportunity for us, especially with our volume. I think we're going to pick up some savings that way.
Dorian Stonie
Suzanne Boyan
Rebecca Jeffries
BTN: Are you getting NDC bundles?
Dorian Stonie
Rita Visser
Suzanne Boyan
Steven Mandelbaum
Stonie:
The answer right now is no. We don't have that implemented yet, but it is on the roadmap.
Visser:
We continue to take a look at that data—what is being paid for beyond the cost of a ticket? What are some things that our travelers think about that experience? What are some of the things that our travelers want and need each time that they're on United, for example? We continue to look at the data, but the conversations haven't progressed. I wouldn't say that's a United or an Oracle issue. It really comes down to how can it happen and how can it happen effectively. It really comes down to what can be made available. Plus, [what if] United and every other carrier to follow this same path as Delta has [regarding] free Wi-Fi. Why would I take the time to work on that bundle if I have a feeling that—in a year’s—time that bundle is going to be unnecessary?
Boyan:
Not NDC, but [with] United Direct, we've tried multiple times to figure out how to do bundling and dynamic offers through Zeno. Somehow, we couldn't make it work, so we just said, “forget it, just turn on the NDC content.” But when I go direct, it will offer me a club pass or Wi-Fi or bags depending on where I'm going and what my status is... now it does it through the business channel.
Mandelbaum:
We do not have customer bundles, and we are unsure if they will come, as it could be a mess to administer. Currently, they seem to be packaged. This applies to American and United. The bundles they offer are more consumer-focused. Not only have we not seen custom bundles, we also haven't seen a corporate-focused bundle. However, I want to buy them. I may no longer want to just buy the lowest price. There’s value, and they've done a good job of emphasizing different attributes of value, and we need to look at them.
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