Business Travel Executive, Dec 2020/Jan 2021

ONE Order in Four Questions NDC is empowering IATAs ONE Order initiative and together they could change the way air travel is booked and paid for What is ONE Order ONE Order creates a single reference number that follows the passenger from booking through settlement Will ONE Order replace PNRs Yes over time Passenger Name Records e tickets and electronic miscellaneous documents EMDs will disappear How does ONE Order relate to NDC Adopting the XML standard of NDC is what will enable airlines to execute the ONE Order concept although neither is mandatory When will ONE Order roll out That depends Different airlines are at different stages of adoption IATA has floated a 2025 target T he more options the better That looked to be the situation earlier this year with what promised to be one of the hottest topics in travel the surge toward acceptance of New Distribution Capability Then came COVID 19 But while the pandemic may have slowed the revolutionary nature of this emerging standard continued progress seems likely As travel returns airlines are gearing up for NDC once again and some travel buyers are finding new value in the traveler tailored health and safety information it may offer Moves made by Travelport over the past year provide an object lesson around the evolving thinking about NDC In February the company announced that it has achieved level 4 NDC certification as an aggregator from IATA The certification comes as part of a phased approach by Travelport which has been offering NDC content from a small number of partner airlines since October 2018 Delivering NDC content to customers is a crucial part of Travelports multi source 23 Business Travel Executive askBTE com December 2020 January 2021 content strategy and this certification is the next step in recognizing its NDC capability says Jason Toothman head of agency sales Americas and global accounts The certification confirms that Travelport is among the latest providers to have achieved level 4 and is thus able to provide full offer and order management and servicing of an NDC booking This complements the current capabilities of voiding tickets and cancellations combined with new capabilities of modifying and exchanging tickets as well as processing refunds The biggest benefit is that customers will have access to personalized content from some carriers which should make their shopping experience easier seeing only the types of fares theyre likely to book Toothman says By working with technology providers travel management companies will also be able to access NDC content within their familiar workflow so they can deliver enhanced offers to their customers without having to find and manage content from a number of different potentially disparate sources One way to look at NDC Toothman notes is as an extended version of what has already been done which is providing choice to demand side customers through relevant bookable content from whichever distribution method a supplier chooses For us it is a continuation of what we do best providing the technology to serve the traveler better Are We There Yet While NDC content brings choice to customers even before COVID it was obvious that further refinement would be needed for the standard to be more widely embraced according to Alex Kaluzny SVP and chief product and technology officer at Egencia Its important to note that no current NDC distribution channel offers the ability to service a booking at the level that GDS bookings can be serviced today he says That means NDC needs to continue to mature and address the current gaps and complexity in delivering a high quality customer experience What we hear from customers is the need for minimal disruption to the end to