Business Travel Executive, Dec 2020/Jan 2021

26 Business Travel Executive askBTE com December 2020 January 2021 SR SPECIAL REPORTS you actually shop for airline products bundles and services are addressed This must be done in a way that satisfies not only the end users experience but also airlines retailing opportunities without significantly increasing the cost to operate such a system he argues We can achieve this only through an omnichannel solution that makes it easier to understand and purchase rich content across all airlines Magnuson says adding that an alignment around a global standard such as ATPCOs Next Generation Storefront or something similar is a necessary first step and offers the most efficient to approach for doing this across all channels According to Magnuson CWT supports a global collaborative approach and considers NGS to be the best tool to navigate the road to enhanced display today We are encouraged by the momentum were building Magnuson says noting that ATPCOs NGS advisory board has already successfully created a North America standard and is rapidly pursuing global alignment Much attention has been paid to NDCs infrastructure and customerdriven content but the benefit of solving challenges related to both are lost without the development of enhanced display that provides consumer grade experience The industry needs to come together and solve this last mile Magnuson advises From a travel buyer perspective the first step is simply understanding how to approach and analyze NDC Next comes seeing how it fits into the travel program and how it can be incorporated into a strategic travel policy that can be implemented and adapted This includes recognizing the airlines intent to bring the products and services offered through their website to their indirect distribution channels NDC and airline programs are converging and the first key area of convergence will occur with airline RFPs Magnuson explains Kaluzny emphasizes the importance of ensuring that NDC is as seamless as GDSs for booking business travel Our customers value comparison shopping and have a low tolerance for workarounds and disruptions in service he says A commitment to consistent quality requires both airline and TMC developments to ensure that corporate travel needs such as risk management trip approval and travel consultant servicing are a fundamental part of the capabilities that airlines deliver with NDC content We need to remember NDC was introduced as a technology standard something we needed as airlines operate in a modern retail environment Toothman says However lots of airlines are taking their own approaches to implementing NDC meaning that it isnt really standardizing some of the complexity it was introduced to tackle Its important he notes to ensure customers remain at the heart of all NDC implementation to For In depth Reports and Current News on this Topic Click Here avoid the risk of not making the progress the industry needs NDC implementations require patience and rigorous attention to detail but the industry has invested heavily in its success Fischer concludes Looking forward to other initiatives like ONE Order he says NDC is the logical next step in accelerating the industrys ability to create more traveler centric offers and deliver a better end to end travel experience Kaluzny says that while NDC remains full of possibilities its implementation needs to continue to mature in order to deliver on that promise COVID has also exposed a lot of process and technology shortcomings around the travel industry he says That means that NDC cant trade off today the frictionless experience that is even more paramount in the new normal for potential in the future The assertion that were all in this together may have become a cliché but it still reflects a growing reality The travel industry has come together more than it ever has during the pandemic Toothman concludes While there remains some volatility considering state and country restrictions I think the increase in consumer confidence in travel that were seeing is pushing the entire industry to continue working together on vital improvements that will define the new normal for travel Airlines are investing in the technology capabilities that will enable more personalization and collectively the industry wide focus on better retailing and more content choice will be key components of the future of travel n COVID has exposed a lot of process and technology shortcomings around the travel industry