American Airlines took two major steps in the last quarter
of 2022 with regard to New Distribution Capability, charting a new course for
its distribution strategy but receiving a guarded reception from travel
management companies.
The first step was securing multi-year deals with the three
biggest global distribution systems—Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport—to expand its
NDC content offerings. The second was a notice to TMCs that if they weren't
connected to American NDC channels by April 2023, they could lose access to
about 40 percent of currently available fares.
American's Neil Geurin was instrumental in getting those GDS
agreements in place, which paved the way for the carrier's line in the sand for
third-party partners to be NDC-ready.
TMCs responded warily, with opinions that are sure to evolve
over the coming weeks and months. Many weren't surprised by American's
connection announcement, but some voiced concern that the timing was too soon, it
could have been handled more personally, and that it was "tone-deaf."
Others voiced worry about American reserving its lowest
fares for its direct channels, which could lead to travelers finding and
booking them, potentially undermining trust in their travel programs.
American so far has stood by its decision.
"The conversation has been going on for a very long
time, and most of the TMCs that we talk to have access to NDC content for some
carriers, so they've already figured out a way to connect to this," Geurin
said.
The catalyst for this next step in the NDC journey started
in May 2017, according to Geurin, when American had a distribution conference
with TMCs, corporate customers and booking tool providers. The carrier told
them, "We've been at odds on this for a long time, but we don't want to
be, we want to work together to make this possible," Guerin said.
Geurin noted, however, that during the pandemic some carriers
or agencies paused NDC development efforts, but American decided to push
forward. Still, some have voiced concern that TMCs struggling with staffing
issues might not have the funding or manpower to ensure they'll be ready by
April.
It remains to be seen how this process shakes out by then,
but there's no doubt American's progress will be closely watched through next
spring.