Here's BTN's monthly roundup of business travel distribution and technology topics as shared on social media channels. In recent weeks, industry insiders discussed a travel management company no-bid response prediction, airline retailing solution sizes and airline AI use in distribution.
TMC No-Bid Response Prediction
Caroline Strachan
Festive Road CEO Caroline Strachan on LinkedIn posited that travel management company sales teams "will be in such high demand in 2026, no-bid responses will catch buyers out." She cited the current "quiet" around the American Express Global Business Travel/CWT merger, with many buyers saying they've extended their contract or are "waiting for all this to shake out." That may seem wise while waiting for the U.S. Department of Justice to weigh in on the proposed merger, "but not if many are taking the same strategy." Strachan predicts there will be a "surge in demand for TMC RFPs, and if buyers don't already have a relationship, they could face a no-bid response."
John Stephenson
Your Travel Corporate managing director John Stephenson commented that his company has "seen some rumblings already with our niche, which sits in the zone where an RFP doesn't usually happen. Smaller clients are already thinking about what [a] move could mean for them and weighing up options!"
Ewan Kassir
Clarity Business Travel director of sales Ewan Kassir praised the post and the timing, stating that at the Business Travel Show in June it "absolutely highlighted that some buyers are starting early relationship building and engagement as well as looking for options that provide something different in both travel and meetings management, with emphasis on global agility and flexibility. … We simply do not bid without a relationship."
Why Airline Retailing Shouldn't Necessarily Mimic Amazon
Roland Heller
IATA NDC and One Order consultant and advisor Roland Hellerpublished on LinkedIn a piece about how the Amazon-like approach to airline retailing might not be a fit for many carriers, particularly small and midsize ones, or the "mom-and-pop stores" of aviation. "Yet, most of the innovation and investment in airline retailing targets the top tier," he wrote. "This creates a tech gap—and a relevance gap."
Jim Hetzel
TWAI VP of product innovation and strategy Jim Hetzel, who previously was a Cirium executive, commented that "for years, the industry has pinned its hopes on new messaging standards like NDC to unlock personalized, dynamic retailing—but the reality in 2025 is clear: messaging standards alone don't transform the retail experience. Airlines differ greatly in business models, target customers and market needs, so retailing strategies must be flexible. Airlines must align distribution and retail strategies with their own commercial goals—rather than trying to force-fit a single standard or model on everyone."
Edson Bezerra
Ink Innovation business development manager Edson Bezerra replied, "Let's stop asking, how can small airlines become like Amazon and instead ask, how can we help them become the best version of themselves. That's where true value lies. The uncomfortable truth? Most vendors are still designing for the top 5%, while the other 95% operate in a completely different situation. The market is full of heavyweight, enterprise-grade solutions that are too expensive, too complex, and too inflexible. What we need are modular, intuitive, right-sized tools solutions lean teams can run without needing a battalion of consultants just to tweak a fare rule."
How AI Will—and Will Not—Transform Airline Distribution
Oliver Ammann
OpenJaw Technologies VP of commercial Oliver Ammann shared his company's article on ways generative AI is "set to become embedded across every layer of the airline distribution ecosystem, transforming business processes and rewiring traditional models." But that doesn't necessarily mean "mass disintermediation or the collapse of established players." Instead, "airlines will build their own generative AI systems to interface seamlessly with third-party platforms, enabling dynamic, personalized interactions."
Cory Garner
Garner CEO Cory Garner replied that its "important to keep in mind second order impacts of AI in airline distribution. Yes, agentic AI may eventually facilitate more comprehensive, hassle-free shopping, but we should not assume that airlines will forever use existing NDC APIs/workflows built to respond to, manage, and constrain human behavior. It will take supplier-side agentic AI-based shopping systems to go head-to-head with more advanced systems on the buy-side."