About 14 months after beginning to remove content from EDIFACT channels as part of an aggressive New Distribution Capability strategy, American Airlines is returning most fare content to EDIFACT, the carrier confirmed to BTN on Wednesday. Basic Economy fares will be available only through direct or New Distribution Capability-enabled channels, as will Main Select, Main Plus and Flagship Business Plus fares, the carrier said.
The carrier also confirmed it has "shifted away from plans to publish a preferred agency list," and shared an email sent to travel agencies on Tuesday. American two weeks ago had nixed plans to limit how AAdvantage loyalty program members can earn miles or points based on booking channels, but had intended to move forward with its preferred agency program.
Instead, the carrier will provide "additional benefits that recognize and further incentivize the efforts of agencies who adopt modern technology."
Those incentives for agencies include a bonus on top of existing contracted modern retailing incentives for Main Select, Main Plus and Flagship Business Plus bundle bookings. The incentives will be automated and will expire on Sept. 30, 2024, according to the email. BTN stablemate The Beat reported that the commissions would be 10 percent, but American declined to confirm that.
The carrier also is offering an additional incentive bonus through the third quarter for ancillary products booked through NDC, but it did not provide details on what those perks would be.
"I think American's move of going from a stick to a carrot is a good example of them saying, let's take a step and let's breathe a little bit and respect what these agencies are going through," travel management company Gant Travel's recently appointed COO Vic Pynn told BTN. "And offering the incentives is a step in the right direction."
Pynn added that it's important American continues that journey and understands the operational and servicing impact their distribution changes have had on agencies, because it affects the data that flows to customers.
"It's a very complex situation on the mid- and back-office side," Pynn said. "It's great to have the incentives, but what is more important is the partnership between the airlines and the TMCs … and to understand our side of it as we service the customers, and that is going to go a long way."
Oracle director of global travel sourcing and GPO Rita Visser in an email to BTN called the incentives "a nice gesture, but it only benefits the agencies who already have NDC capabilities. It's not really solving for those agencies who aren't there yet because they are still missing content, and a commission incentive probably won't change that."
Yet to come is additional new content, according to American. The carrier's email to agencies noted that bookings made in NDC will "soon" have access to new content such as dynamic pricing, new ancillaries and bundles. "More details will be shared in the coming months."
American added that it continues to believe NDC is the future of airline distribution and expressed its thanks to those agencies that worked hard to migrate to NDC channels. The carrier also noted in its response to BTN that through extensive conversations and feedback from its partners, it will "continue to evolve its distribution strategy in a way that is supportive for both our agency partners and customers."