British Airways is the first user of a new Airlines Reporting Corp. application programming interface that will allow it to confirm the ticketing authority of U.S.-based travel agencies that sell its New Distribution Capability content, ARC announced this week.
With the API, called ARC Ticketing Authority APITM, carriers can instantly confirm agencies' ARC accreditation status. British Airways is using the API for direct-connect bookings through booking app Hopper, according to ARC.
"As we expand our retailing capabilities in the U.S., this API gives us confidence that we will present NDC offers only to those agencies that are in good standing with ARC and with whom British Airways has a ticketing relationship," BA distribution head Rogier van Enk said in a statement. "As we continue to scale our NDC capabilities, this API will help us continually ensure the integrity of our transactions."
Qantas will adopt the service as it prepares to launch NDC capabilities in the U.S., according to ARC. The Australia-based carrier has been working to scale API connections to distributors.
The service adoption is another move in British Airways' NDC strategy to steer corporate customers and agencies toward channels outside of global distribution systems. In July, British Airways piloted an initiative to provide direct NDC content access with several agencies and Concur Travel, then made all of its NDC content available to all Concur corporate customers and their agencies in September. Last month, the carrier raised its surcharge on GDS bookings in Europe and the United Kingdom. On Feb. 17, according to BTN sister publication The Beat, BA will announce a £10 agency debit memo for GDS passive segments, which are used by some agencies to record non-GDS transactions. BA will waive the charge on agencies using passive segments for BA NDC content until Oct. 1.