Mega travel management company CWT is working toward New Distribution Capability booking at scale by initiating a pilot program in August wherein agents will book and service NDC-enabled content on Singapore Airlines and Air France-KLM through the Amadeus Travel Platform.
The pilot includes corporate negotiated rates for clients along with unique NDC-enabled content on these airlines. For Singapore, it initially will include special discounted fares; for Air France-KLM, it initially will include continuous pricing offers and seat attribute bundles. Afterward, CWT expects paid seats and extra baggage capability to be added the choices for Singapore, while Air France-KLM will expand its program to sustainable aviation fuel options in the near future.
CWT plans to expand the pilot to additional airlines throughout 2022, using both Amadeus and Sabre platforms. The company has facilitated NDC transactions via its own multi-sourced platform since 2019 to early-adopter clients. The pilot is an extension of work the agency has done over a number of years to scale NDC bookings with global distribution system providers.
CWT vice president of product management, travel content and connectivity Erik Magnuson conceded in a press statement that NDC “still has some way to go” before it can be adopted at scale, but said, “we are excited to be at the forefront of this transformation. Our customers are already beginning to reap some of the benefits, while still keeping their core travel program priorities intact.”