Finnair in early 2023 will begin to gradually implement continuous pricing through its direct website and mobile app, as well as through New Distribution Capability-enabled channels for travel agents, the carrier announced Tuesday. In addition, starting May 1, Finnair will remove all domestic itineraries for flights that take off and land in Finland from EDIFACT distribution.
Those itineraries will be available only on Finnair's direct channels and via Finnair's NDC-enabled sales outlets. "This does not impact travel starting in Finland and ending in another country or travel starting outside Finland and ending in Finland, according to the carrier.
Finnair announced in September 2021 its plan to be "fully in modern digital distribution" by the end of 2025, phasing out legacy EDIFACT content. During 2022, it introduced EDIFACT surcharges for itineraries starting in Europe as well as for travel starting in several markets in Asia and the Middle East, according to the carrier. It also removed the Finnair Light fare brand from EDIFACT.
Finnair claims that through continuous pricing, customers will not experience large price increases between booking classes as pricing is not tied to the 26 legacy price points. "This results in more competitive pricing in modern channels compared to offers through legacy EDIFACT," according to the carrier.
"We encourage our B2B partners to join on this journey, to make the benefits available for all our customers, and are ready to support and help our partners in this transformation," Finnair VP of global sales and channel management Jenni Suomela said in a statement.
Finnair's announcement comes about six weeks after American Airlines told travel management companies to be NDC-ready by April or lose some content access.