Travel is undergoing a digital revolution, and leading the charge is the New Distribution Capability (NDC) which is an industry standard created by IATA to revolutionize selling and distributing airline products. NDC lays the groundwork, however, it's OpenNDC solutions which make it happen.
So, what happens in OpenNDC and how is it transforming airline distribution for travel sellers, OTAs, and technology platforms? This article explores how OpenNDC works, its real-world applications, and why it's becoming an absolute necessity in the evolving travel tech landscape.
What Is OpenNDC? A Brief Overview
We will begin by defining what is OpenNDC before describing how it works.
OpenNDC is an innovative travel technology solution for making travel content distribution easier and automated based on NDC standards. OpenNDC enables travel sellers, such as online travel agencies (OTAs), tour operators, and corporate booking systems, to gain access to dynamic pricing, ancillaries, and real-time offers from airlines powered by NDC.
Where traditional GDS systems lack, OpenNDC takes up the slack to offer direct, scalable, and flexible access to airline content, enabling travel sellers to deliver richer, more personalized customer experiences.
Understanding New Distribution Capability (NDC)
To understand how OpenNDC operates, one needs to have an idea about NDC.
New Distribution Capability is an XML-based data transmission standard that was created by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). NDC enables airlines to distribute fare and ancillary content to travel sellers directly, unencumbered by legacy GDS restrictions. NDC enables:
- Personalized offers
- Dynamic pricing
- Branded fares and ancillaries
- Rich content display (images, seat maps, videos, etc.)
How OpenNDC Works: Step-by-Step Breakdown
Below is a step-by-step breakdown on how OpenNDC works to provide smooth airline distribution:
1. NDC API Integrations from Airline
OpenNDC connects directly with airlines that are NDC-enabled to access live inventory, fares, seat numbers, and ancillary products in real time. It bypasses middlemen to provide up-to-the-second, synchronized content delivery.
All the APIs adhere to the IATA's NDC schema, and OpenNDC takes care of the technical complexities behind the scenes—providing instant setup, standardization, and scalability.
2. Smart Aggregation Layer
OpenNDC is an aggregator that consolidates a number of sources of NDC and heritage content into one system. What this enables is for travel sellers to access and compare content from a number of airlines whether they are utilising NDC or non-NDC distribution.
The aggregating minimises fragmentation in reaching out to each airline separately and saves time and expense for travel technology companies.
3. Offer and Order Management System
Unlike GDS with segmented price and ticketing, OpenNDC has a native full-fledged Offer and Order Management System (OMS) that enables:
- Search and shop
- Booking and ticketing
- Changes, adjustments, and cancellations
- Ancillary purchases (baggage, meals, seats, etc.)
- All through an end-to-end workflow optimized for NDC protocols.
4. Personalization and Dynamic Pricing
With availability of full traveler information, OpenNDC facilitates easier personalized offers, e.g., loyalty fares, customer up-selling, and customized bundles.
With NDC-driven dynamic pricing, the carrier can change offers for maximum revenue while delivering customer value.
5. Rich Content Delivery
OpenNDC's NDC-supported platform offers rich, media-enriched content—fare families, images, videos, branded fare comparisons, and seat maps—to enhance booking and assist customers to make informed travel choices.
6. Insights and Analytics
OpenNDC offers partners real-time analytics dashboards for insights on sales performance, booking behavior, customer behavior, and partner airline performance. It optimizes business decisions and improves conversions.
Why OpenNDC?
Now that we have an idea of how OpenNDC functions, the next logical question is: Why use OpenNDC as opposed to other distribution methods or platforms?
Here's why OpenNDC is perfectly suited for today's travel businesses:
1. Accelerated NDC Adoption
OpenNDC eliminates schemas, certification, and integration pains to accelerate NDC adoption. It allows OTAs and TMCs to onboard fast.
2. Single Point of Access to Content
As compared to connecting dozens of discrete airlines, OpenNDC brings a single hub platform to access rich airline content of multiple carriers.
3. Economically Efficient Distribution
Direct airline connectivity through OpenNDC minimizes dependency on costly GDS channels—saving distribution costs.
4. Enhanced Product Differentiation
OpenNDC-supported dynamic bundles, branded fares, and ancillaries allow product differentiation on all but price—allowing for greater margins and customer satisfaction.
5. Future-Proof Travel Tech Solution
On a cloud-native, modular foundation, OpenNDC is built for flexibility, speed-to-market, and scale—able to change as your business does.
OpenNDS: Enabling the Next Generation of Airline Retailing
With passengers demanding more value, transparency, and flexibility in our world today, the traditional airline content model is no longer adequate. OpenNDC offers an intelligent, quicker, and more agile way of selling air travel, enabling the technology that travel companies require to stay ahead of the curve.
Whether you're an OTA seeking to expand airline inventory, a corporate platform seeking greater control, or an airline seeking to repurpose content on your terms—OpenNDC is the solution for you.
Conclusion: The Time to Adopt OpenNDC Is Now
With NDC now the airline distribution standard, having a platform like OpenNDC in place is no longer a choice—it's a requirement. With its powerful capabilities, effortless integrations, and future-proofed architecture, OpenNDC has flipped the switch on air travel retailing and buying.
In order to get ahead of a changing marketplace, today is the day to learn about OpenNDC—and get it in place for your business.
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