Air Canada and Travelport have renewed their distribution agreement to now includes New Distribution Capability (NDC) content and services. The deal ensures agencies linked to Travelport globally can access Air Canada’s full range of products, ancillaries and service offerings.
According to an Air Canada spokesperson, Travelport has a strong footprint in Canada, with approximately 20% market share.
"Travelport and Air Canada share a decades-long relationship and we're pleased to be taking this important next step as we modernize our distribution capabilities," said Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital for Air Canada.
"Together, we will enable the delivery of the full range of content and fares that Air Canada provides to our travel trade partners, as well as access to the many upcoming products and services that are focused on improving travel for our customers," he added.
Implementation is to take place over the coming months on Travelport+.
Travelport said, "agency customers will be able to easily search, view and compare Air Canada's offers all in one place."
Air Canada calls NDC a "cornerstone of Air Canada's distribution modernization strategy." As Open Jaw reported, on 19APR, the airline announced its move to IATA's NDC program after signing a multi-year deal that provides access to the airline's NDC-sourced content via Amadeus.
This announcement was followed on 13JUN, as OJ reported, by Air Canada's multi-year partnership with North American broad based Sabre distribution for its NDC-sourced content.
WHY NDC
During the launch event, Air Canada said NDC provides new benefits, expanded content and additional trade support for agencies and travel buyers. Airline executives said the program will provide a competitive alternative to legacy distribution, giving agents access to Air Canada inventory, fares, ancillary services, ticketing, and digital products as NDC focuses on providing more personalized content as well as access to the best possible prices across channels.
A few weeks later, Nasr joined Open Jaw's President, Nina Slawek, on the Pink Couch, where he shared the reasons for NDC and how all channels benefit from the advanced technology.
Travelport says they view NDC not just through an airline lens but from an agency perspective. "At Travelport, we believe NDC — like all content sources — should be built for agencies by being easy to search and buy. And by helping agencies retail better, everyone benefits."
"Our new long-term agreement with Air Canada is a result of our shared focus on making it easier for agents to shop, sell and service dynamic offers with access to even more content from all sources - including NDC," said Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Travel Partners at Travelport. "As we prepare to roll out our Air Canada NDC solution in the coming months, our agency customers can rest assured they will have continued access to extensive offerings from Air Canada, including personalized offers and the ability to easily manage all aspects of their customers' travel within a single view of product features and ancillaries."
Air Canada officials say, advisors will be better off with a new, streamlined system that allows them to serve customers more efficiently.
More information on Travelport's website.
