Air Canada is doing away with most surcharges on legacy GDS bookings. But a top official at TTI Travel says AC has been “somewhat hesitant” about implementing its NDC program.
In its release on 17JUN, Air Canada said its DCR, or Digital Cost Recovery program, aimed at providing advisors with an incentive to use NDC technology, “has now been simplified to apply only to lowest fares booked in each cabin.”
Travel Weekly said in a report that the surcharge of $21.50 for legacy bookings in Amadeus and Travelport and $24.50 in Sabre now only applies to the G, K, A and P fare buckets. AC will continue to pay a $2 per flight incentive for bookings made directly with its NDC technology.
The report said Air Canada plans to go live with NDC content within Sabre in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Danielle Duhamel, director, National Operations for TTI Travel, told Open Jaw that she feels Air Canada has been “somewhat hesitant” with its NDC implementation.
“They have been heavily focused on the AC Connex tool, which is not a comprehensive tool for agents,” Duhamel said in response to Air Canada’s 17JUN NDC update.
“TMC’s rely on the GDS for most of their content, rather than using websites or multiple tools for a single airfare quote,” she said. “Therefore, TTI has decided to follow the GDS's lead and add airlines' NDC content to the GDS when the market is ready. Our front-line advisors have not encountered many discrepancies when it comes to finding the most economical fare for a particular trip.”
Duhamel said she thinks the airline “has been slow at rolling out full content, especially to the GDS. There have been numerous missed timelines.”
AC has been “very open and receptive on the sales side,” she said. “However, there seems to be a disconnect between the tech and sales teams.
“We believe they are making great strides in improving the advisors' booking experience by making everything available in one place. However, if advisors need to log in to multiple applications, it won't help with servicing our mutual clients effectively.”
Asked what Air Canada could do to make NDC better, Duhamel said her only suggestion is to keep the user in mind.
“Ensure that GDS partnerships and travel agencies can easily source offers and special services,” she said. “Granting TMCs some autonomy helps us assist travelers more effectively, which in turn reduces the need for airlines to resolve issues directly.”
ACTA president Wendy Paradis said it’s too early to know the full impact of NDC since there has been limited NDC capability available within Canada to date.
“We expect to have a greater understanding with the upcoming launch of Air Canada-Sabre NDC capability. ACTA will be consulting with ACTA members in the coming days and weeks,” she said.
