The New Distribution Capability (NDC) is gaining momentum worldwide. What began a few years ago as a technical topic of the future is now one of the key drivers in airline distribution. More and more airlines are providing content, fares and additional services exclusively via NDC - changing the way travel agencies, TMCs and companies book and manage flight products.

The major advantage is obvious: NDC enables dynamic pricing models, greater transparency and direct access to services that are not available or only available to a limited extent in the classic GDS. Airlines are actively utilising this freedom - and developing a growing ecosystem of differentiated products, fare families, additional services and exclusive content.

But one thing is very clear: not all NDCs are the same.

Why NDC is not standardised - and why it remains relevant

Lufthansa (FLX/SPRK), Air France/KLM, British Airways, Iberia and many other carriers rely on different technical variants, logics and implementations. This concerns, among other things:

• Tariff structures and pricing logic
• Ancillaries and bundles
• Corporate Recognition
• Payment methods
• Rebooking and refund rules
• Content depth and range of functions

For travel management companies, this means that the industry is gradually moving away from EDIFACT and towards a more complex, dynamic, digital distribution environment. The necessary consequence is a technological evolution that goes far beyond a classic GDS world.

How we at DER BUSINESS Travel assess the development

The direction is clear, and it is irreversible. We see the following trends:

1. More exclusive NDC content Airlines use NDC to make products visible that would otherwise not be bookable at all - from special fares and new additional services to branded products.
2. Increasingly dynamic pricing Fare filing according to EDIFACT is becoming less important. Prices are becoming more flexible, more volatile and more personalised.
3. More direct airline connection As NDC maturity increases, customers benefit more from direct visibility and better real-time data.
4. Higher technological requirements for TMCs Systems must be able to handle multisourcing - and deal with different NDC variants, APIs and GDS worlds in parallel.
5. Less classic GDS content The retreat from EDIFACT will continue. A pure GDS setup will no longer be sufficient in future.
6. Focus on multi-source systems Only those who intelligently combine different sources will be able to offer their customers complete content in the future.

How we at DER BUSINESS Travel are prepared for this

With DERfare, we set the course early on. Our multi-source-capable booking and service tool is already uniting today:

• Various NDC interfaces
• Amadeus Farelogix
• Further content sources

Our platform is constantly being developed further - with the aim of ensuring transparency, completeness and service quality for our customers, even in an increasingly fragmented distribution world.

In short: We are ready. And we are actively shaping this change - for our customers, for our partners and for the future of business travel.