Earlier this year, the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA)’s submitted a complaint to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) alleging American Airlines’ implementation of New Distribution Capability (NDC) technology “constitutes an unfair trade practice warranting immediate action by DOT.”
This Tuesday, American filed its response reportedly saying that “consumers should not be held hostage to old technology by those agencies that are choosing not to make that investment.”
The airline further argued that NDC, “makes it possible for American to offer more options to consumers at lower prices and with better service,” and that its success is “driving other U.S. airlines to also adopt NDC-based technologies.”
Comparing the response to other countries that have adopted NDC technology like Lufthansa, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Air France, and Etihad, American noted “A number of travel agencies already use NDC outside the United States but Edifact within the United States. Why they have chosen not to bring the benefits of NDC to US consumers is unclear.”
The DOT will review the response and may take further action that could influence the next steps of airline distribution. As the industry progresses with its NDC journey, it remains to be seen how regulatory decisions will shape the landscape.
For more like this see:
- “The move is inevitable.” Jitendra Sindhwani, IBS Software on the transition to modern airline retailing
- “It’s a big challenge but I’m confident this time we should get it right.” Tamur Goudarzi Pour on the transition to modern airline retailing
- Tension in the NDC journey: Complaint filed against American
