IMPACT OF THE NEW DISTRIBUTION CAPABILITY (NDC) STANDARD ON FUTURE AIRLINE DISTRIBUTION – A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

In 2012 IATA has initiated a new communication standard in airline distribution called New Distribution Capability (NDC) that will enable airlines, IT providers, and travel agents to work together to create new capability in the distribution of airline products and services as well as to simplify the business. NDC has been introduced to solve limitations of the existing programs in the distribution system and to represent the modernization of future air travel distribution. NDC standard intends to give a potential impact on future airline distribution where airlines will have wider opportunities to directly interact with intermediaries and reduce commission fees to the Global Distribution System (GDS). This study, in particular, confirms that airline distribution specialists firmly believe that NDC constitutes an important development in the airline industry and, while still being in its development stage, it clearly has the potential to address today´s market issues and to solve tomorrow´s challenges.