To mark the event ACTE Global Summitheld in Paris from 14 to 16 October, American Express GBT looked at one of the most crucial issues facing the airline industry today: the NDC. Behind these three letters lies a new distribution standard ("New Distribution Capability") and, above all, a concept that is still unclear to many companies. This is the finding of a study published by TMC in partnership with ACTE (Association of Corporate Travel Executives). In fact, one in four Travel Managers (23%) admit that they are "not at all" confident about their understanding of the NDC standard and its implications for travel programmes. In addition, Travel Managers see NDC and the fragmentation it entails as a threat, both in terms of cost control (89%), compliance with travel policies (87%) and duty of care (77%). As a logical consequence, the majority of travel managers (63%) are not exploring new platforms beyond their existing booking tool.
maintain visibility on costs and passenger behaviour
However, "change is now", one might be tempted to sum up, and burying one's head in the sand will solve nothing - quite the contrary. " The biggest unknown about NDC is whether travel managers will be able to maintain visibility of costs and traveller behaviour, but they can't afford to wait to tackle this issue. "notes Greeley Koch, Executive Director of Global ACT. " Travel managers need to assess their policies and technology now to be ready for potential disruption. If they are caught out, they will end up with a programme that is more fragmented, less secure and, ultimately, less effective. "says Greeley Koch.
