Lufthansa, Amadeus Strike NDC Agreement

The Lufthansa Group’s New Distribution Capability offers will begin to be available through Amadeus’ NDC platforms in the next quarter, the companies announced on Tuesday.

Per an agreement between Amadeus and Lufthansa, Amadeus’ NDC-enabled interfaces—including Cytric Travel and Expense, Amadeus Selling Platform Connect and Amadeus Travel—are starting a “gradual global rollout” of the group’s NDC content in select European markets in the fourth quarter. Content and functionality will be “continuously expanded” in the subsequent months, the companies said.

The NDC content will include continuous pricing, which enables airlines to set fares beyond the 26 traditional buckets, and a “wide range of ancillary services” from Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss, Air Dolomiti and Eurowings Discover, according to Lufthansa. Amadeus will continue to make Lufthansa Group content available through traditional EDIFACT technology as well.

The agreement “will substantially accelerate the penetration of modern industry standards such as NDC on a global scale,” according to Lufthansa Group chief commercial officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour.

Michael B. Baker  www.businesstravelnews.com