United’s Amadeus Renewal Includes NDC Content Distribution

United Airlines will begin distributing New Distribution Capability-enabled content globally through the Amadeus Travel Platform later this year per a renewed distribution agreement, Amadeus announced.

Amadeus and United already have been pilot testing NDC content distribution with select customers, and the full launch is on target for sometime in the third quarter, said Robert Buckman, Amadeus head of travel content sourcing in the Americas. It will include “some unique content in NDC” including “various bundled offering and continuous pricing,” he said.

United already has been a member of Amadeus’ NDC [X] program, though which it has been providing feedback to Amadeus on how to display and distribute its content, according to Amadeus.

The United agreement is the most recent of several Amadeus NDC agreements announced over the past several months, including with American Airlines, Qantas, International Airlines Group, Singapore Airlines and Air France-KLM.

“2021 has been a pivotal year, with NDC going live in all our major geographies around the world,” Buckman said. “The ultimate measure of success is adoption in the market, so we have really focused on working with the travel agencies while at the same time integrating with the airline workflows.”

Michael B. Baker www.businesstravelnews.com