Virgin Atlantic, Amadeus Expand Distribution Agreement For Future NDC Content
The two companies have embarked on a close collaboration with the ultimate aim of integrating Virgin Atlantic’s NDC-based (New Distribution Capability) offerings into the industry-leading Amadeus Travel Platform. In doing so, they seek to provide travel sellers with a more streamlined and efficient booking process, and consumers with the ability to shop, compare and combine an even wider selection of travel products. — Laurie Baratti, TravelPulse Associate Writer
Virgin Atlantic and Amadeus have confirmed their renewed and expanded distribution agreement to further enable travel retailing, including the future distribution of the airline’s NDC-based offering. The agreement allows for a broader offering for travelers and enhanced operational efficiencies for travel sellers.
The agreement means Virgin Atlantic will keep accessing the biggest network of travel sellers worldwide through the Amadeus Travel Platform. Travel sellers across the globe will continue to enjoy smooth and efficient access to Virgin Atlantic’s large network of flights and inventory – providing them with wider booking possibilities and more options to build the journeys and experiences that travelers want.
Virgin Atlantic and Amadeus share the same vision of delivering on the demands of the traveler, who crave choice, transparency and ability to compare, with easy access to extensive travel content via the channel of their choice, and the two companies have embarked on a close collaboration to build the integration of the Virgin Atlantic’s NDC-based content into the Amadeus Travel Platform.
Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Atlantic said: “We are delighted to be strengthening our partnership with Amadeus. The Amadeus Travel Platform provides the reach, scale and retailing capabilities to support our multi-channel distribution strategy. The travel seller community continues to play a key role for us, and we are happy to keep giving travel sellers worldwide access to our global network of flights with the efficient servicing and processing capabilities coming from the Amadeus platform and features.”
Gianni Pisanello, SVP, Commercial, Airlines, Western Europe Amadeus said: “Extending our partnership with Virgin Atlantic means that we continue to deliver on our commitment of bringing the most comprehensive content and smooth booking management for our travel sellers, and at the same time support the airlines in their distribution strategy. We are very happy about our continued collaboration, and are looking forward to joining forces in the coming years to bring new opportunities to travelers and travel sellers alike.”