Travel Agents Set For Enhanced Profits Courtesy Of Air France

Air France-KLM and Amadeus, the developers of software for the travel and tourism industry, have today announced the availability of the airline group’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) content on the Amadeus Travel Platform.

Created by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), NDC is a data exchange format that allows airlines to create and distribute relevant offers to customers while creating multiple business opportunities for travel agents and aggregators.

Under NDC, agents can search, compare, book, and service Air France-KLM content in one merged display through the Amadeus-X selling platform and other aggregators.

The integration provides access to Air France-KLM’s continuous pricing model and fares that are only exclusive to the NDC channel. This is in addition to providing the ability to hold a ticket for up to 24 hours with the guarantee of full refunds. Moreover, NDC bookings will help reduce the US$52 distribution system surcharge, currently applicable to the older EDIFACT data standard.

Airfrance-KLM and Amadeus signed an agreement for the integration in 2020 and have been perfecting the system before opening it up to agents in Nairobi, Kenya today.

“We have been working to develop the system and have over the last year trialed it while taking agents’ feedback and refining it more before release. We are now ready in terms of functionality,” said Hildabeta Amiani, the Air France-KLM Country Sales Manager for Kenya and offline markets.

“The challenge now is for us to adopt this technology and to use it for our benefit and our businesses” added Marius van der Ham, the Air France-KLM General Manager for East and Southern Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana

Nicanor Sabula, the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) lauded Air France-KLM for involving different industry stakeholders in the development of the system.

“As KATA, we have always advocated for a consultative process, ensuring that no one is left behind. We ask our other airline partners to embrace this consultative approach so that we build a product that is reflective of the desires of our business; NDC is here to make our businesses better.”

Under NDC, travel agents can secure better fares due to increased price points, exclusive fares from promotions and corporate deals, as well as a 10 percent discount on paid seats and dynamic seat bundles.

Jinal Shah, the managing director of customized travel service solutions provider Holiday Bazaar, and also the highest adopter of NDC in Kenya (at 36 percent), affirmed the benefits of the new standard, including a US$800 savings he made on a business-class ticket.

To gain access to NDC offers, travel agents are required to sign an onboarding agreement with Air France-KLM and Amadeus, after which they are trained on its usage and immediately begin making bookings through the standard.

For queries, an exclusive NDC customer support unit has been established to ensure that NDC challenges are handled as a matter of priority through a chat option that is available 24/7 worldwide in English, and real-time translation in French, Dutch, German, Italian, and Spanish. A trade support desk that handles NDC calls is also accessible by onboarded agents.

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