Travelport, Qantas sign new agreement on NDC connections

15 May 2019

Travelport has entered into a new agreement with Qantas that includes a commitment to continued collaboration on the future of distribution. Qantas will launch its Qantas Channel on 1 August this year, which will allow agents to access content sourced from the NDC-enabled Qantas Distribution Platform.

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“We are delighted to be supporting Qantas as it develops its new channel and introduces the NDC standard. As the first GDS operator with an NDC booking solution available to a small group of customers, we have proven our capability to deliver this new standard. We are supporting our customers as they prepare for this new distribution era to ensure it provides seamless, integrated travel choice through access to the broadest range of content. I’d like to thank our customers for collaborating with us as we deliver the new Qantas Channel and NDC solutions which make the process of buying and managing travel better for everyone," said Scott Barber, Travelport’s managing director, Australia and New Zealand.

Commenting on the airline’s new distribution model, Qantas chief customer officer Vanessa Hudson said the airline was pleased to be working with Travelport to make the Qantas Channel available to their agents globally.

“The digital environment has changed the way we need to work with our trade partners, and our new technology paired with this new Qantas channel agreement will support us on the journey to delivering our vision for our mutual customers. We’re excited to continue to innovate with our trade partners and share in the benefits of this new technology.”

2019 NDC roadmap

Travelport recently outlined its 2019 NDC roadmap after the successful onboarding of the first group of travel agencies to receive access to NDC content following the initial live booking in October 2018. As part of its commitment to ensure NDC works for everyone, Travelport has now implemented its booking solution with a wide variety of travel agencies, including American Express Global Business Travel, DNATA, Gray Dawes Group, Global Travel Management, Meon Valley Travel, Premier Holidays, TAG, Travel Counsellors and Travel and Transport Statesman.

Travelport has also shared insights from the first phase of implementation of its NDC booking solution, as part of its commitment to ensure NDC works for all parts of the travel industry. These learnings highlighted the importance of agent familiarity, workflow integration, a considered roadmap, the demand for NDC content and the need for broad industry collaboration.

Following the successful onboarding of the current agency partners Travelport will continue to refine its NDC booking solutions. Travelport will follow up with further enhancements including an API NDC connection channel through Travelport’s Trip Service API mid-year.