American Airlines (AA) has ignored requests by the American Society of Travel Advisors to delay implementation of its New Distribution Capability (NDC) initiative until the end of 2023. In response, ASTA has asked travel advisors to document any negative effects of American’s “abrupt transition” and how it is “impacting consumers (primarily) and your businesses (secondarily).”
ASTA is asking for fact-based responses to be sent via email to NDC.Impact@asta.org. ASTA plans to share these letters with the leadership of the House and Senate transportation committees, and to continue to discuss the issue with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Our Analysis: Travel Agencies’ Real Examples of NDC Problems May Help Move the Needle
Travel agencies everywhere are unhappy with AA, which has not given agencies — and their travel fulfillment centers — enough time to update their technology systems to align with the NDC initiative, which was announced in December and rolled out on April 3.
According to ASTA, the arguments made thus far have been theoretical, so an important step in strengthening the case against the NDC implementation is to show how it has specifically harmed advisors’ clients and consumers in general.
Fast Facts: ASTA Predicts Significant Disruptions to Shopping and Booking Air Tickets
- ASTA’s Mark Meader, senior vice president of industry affairs, and Peter Lobasso, senior vice president and general counsel, will monitor the email account routinely over the coming days.
- ASTA is asking for “fact-based, plain English information… focused on agency clients more than agencies themselves.” One example of valuable information the association is seeking is: “What sort of price disparity are you seeing in NDC channels, vs. non-NDC channels?”
- Last month, ASTA made a public statement that outlined its concerns regarding the NDC implementation proposed by AA.
- According to ASTA’s statement, more than 40% of AA’s fares “would be accessible only through NDC-ready channels,” following the implementation. “It appears that AA has made a strategic decision to forsake short-term profits to achieve a stronger, anti-competitive business position long-term, one secured by denying access to fare inventory,” the statement reads. "It inevitably follows that withholding such a substantial portion of its fares from critical independent distribution channels will have a serious negative impact on the traveling public, [and to] corporate travelers in particular.”
- ASTA predicts that without “key front-, mid-, and back-office travel fulfillment systems ready and able to fully process NDC transactions, significant disruptions to shopping and booking, including ticketing, refunds and re-ticketing are inevitable. Regardless of third-party readiness, the fragile public trust already impacted by recent events within the airline sector is at stake.”
- ASTA has already reached out to the DOJ and DOT.
