Sabre is working on the development of next generation distribution and retailing solutions, which leverage the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) New Distribution Capability (NDC) in ways that will benefit airlines, travel retailers and consumers.
Speaking at The Beat Live in Dallas, Texas last week Sabre’s president and CEO Sean Menke reiterated Sabre’s commitment to NDC standards, saying that the company is already Level 1 compliant with a roadmap to become Level 2 and Level 3 compliant in 2018.
He stressed that the development of NDC standards was just the first step in a series of changes that would impact the way airlines market their services and how travel agencies retail those services to consumers.
There are also host of other implications including airline revenue management, ticketing fulfillment and servicing and other back-office functions that travel agencies provide in support of airlines – most especially travel management companies that support business travellers.
Sean Menke: Sabre is already Level 1 compliant with IATA NDC standards
“Sabre has a history of bringing together the interests of travel suppliers and travel retailers and finding ways for technology to move the industry forward.
“The conversations we have today with airlines and agencies are very different from our discussions even a few years ago. The forward-thinking people are focused on driving value creation for airlines and agencies alike. That’s how we will make NDC work.”
Menke added Sabre will be working on how to bring this to market “but we have no intention of giving up the technology leadership role we have played historically.”
He observed that while there is a perception of airline industry consolidation steering airline financial results, “the real impact on airline economics has been the explosive growth of low cost carriers, impressively moving beyond the leisure travel market and successfully driving pricing and competition across both the business and leisure travel segments.”
These factors require traditional carriers to differentiate their offerings and find new ways to drive revenue growth while still competing for the price-conscious traveller, added Menke.
• Featured image credit: IATA
