British Airways and Iberia comments on the application for approval of an agreement 

by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on distribution standards 

(Resolution 787).

Data exchange standards established by IATA and other industry bodies have underpinned the air 

transport sector for the better part of 40 years. AIRIMP teletype and EDIFACT have been in use 

since well before the rise of the Internet, and support the basic data messaging functionality that is 

required where travellers are shopping on the basis of schedule and price alone. However, messaging 

standards have evolved materially in the Internet age, to support consumer-driven demand for 

increasingly sophisticated and granular online shopping experiences. Extensible Markup Language 

(“XML”) was designed explicitly to emphasise simplicity, generality and usability over the Internet,1

and it has come into common use for the exchange of data over the Internet. 

In fact, XML is already used in the air transport sector (for example, the Open Travel Alliance and 

Open Axis standard is XML-based and GDSs have used XML-based connections with certain airlines 

and XML usage is common with low cost carriers). Unfortunately wider adoption of XML has been 

inhibited because of the absence of a single industry wide standard for the use of XML. IATA’s New 

Distribution Capability (“NDC”) is underpinned by the Open Axis Group standard, a modernised 

XML standard created in 2010. In essence, NDC offers players in the air transport sector the potential 

to exchange data with one another through standardised APIs. It would not mandate who sector 

players communicate with or how they do so. For example, an OTA or corporate customer could use 

an XML-based IT solution to aggregate data that it acquires from one or more GDSs and any 

combination of metasearch sites, content aggregators and airlines, simply by interfacing with the 

XML-based Application Program Interfaces (“APIs”) used by these entities. This approach would 

enable the OTA/corporate customer to use such an IT solution to access data from a range of sources, 

and would also provide access to a rich set of data about the various flight options. NDC has the 

potential to increase choice in both of these significant respects.

Indeed, by creating an industry message standard that can be used for the distribution of enhanced 

content through indirect channels NDC would reduce entry and expansion barriers for new and 

existing market participants, potentially further increasing competition by facilitating new products.

In a departure from the present situation, NDC would enable travel agents and customers to choose 

how and from whom to source the data that they use to select, book and manage their air travel, 

working with a technology provider able to design and supply an IT solution that meets their needs. 

They can choose to add such a solution to their current GDS-supplied data stream, replace a current 

GDS solution, or to continue to use a traditional GDS solution as they currently do.

In addition, NDC would facilitate real-time and dynamic updates to pricing, rather than the periodic 

updates that the current standards support. This clearly benefits the industry as a whole, through 

access to the most up to date and accurate prices.

 

1

http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#sec-origin-goals.
Having said all of this, while the use of XML APIs would facilitate a broad range of IT solutions 

between different players in the sector, British Airways and Iberia understand that NDC would not 

provide a mechanism for anticompetitive exchange of (or access to) competitors’ commercially 

sensitive information. In other words, XML APIs would not provide a channel through which carriers 

could anticompetitively exchange product information between themselves. IATA is aware of the 

risks here, and we understand that IATA has taken steps to safeguard against inadvertent (and 

deliberate) information exchange.

Finally from the technical perspective, the ability to deploy an XML-based IT solution could lower 

the price of air travel, both by reducing distribution costs by increasing options for agents customers 

and reducing the costs of some systems (e.g., modern IT systems that use message standards such as 

XML are less expensive to maintain and operate than legacy mainframe systems; in addition barriers 

to entry would be lower for new providers of XML-based systems, and increased competition would 

reduce the costs of such systems). 

In addition to facilitating customer access to, and integration of data from, multiple sources, NDC 

would continue to offer customers the ability to compare schedules and prices across airlines, helping 

drive a highly competitive market that has benefited consumers hugely. If anything, NDC would 

enable customers to increase the number of airlines that they are able to compare, by using XML APIs 

to access data for low cost and other airlines not currently displayed by GDSs or that already use 

XML for their interfaces with GDSs (e.g., Easyjet). 

Importantly, IATA’s NDC would enable airlines to meet consumer and corporate demand for more 

choice and information about products and services. The modern consumer expects to receive 

relevant and detailed offers when searching and purchasing, and to be able to add and remove 

products and services that are (and are not) important to them. The AIRIMP and EDIFACT standards 

are inflexible and do not support comparison shopping on product and service features. When 

shopping for most products in other fields, the ability for customers to compare product detailed 

features is an essential part of the shopping process, which the current airline industry infrastructure 

simply does not support. Full disclosure and information about product attributes is clearly in the 

interests of consumers. Some consumers want to be able to choose particular services (including 

whether to receive a meal, seat selection and Internet access in the air) without having to purchase a 

bundle of such services, while other consumers prefer premium service carriers where a number of 

services are included in a bundle irrespective of the choice of cabin. In all cases consumers want to 

avoid surprise extra charges and are better served with shopping options that allow them to understand 

what they are buying and compare not just price but also quality of service. NDC would enable 

consumers to easily see what is bundled in the core service, what other options exist for related 

products and services, and the relative cost of each. 

If more choice and innovative products cannot be offered by third party distribution infrastructure 

because of technical limitations, new solutions are required. Otherwise, these choices and products 

will only be accessible to customers on airlines’ own web sites. British Airways and Iberia recognise 

the importance of travel agency partners, for both customers and the airlines, and want to be able to 

get our extended product range to customers via travel agents and other indirect channels. We also 

recognise that there is rapid innovation with the web and mobile in how customers shop, and believe 

that the ability to retail products effectively through current and as many new channels as possible, 

allowing customers to make objective decisions from the widest range of options, is essential.
Personalized marketing enabled by NDC standards would give consumers the option of avoiding 

irrelevant products or generalised offers. All consumers would get the price benefits of the hyper 

competitive airline industry, but each consumer would also have the choice of either shopping 

anonymously or shopping in a manner that provides them with personalised offers. Travel agents and 

other shopping outlets that use NDC standards could ask customers if they wish to provide 

information in advance of shopping to indicate their preferences so that they can be provided with 

options that meet those preferences, just as customers visiting an online retailer, such as Amazon.com

can do today. Customers would also be given the option of remaining anonymous if they prefer not to 

provide data regarding their preferences. The personalization contemplated by the NDC standard is 

similar to some existing practices for shopping for air travel (e.g., today customers can already opt to 

provide additional information in advance when shopping, such as their frequent flyer number, to 

receive tailored offers and more importantly, content relevant to their frequent flyer tier status (for 

example, seat selection free of charge)). Collection and use of personal information regarding the 

traveller is already an inherent part of the shopping and booking experience. The NDC standard 

would make the collection, exchange and use of this information more efficient and enable more 

options and relevant offers for the consumer. Airlines, intermediaries and travel agents are already 

subject to privacy and data security laws and regulations around the world and thus today and 

tomorrow’s personalized offers would have to be fully compliant with the requirements of those laws 

and regulations. 

The NDC standards would also enable functionality for offering travellers assistance when their travel 

is disrupted. For example, the personalization capabilities that are used for the sales process can be 

used to provide travellers with relevant and useful solutions to their situation when their flights have 

been cancelled or delayed (e.g., through the prompt provision of personalized options for alternative 

travel and connections in the airport on their mobile device). 

In summary, the NDC standard would facilitate innovation and competition in air transport 

distribution and lead to greater choice and lower prices for air travellers.

John Mornement Jacobo Herrero Peire

Head of Selling & Distribution VP Sales

British Airways Iberia

Waterside Martínez Villergas, 52

PO BOX 365, Harmondsworth 28027 Madrid

UB7 0GB, United Kingdom Spain