Travelport further deepened its collaboration with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the travel agency community on the implementation of SIA’s KrisConnect Programme – the airline’s initiative to leverage IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard.
Damian Hickey, Global Vice President & Global Head of Air Travel Partners, briefed representatives of around 200 agencies on Travelport’s NDC implementation roadmap for SIA at the launch of the airline’s expanded KrisConnect Programme in Singapore today. He also offered a preview of the intuitive new NDC-enabled process which agencies can soon expect, as Travelport prepares to launch the next phase of its NDC delivery shortly.
Since KrisConnect was first launched in late 2018, Travelport has been working extensively with SIA to integrate its NDC content, ahead of general availability from April 2020. Functionality is expected to be launched through Travelport’s NDC-enabled points-of-sale, starting with initial pilots with a small group of agency customers in the coming months.
Agencies connecting to KrisConnect through Travelport will gain access to customized offerings that are tailored to customers’ needs and preferences. SIA has advised that they will also benefit from a wider range of fares and other content come April 2020. All of this will be delivered through an intuitive, user-friendly interface integrated into the Travelport systems they are already familiar with.
Hickey commented, “As one of the first Asian airlines to begin exploring new distribution capabilities, we are very pleased to have been working hand-in-hand with Singapore Airlines since the start of its journey. Close collaboration with the agency community is crucial to the smooth delivering of a complex process like NDC; and we will continue to partner SIA and the wider travel industry to deliver travelers an elevated, personalized booking experience.”
This latest collaboration builds on Travelport’s leading momentum in rolling out NDC capabilities for the industry. Travelport was the first GDS to make a live NDC booking in October 2018, and is already connected to six airlines’ NDC content.
