Unlocking the Power of NDC: A Travel Technology Guide to Modern Airline Retailing
The airline industry is undergoing a major digital shift. As customer expectations evolve and personalization becomes key, traditional distribution systems are no longer sufficient. At the heart of this transformation is NDC – New Distribution Capability. Developed by IATA, NDC is a modern data transmission standard based on XML that allows airlines to distribute their content directly to travel agents, online booking tools, and TMCs in a more dynamic and retail-oriented way.
But why was NDC introduced?
NDC marks a shift from transactional selling to retail-focused selling. It allows airlines to act like modern retailers—offering relevant, personalized, and flexible products to travelers.
Legacy Global Distribution Systems (GDS) limited how airlines could present their products—resulting in standardized, often commoditized offerings. NDC was designed to:
Enable personalized offers
Support dynamic pricing
Showcase ancillary services
Offer direct distribution capabilities
Feature
Content Structure
Visual Content
Ancillary Services
Fare Bundles
Pricing
Direct Airline Control
Time to Market for Offers
Customer Experience
GDS
Flat, standardized fares
No images or branding
Limited visibility
Not available
Fixed
Low
Slow
Basic
NDC
Dynamic, personalized offers
Rich media: logos, images, videos
Full access: bags, meals, seats, etc.
Custom fare families & bundles
Dynamic (real-time) pricing
High
Fast & flexible
Retail-like shopping experience
Feature
Content Structure
Visual Content
Ancillary Services
Fare Bundles
Pricing
Direct Airline Control
Time to Market for Offers
Customer Experience
GDS
Flat, standardized fares
No images or branding
Limited visibility
Not available
Fixed
Low
Slow
Basic
NDC
Dynamic, personalized offers
Rich media: logos, images, videos
Full access: bags, meals, seats, etc.
Custom fare families & bundles
Dynamic (real-time) pricing
High
Fast & flexible
Retail-like shopping experience
Challenges with NDC Adoption
-
Fragmented Connectivity & Integration Complexity
Integrating with multiple airlines using varying versions of the NDC standard is complex, time-consuming, and costly.
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Inconsistent Content Across Channels
Agents often see different content via NDC, GDS, and airline websites, making fare comparison and transparency difficult.
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Limited Access to Ancillaries & Offers
Many NDC implementations don’t offer full ancillary content, making upselling harder.
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Lack of Standardization in Servicing
Post-booking changes (refunds, reissues, cancellations) are not consistently supported across airlines.
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Complex Commission Models
Agents struggle with commission transparency and calculation under NDC vs. traditional GDS models.
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Travel Agency Onboarding by NDC Airlines
Integrating an airline’s NDC content into agency systems remains complex, slow, and technically demanding.
Farenexus & NDC
At Farenexus, we go beyond just offering NDC content. We enable the entire ecosystem to adopt, manage, and scale with NDC—bridging the gap between airline innovation and agency adoption.
- API Integration Expertise
- Ancillaries, Loyalty & Airline Commissions
- Seamless NDC Partner Onboarding
- Custom NDC Booking Platforms
- Post-Booking Services
- Technical & Business Support
Our NDC Capabilities:
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Seamless NDC Connectivity
Powering direct airline integrations.-
NDC API Development & Integration
Custom-built APIs enabling robust and scalable connections with airline systems.
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NDC Partner Onboarding for Airlines
Accelerated travel agency onboarding processes for airlines to join the NDC ecosystem with minimal friction.
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Custom NDC Booking Platforms
Tailor-made platforms designed for agencies or airlines to handle NDC-based bookings efficiently.
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Rich, Dynamic Content & Personalization
Delivering a next-gen shopping experience.-
Dynamic NDC Content
Real-time access to personalized offers, branded fares, and rich media content from NDC-enabled airlines.
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Loyalty Points
Seamless integration of airline loyalty programs for earning and redeeming points directly via NDC.
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Ancillary Services & Revenue Optimization
Beyond the seat – enhancing traveler value.-
NDC Ancillary Products
Access and manage ancillaries like baggage, meals, seats, and more, all through the NDC workflow.
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NDC Commission Calculation for Travel Agencies
Seamlessly integrated into the booking flow, our airline contract management solution - nexusCMT enables airlines to automate and manage transparent commission structures, ensuring agents have real-time visibility into their earnings.
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Post-Booking Flexibility & Support
Empowering travelers even after checkout.-
NDC Post-Booking Services
Handle cancellations, reissues, changes, and add-ons with ease through integrated NDC workflows.
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NDC Support
End-to-end technical and functional support for all NDC-related services, ensuring smooth operations.
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Why Partner Onboarding Is Still a Roadblock in NDC
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Manual & Time-Consuming Integration Processes
- Onboarding each agency partner involves manual coding, testing, and coordination — making it slow and resource-intensive.
- Airlines often lack tools to scale onboarding efficiently.
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Lack of Standardized Testing & Certification
- No unified system to test, validate, and certify NDC integrations.
- Leads to inconsistencies in implementation and delays in go-live.
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Limited Visibility into Integration Issues
- Troubleshooting failed APIs or XML errors often requires deep manual analysis, causing long resolution times and frustration for tech teams.
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Inability to Handle Multiple Partners at Scale
- Airlines struggle to onboard and support multiple agencies simultaneously without overwhelming internal teams.
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High Onboarding Costs & Technical Dependency
- Constant reliance on technical teams increases onboarding costs and reduces agility in retail operations.
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Compliance Risks & Certification Gaps
- Without proper validation and tracking, airlines risk non-compliance with NDC standards, impacting performance and certification status.
Introducing nexusAQUA
nexusAQUA is Farenexus’ next-generation NDC solution designed to simplify and accelerate NDC adoption for airlines. It empowers carriers to build seamless, scalable partnerships with travel agencies by streamlining partner onboarding, automating certification workflows, and enabling secure testing environments.
With capabilities that reduce agency onboarding time by up to 50%, nexusAQUA helps airlines go to market faster while ensuring compliance and operational excellence. From multi-partner integration to real-time optimization, it delivers the tools needed to maximize efficiency, cut costs, and enhance the end-to-end NDC experience — making it the perfect launchpad for airline retailing success.
Solving Agency Onboarding Challenges with nexusAQUA
Unlock the powerful features of nexusAQUA:
- Streamlined Partner Onboarding with guided workflows and automated setup reduces onboarding time by up to 50%.
- Automated Testing & Validation enables self-service certification, regression testing, and negative scenario simulations — ensuring faster and more accurate deployments.
- Advanced API Debugging & Insights provide real-time performance metrics and instant debugging to identify and resolve issues quickly.
- Built for multi-partner integration with scalable tools and real-time XML management to support parallel onboarding
- Self-service tools like Real-Time XML Management and automated validations reduce technical dependency and improve operational efficiency.
- Ensures compliance and operational excellence through structured workflows and audit-ready logs.
Final Thoughts
NDC is more than a tech standard—it’s the key to unlocking the next era of airline retailing and shaping the future of travel technology solutions. With the right partner, agencies and travel providers can turn complexity into opportunity and harness the full potential of modern travel distribution platforms.
At Farenexus, we’re not just adopting NDC—we’re driving innovation in travel technology and helping the industry thrive through it.
Talk to us today to learn how nexusAQUA, our next-generation NDC-enabled travel technology platform, can transform your approach to modern airline distribution and empower your business for the future.