
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.
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:
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
Integrating with multiple airlines using varying versions of the NDC standard is complex, time-consuming, and costly.
Agents often see different content via NDC, GDS, and airline websites, making fare comparison and transparency difficult.
Many NDC implementations don’t offer full ancillary content, making upselling harder.
Post-booking changes (refunds, reissues, cancellations) are not consistently supported across airlines.
Agents struggle with commission transparency and calculation under NDC vs. traditional GDS models.
Integrating an airline’s NDC content into agency systems remains complex, slow, and technically demanding.
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.
Custom-built APIs enabling robust and scalable connections with airline systems.
Accelerated travel agency onboarding processes for airlines to join the NDC ecosystem with minimal friction.
Tailor-made platforms designed for agencies or airlines to handle NDC-based bookings efficiently.
Real-time access to personalized offers, branded fares, and rich media content from NDC-enabled airlines.
Seamless integration of airline loyalty programs for earning and redeeming points directly via NDC.
Access and manage ancillaries like baggage, meals, seats, and more, all through the NDC workflow.
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.
Handle cancellations, reissues, changes, and add-ons with ease through integrated NDC workflows.
End-to-end technical and functional support for all NDC-related services, ensuring smooth operations.
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.
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.