British Airways has shown its commitment to the evolution of the industry by announcing that it is strengthening its New Distribution Capability (NDC) platform with significant new initiatives which will enable agents to better integrate and manage NDC in the operational environment.

The initiatives will accelerate the benefits available to customers who book through NDC enabled travel agents.

The latest changes will drive the airline closer to achieving IATA’s goal of 20 per cent of indirect bookings through NDC APIs by the end of 2020. British Airways has already exceeded this target in the UK.

From the end of March, travel agents connected to NDC will benefit from enhancements to complex servicing capability, which will allow them to accept or search between different flight options, without the need to contact a call centre.

“If there is ever a time for trade partners to join us on this journey, it’s now.”

British Airways’ NDC platform will now include full servicing prior to ticketing for agents who offer their customers a delay between booking and ticketing. This will give agents the ability to change dates and times for held bookings. This follows the launch of a new 24/7 NDC Service Escalation Process which complements existing support structures already in place.

BA’s head of distribution, Rogier van Enk said: “These enhancements demonstrate our commitment to delivering more choice and value to customers and trade partners. It’s just the beginning of our 2020 distribution strategy and we will continue to listen and collaborate with our agency partners as we expand our New Distribution Capability offering. If there is ever a time for trade partners to join us on this journey, it’s now.”