RIAAN van Schoor is the founder of the UK-based travel data platform for TMCs, Agentivity.
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Last week, the global travel agency community reacted with shock and disbelief to the new distribution model Qantas hopes to launch in Jul 2025 (TD 27 Nov).
I had to double check the announcement was not perhaps made on 01 Apr, but it was not – this was for real and the actual intent of a major, global airline.
Someone was paid good money for this ‘plan’.
So what about this new model is causing so much uproar? As it turns out, a few things actually.
It had elements of the failed SAS Scandinavian Airlines NDC plan (which never took off) and the most recent and well-known failed NDC model of American Airlines, in that it’s almost as complex, and has a ‘by invitation only’ level.
The most talked about point was in fact the introduction of ‘premium NDC’ in the invitation only channel, so now we have EDIFACT, standard NDC via GDS, standard NDC via tech partner, and premium NDC.
Why oh why introduce this level of complexity to an already fragmented and technically challenged audience? It seems, because they can.
Unlike AA or SAS, market dominance is a given for Qantas.
So it is sad really that the carrier will force this complex plan on their travel sellers, despite not even using NDC on their direct channels (“NDC is technology designed purely for the indirect channel” – in the FAQs of this announcement).
Interestingly, if you read between the lines of the FAQs, you will also notice the ‘by invitation only’ channel really is a capacity issue for Qantas, and nothing else.
Back to the ‘NDC for indirect channel only’ issue; I can tell you now this will remain a continuous friction point as goals such as ‘provide an improved booking and travel experience for your customers’ will be difficult to realise if the direct channel remains NDC distant.
It brings back memories of those early internet days where companies had an e-commerce department.
My own take on this is that the plan seems to have been thought up by a company very disconnected from reality.
The so-called NDC benefits listed in the announcement are also far from inspirational.
The marketing lipstick over this very ugly pig has been spread on very thick indeed.
If you’ve read this far in the piece, you might be thinking I’m an NDC naysayer, but let me assure you of the opposite, as a technologist I’ve spent a frustrating 32 years in an industry with so much potential, yet so little progress on the technical front.
I really want to see us progress, and I don’t care if it’s NDC or not – as long as it’s making things better for the customer.
The biggest irony in this plan of Qantas is that in reality, NDC should lower your distribution cost, but with this plan, Qantas is very likely to increase its overall distribution cost.
Not only is the actual agency model complex and it will require a lot of resources to manage (hence the invitation channel), but they are ending up with at least four platforms themselves as per my understanding:
– Amadeus Altea internally
– Accelya for direct channel (and any NDC messaging)
– Spotnana for direct SME
– NDC with three different layers for the indirect channel
You don’t need to be a ‘techie’ to know that is not a sustainable technology approach, nor is it a customer-centric one, and yes, it does exist, tech like Retailaer.com is one example – one technology platform, customer-centric, multiple distribution channels.
Some might say Qantas has no choice with its various platforms; the industry is cluttered with gatekeepers and dominant providers and airlines have their hands tied.
Those who try to be different end up on distribution islands and fail, for example the Flyr airline.
But really Qantas, surely let’s keep things simple, and with your travel sellers involved.
Get some of us in a room for a week and we’ll have a much simpler plan for you, and yes, it will involve the checkbox that is NDC, don’t worry.
I have not even talked about the lack of understanding of most airlines of the needs of corporate buyers, but I’ve run out of space with this piece now.
Riaan Van Schoor is a self-taught programmer, who got interested in the tech side of the industry and moved over to work for a GDS, and later co-founded Agentivity, a travel data platform for TMCs, with his best friend.
Follow him on LinkedIn HERE.
