Airlink’s NDC offering will go live globally as of 31 July 2024 and a distribution fee will be applied to ‘normal’ GDS (Edifact) bookings.
Airlink CEO and MD, Rodger Foster, said “By introducing NDC, Airlink and its industry partners can start taking advantage of the way airlines’ content is made available. Importantly, this allows us to reduce costs while also enhancing our competitiveness.”
Foster pointed out that the introduction of NDC would not only provide Airlink’s partner agents with an unparalleled level of service but also access to richer content and retailing opportunities.
“Partner agents can seamlessly service their bookings, manage ancillary services, provide real-time updates, and resolve customer enquiries promptly,” he added.
The airline says its existing published fares will still be available to the travel trade through the traditional GDS Edifact channel until 30 July 2026. But bookings made through the normal GDS (Edifact) channel will be subject to a fee. From 30 July this year, fees will be applied as follows:
• Domestic (POS ZA): $6 (R110)
• Regional (POS Africa): $9 (R166)
• Global (Rest of World): $11 (R202).
Transitioning to the NDC channel will give agents access to additional content and preferential terms on sectors in C, J, Y, K and H classes from the inception date.
Airlink’s commercial department has worked with Thomalex over the past year to develop and streamline its NDC offering. Thomalex will act as the Airlink’s initial NDC aggregator.
To ensure its global reach via NDC, Airlink has said it will assess solutions and partners that could be onboarded on an ongoing basis.
