CWT hails NDC pilot as 'leap forward' in widening adoption of the new data standard

The travel management platform will start booking and servicing NDC fares from Singapore Airlines and Air France-KLM on Amadeus next month

Travel management platform CWT has begun a pilot scheme making New Distribution Capability bookings available to its agents via its GDS partners.

The firm described the move as “another leap forward towards making wide-scale NDC adoption a reality”.

CWT will start booking and servicing NDC-enabled content on Singapore Airlines and Air France-KLM, through the Amadeus Travel Platform, in August. 

In addition to corporate negotiated rates, the pilot covers certain unique NDC-enabled content on these airlines. 

For Singapore Airlines, this will initially include special discounted fares, while additional amenities like paid seats and extra baggage will be added at a later date. 

Meanwhile, CWT customers will be able to access Air France-KLM continuous pricing offers, and seat bundles and sustainable aviation fuel options will be introduced in the near future. 

CWT said it will expand the pilot throughout the rest of 2022 to include other airlines on both the Amadeus and Sabre platforms.

Erik Magnuson, vice president of product management, travel content and connectivity, said: 

“This represents another big step in taking the promise of NDC from theory to practice.

“Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, we have worked closely with our airline and technology partners to innovate and advance key NDC initiatives over the past two and a half years, and we continue to do so. 

“There is still some way to go before NDC can be adopted at scale and its full potential is realized, but we are excited to be at the forefront of this transformation. 

“Our customers are already beginning to reap some of the benefits, while still keeping their core travel program priorities intact.”