Lufthansa airlines' NDC content to be made available on Amadeus from later this year

Gradual roll-out planned to start in the fourth quarter as part of an expanded deal with the GDS

New Distribution Capability content from German carrier Lufthansa is to be made available through the Amadeus GDS from the fourth quarter of 2022.

An expanded partnership between the tech giant and airline will see NDC-sourced offers distributed via agents on the Amadeus Selling Platform Connect, Amadeus Travel API and Cytric Travel & Expense. 

The deal covers NDC offers from Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Air Dolomiti and Eurowings Discover and includes continuous pricing and a wide range of ancillary services.  

Beyond NDC offers, travel sellers will continue having access to Lufthansa Group airlines content through traditional EDIFACT technology. 

Lufthansa Group and Amadeus said they are working to integrate the airlines’ NDC offers into the Amadeus Travel Platform.

The partners are “targeting a gradual global roll-out in Q4 2022 onwards, commencing in selected European markets, and thus enable shopping, booking, payment and servicing in a solution that is fully integrated into the Amadeus ecosystem”. 

In following months, the range of content and functionalities will be continuously expanded, Amadeus added.  

Tamur Goudarzi Pour, chief commercial officer and member of the management board of SWISS, said: 

"The Lufthansa Group remains fully committed to shaping the aviation industry and modernizing air travel experiences for our passengers. 

"I am excited that with the signing of this groundbreaking distribution agreement, which also enables the introduction of two NDC models, we continue on our path to modernize airline retailing together with our long-term partner Amadeus. 

“Together, as industry leaders, we will substantially accelerate the penetration of modern industry standards such as NDC on a global scale." 

Decius Valmorbida, president of travel at Amadeus, added: "The reach, scale and sophisticated retailing capabilities of our NDC-enabled solutions will help Lufthansa Group and Amadeus travel sellers better serve their customers with more relevant offerings.

"This agreement comes at a time when NDC and the move towards travel retailing is evolving rapidly, and we believe such traveller-centric partnerships will be critical to the sustainable growth of our industry."