Sabre and SAS relationship now includes NDC content

The enhanced agreement with Sabre will allow SAS to "take the next step" in retailing journey

Sabre Corporation has announced a multi-year distribution agreement that expands its long-standing relationship with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). 

The agreement with the GDS, ensures Sabre-connected agencies can retain competitive access to SAS’s fares and offers through the extensive Sabre travel marketplace, while also giving the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the ability to distribute future NDC content. 

“We want to enable our travel agent partners to provide our customers with the best possible offers and experiences,” said Kati Andersson, vice president, digital transformation of Scandinavian Airlines. 

“So, it is essential for us to work closely with the right travel technology partner to empower us to get the right offers in front of the right people. 

“Our enhanced distribution agreement with Sabre will allow us to take the next step in our retailing journey, while ensuring that travel agencies will have more options to access our rich content using both traditional and NDC technologies.”

Alessandro Ciancimino, vice president, airline distribution of Sabre Travel Solutions, said: “It’s our goal to broaden content and distribution options for our agency and airline partners in important geographies and marketplace segments globally.” 

“We’re confident that Sabre is uniquely positioned to solve the travel ecosystem challenge of providing a unified technology solution for all key industry participants that brings together EDIFACT and NDC content as we transition to a new world of Offers and Orders.”

Sabre’s Beyond NDC program provides the technology infrastructure to expand offer- and order-based airline retailing in the indirect channel. 

Scandinavian Airlines will join more than 15 carriers that are already distributing their NDC content through Sabre’s GDS.  

Kathy Morgan, vice president, product management, distribution experiences of Sabre Travel Solutions, added: “Going beyond NDC is a key priority for Sabre as part of our objective of helping airlines succeed with Offer and Order-based retailing,” 

“We’re delighted to work with SAS to release its NDC offers in the coming months. While NDC bookings are still scaling, this agreement with SAS is yet another demonstration of Sabre’s commitment to enhancing global travel retailing, while driving value and serving the diverse interests of the entire travel ecosystem.”