Sabre Expands Beyond NDC Program
by Daniel McCarthy
United joins American Airlines, American Express Global Business Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and Flight Centre Travel Group, as Sabre NDC partners. Photo: United.
Sabre is expanding its Beyond New Distribution Capability (NDC) program, the company’s initiative to improve Sabre for airlines, travel agencies and consumers.
After launching the program last month with American Airlines, American Express Global Business Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and Flight Centre Travel Group, Sabre is adding a number of new travel companies to the list of partners including United Airlines, BCD Travel, Finnair, American Express Travel, Singapore Airlines, and Corporate Travel Management.
The news means that each of those companies will now have a voice in the creation and testing of Sabre’s NDC, which was first launched in October 2017. And according to Sabre, that process is already underway as almost 80 percent of all air shopping in Sabre Red starts with schedule and availability queries.
United Airlines and Sabre have already presented new shopping solutions at the IATA NDC implementation Forum earlier this month.
At the same time, Sabre announced that it has been designated NDC-Certified Level 3 by IATA, another step in rolling out NDC to its travel partners.
“IATA Level 3 certification is another key step in developing holistic NDC-enabled solutions and we’re proud of this achievement,” said Kathy Morgan, Sabre’s vice president of NDC.
