Rotana jet goes live with IATA's NDC – Qatar to follow

IATA’s Director General and CEO, Tony Tyler meanwhile says that following an advanced trial with Qatar Airways, the Doha-based carrier would likely go live with the system within the next two weeks. Tyler said that 10 other airlines are in advanced talks for the system, though none are Middle Eastern carriers even though Tyler believes they’d be ideal beneficiaries.
“With their burgeoning reputation for service quality, I am sure Middle Eastern carriers will be well-placed to prosper with this new platform,” he said.

IATA sees Rotana Jet’s adoption of the standard as highlighting its universality. “It proves that there is no barrier to any airline taking advantage of this new initiative,” said Tyler.

IATA launched its NDC programme for the development and market adoption of a new, XML-based data transmission standard - the NDC Standard. The Association claims the standard will enhance communication capabilities between airlines and travel agents. The NDC Standard is open to any third party, intermediary, IT provider or non-IATA member, to implement and use.

Rotana Jet delivered its transaction in association with Asian Gulf Travels, which has over 80 branches in the UAE and Oman, and travel technology provider TPConnects.

George Ibrahim, Rotana Jet’s CEO said the first transaction is part of the airline’s NDC journey which would include a roadmap to cover end-to-end purchasing.

“Our vision is to facilitate a single reference number for a passenger holding all data elements in a travel cycle including flights, ancillaries and non-air products like hotels, cars and activities which will simplify the customers’ travel experience,” he said.

“With a complete deployment of the NDC standard into our distribution system, air travellers will benefit from greater transparency and access to all our offerings when shopping via a travel agent or any of the online travel agencies.”