American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) has broadened its long-standing partnership with Delta Air Lines to include Delta’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) content in the Amex GBT marketplace, the travel management company announced on Thursday.
This new agreement will allow travelers to choose from a range of Delta’s branded fares, which also includes options from Delta’s joint venture partners such as Aeromexico, Latam, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, and KLM. These fares will be displayed together in Amex GBT’s booking channels.
Amex GBT stated that it will continue collaborating with Delta to expand NDC through global distribution systems (GDS), aiming to provide enhanced shopping and servicing experiences on a larger scale.
While Delta has been working on developing and testing an NDC solution, the airline has indicated that a large-scale rollout is unlikely before 2025.
In another announcement, Amex GBT confirmed that Finnair’s NDC content is now available across all of its proprietary channels and key sales points. Customers will be able to access NDC content without paying any additional surcharges. Though Finnair typically charges a €15 per-way EDIFACT fee, this charge is waived for NDC bookings.
Finnair had previously planned to exit from EDIFACT entirely by the end of 2025, but in 2024, the airline adjusted its plans. It noted that the shift to modern airline retailing was taking longer than expected, according to reports from The Beat, a BTN affiliate.
Last year, Finnair launched its PrioFlex fares, exclusive to direct and NDC-connected channels. These fares offer all the benefits of the airline’s Flex tickets, along with additional perks such as priority check-in, security, boarding, luggage, seat selection, and more flexible ticket changes and cancellations.
Amex GBT also shared that its NDC program now includes over 20 major airline partners, and it has processed more than one million NDC tickets since January 2024 across 16 countries.
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