Daniel Wittwer and his team at Finass Reisen in Wetzikon are once again making their mark on the local business travel market. As the first business travel specialist in Switzerland and perhaps even in Europe, Finass has fully integrated Lufthansa Group’s NDC solution into its own process landscape. This means that Finass will continue to have access to both the light fares which are currently no longer available in GDS and Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines’ so-called “Continuous Pricing”. However, the NDC connection also has its drawbacks.
NDC-Integration in Regular TMC Operation
Last week I had the opportunity to check out the solution on-site with Daniel Wittwer and his team and a chance to discuss the pros and cons.
Access to the new NDC world takes place via Farelogix Sprk’s partner-specific homepage. The site features a slightly outdated web design with various input masks for both flight search and fare requests. After you have specified a traveller and their respective company details, the corresponding queries can be initiated. An Amadeus host window is also available for native GDS enthusiasts. However, this can currently only be used to search for flights. Integration into the graphical Farelogix process hasn’t been implemented yet. Cancellations, rebookings and the cancellation of issued tickets is all hassle-free. Of course, you can also reserve seats and book of luggage as well as various additional services. So far, it’s quite a nice solution but by no means the most efficient. Currently, the NDC connection’s only advantage is fare availability.
Efficiency is at the core of Finass‘s solution. To prevent it from falling behind, a completely integrated solution was developed in cooperation with Hotelplan HIT and the Umbrella Faces profile management system from Umbrella/Midoco. In this way, all customer profiles are continuously synchronised with Farelogix and made available along with all the necessary information needed to make a booking. Once the booking has been completed and the ticket has been issued in Farelogix, it is transferred to the HIT Mid-/Backoffice System and becomes immediately available for all subsequent processes (approval, invoicing, reporting, duty of care etc.). Incidentally, Finass and BSP will continue to handle ticketing. Whether this will continue to be the case, is somewhat unclear. So far so good. However, there are also some critical aspects. For Finass employees, this setup means that they have to switch back and forth between systems and processes depending on customer requirements. So, it’s still a long way from being an optimal solution. However, it’s certainly a good way to continue offering full content via the NDC connection.
What’s next after the Lufthansa Group?
What does it mean if other airlines follow the same path as the Lufthansa Group? Daniel Wittwer assumes that, in this case, separate TMC access via Farelogix or other providers will be necessary for each airline or group to access their portal. If, at the very least, data standards remain the same then integration into Finass processes is guaranteed. If not, then connections will need to be reconfigured over and over again. Air France/KLM seems to be pursuing an exciting approach here. It has been claimed by a well-informed source that AF/KL will leave the decision of which channel to use for NDC content to the TMC/travel agency. The client can choose whether this should be GDS (Amadeus, Travelport, Sabre) as before or, e.g. Travelfusion, Hitchhiker or, other usable channels. An interesting approach offering significantly more flexibility throughout the process.
Finass, in cooperation with Umbrella and Hotelplan HIT, has certainly taken an important first step towards continuing to provide customers with the full range of services offered by the Lufthansa Group. Whether more can be demanded from the customer in return, regardless of the increased complexity, remains doubtful.
“Wherever incentives used to be paid, in the future, invoices will be issued.”
Where do Finass‘s competitors stand on this issue? The major TMC’s subsidiaries (BCD, CWT, Amex GBT, Egencia and FCM) are waiting for their own developments and are counting on the participation of their own teams in joint projects with Amadeus, Travelport and Sabre. As of today, however, the “key players” have either stopped offering light fares altogether or are reluctant to book them via agent portals, brokers or airline websites. Furthermore, local business travel providers and travel agencies are using Sprk from Farelogix and the previously mentioned tools without a connection to mid/back office or are still waiting and hoping for useful solutions from GDS providers in order to survive on the market.
NDC and the TMC/travel agency business model
The NDC topic continues to gain momentum in sales. It remains hopeful that in a few months’ time more viable NDC connectivity solutions will become available on the market. This may enable the same level of automation in sales as before the start of NDC implementation or the airlines’ new sales strategies. Corporate customers in particular would welcome it if airlines and TMCs would once again focus on high-quality service and transparent prices. One thing all approaches have in common is that sooner or later tried and tested business models will be turned upside down. Wherever incentives used to be paid, in the future, invoices will be issued. In the end, the companies and their travellers will pay for this — even if the message communicated by IATA and the airlines is clearly different.
Incidentally, we are happy to advise TMCs, travel agencies and companies on the topic of NDC as well as possible solutions for a connection. Feel free to contact us.
What are your experiences with the NDC connection? Do you already have solutions in place or are you still on the lookout yourself?
Adrian Matt for travelBrain
