As the deadline for filing comments with the Department of Transportation about IATA Resolution 787 came to a close, IATA sought to put a positive spin on one GDS filing that in fact criticized much of Resolution 787.
Perry Flint, IATA’s director of communications, sent an email to news media saying that “In its filing, Amadeus expressed support for the objectives of NDC, including improving airlines’ ability to differentiate and merchandize their product offerings.
Amadeus also said it supports attempts to standardize processes (NDC is about creating a new XML-based communications standard between airlines and travel agents). Furthermore, Amadeus notes that it has shared its own XML schema with IATA.”
Flint was quoting the Amadeus filing, but failed to note that one sentence later, Amadeus began pointing out problems and inconsistencies with 787.
Amadeus said that Resolution 787 could be seen as “going beyond formulating common standards and seeking to change the distribution system for the industry.”
It pointed out that “several of the IATA members that have submitted comments to DOT supporting Resolution 787 make clear that they are doing so because they support NDC as a means of restructuring the current distribution model.”
Amadeus said, “IATA is proposing to impose a model and an architecture which go far beyond pure technical standards and which will substantially change the current distribution system.”
Amadeus pointed out inconsistencies in Resolution 787. “Although IATA has portrayed the Resolution as not being mandatory, a close look shows that the wording expresses a mandate.
The fact is that if an airline chooses to distribute “enhanced content,” it must do as the Resolution mandates, that is via IATA’s XML schema and the architecture and solution described in the Resolution,” Amadeus wrote in its filing.
Amadeus also was critical of a standard created by IATA. It wrote, “Amadeus is open to the development of standards, but its opinion is that the choice and adoption of standards should be left to the market and not imposed. If the standard is the most suitable, it will be followed by the market.”
Amadeus said that IATA should “be required” to change elements of Resolution 787.
Amadeus said that the entire resolution should be nonbinding.
Amadeus also said that references that discourage “backwards capability” should be removed. “Backwards capability” means making sure that NDC is a standard that will work with other standards to enable comparison-shopping and content comparison. IATA has said that it does not intend to enable that.
Amadeus said that references to content ownership should be removed from Resolution 787 and that privacy issues should be clarified.
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Correction: In an editing error, a previous version of this report said Amadeus opposes Resolution 787. The company has issues with aspects of the resolution, but Amadeus did not say it opposes the resolution.