MIAMI — The travel industry needs IATA’s plan for an XML language standard for the distribution of airline ancillary products, but distributors need to be involved in the decision-making, said Craig Banks, Travelport’s senior director of global distribution sales and services.
Banks participated in a panel discussion at last week’s UATP Airline Distribution Conference, during which moderator Michael Smith of Airline Information asked panelists about their view of IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC).
“We are certainly not against it,” Banks said. “We are looking for an equal say. We want to make sure that travel agencies and airlines have equal involvement.”
IATA has filed for approval of Resolution 787 (of which the NDC is a core precept) with the Department of Transportation, which has extended the original one-month comment period to two months. That second period will be up on May 1.
Chris Phillips, managing director of distribution strategy for Delta Air Lines, which just began selling its Economy Comfort seats through Travelport’s GDSs two weeks ago, asked Banks, “Will you submit in favor to the DOT?”
Banks said no.
“If we don’t have voting rights, no,” he said. “We send representatives to NDC meetings, and decisions are made and we go along with them. We don’t have input.”
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