Expedia Group will leverage an NDC-enabled direct connect to
offer discounted fares on three Lufthansa Group airlines.
The discounts will be available for travelers on Lufthansa,
Swiss and Austrian Airlines in European markets this month. Expedia and
Lufthansa plan to expand the offering to North America and other markets
through this year and next.
Expedia Group OTAs include Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity,
Hotwire and CheapTickets.
Under the multiyear agreement, Expedia is joining Lufthansa's
NDC Partner Programme, in which travel agencies are given incentives for
selling Lufthansa fares and ancillary products via an NDC-supported API direct
connect rather than through a GDS. As part of that program, Expedia will gain access
to special Lufthansa promotions.
The companies described Monday's announcement as a first step
and said they will "work together to develop customer-centric technology
that will provide travelers greater access to even more special offers and
ancillary services."
They also said they are working to develop the connections
to provide business travelers who use Egencia (Expedia's travel management
company) with the same air travel options as the Expedia OTAs.