IATA’s registry of
companies that are certified for New Distribution Capability (NDC) is now live.
The NDC
Certification Registry was announced last fall. It is publicly available
on IATA’s website.
According
to IATA, certification “confirms the scope and level of an entity’s ability to
receive and send NDC messages.” NDC is an XML-based data
transmission standard that IATA says will enable airlines to personalize their offers and to sell all of their products,
including ancillaries, through travel agencies.
Certification
is available to several groups, including airlines that deploy an NDC
application program interface (API), and agents and aggregators that use the
APIs. Vendors that offer NDC-certified products or services to airlines and
distributors can apply to be deemed “NDC-capable.”
Certification
and capability status comes in three levels (Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3),
based on a company’s capabilities and offerings.
Any airlines,
agents and aggregators can apply for certification, and any vendors can apply
to be NDC-capable. IATA is waiving certification fees through the end of the
second quarter of this year.