This year, Sabre will take steps that will enable customers
to shop and book New Distribution Capability (NDC) content alongside
traditional content in the Sabre Red Workspace.
That will be enabled by the launch of "new
service-enabled APIs and enhanced capabilities" in Red Workspace, Sabre
said.
Red Workspace is currently being rolled out to agencies. It
is Sabre's agent desktop that enables users to work via a consumer-grade user
interface or the more traditional "blue screen" workspace.
In anticipation of having both NDC and traditional content
available for shopping, Sabre said it is working with customers on the
initiative, including Flight Centre (No. 7 on Travel Weekly's 2017 Power List).
A pilot program with additional agencies and airlines will
likely begin in the third quarter of 2018.
The announcement is part of Sabre's "Beyond NDC"
effort to incorporate NDC standards into its
products "in ways that will benefit stakeholders across the travel
ecosystem," according to the company's website.
Sabre has achieved IATA's highest level of NDC certification
as an IT provider, and is on track to gain the same level of certification as
an aggregator this year.