IATA “modern retailing”

THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced the establishment of the Modern Airline Retailing program, which promises to transform the flight distribution system.

Supported by a consortium of “advanced airline adopters” including Emirates, Singapore Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa Group and more, IATA said the platform will seek to “replace decadesold standards, processes and technology”.

“The airline industry must adopt modern retailing practices that will create additional value for travellers and reduce the hassles of increasingly complex passenger document checking requirements,” IATA said.

“Modern Airline Retailing will solve this dilemma and unleash value creation opportunities by transforming airline distribution to a system of ‘Offers and Orders’ that parallel what most other retailers use.

“Our aim is to create value for travellers by meeting their needs...we know that passengers want a seamless digital experience and they expect consistent service irrespective of how they purchased their travel,” IATA’s Senior Vice President of Financial Settlement and Distribution Services, Muhammad Albakri said.

IATA’s Modern Airline Retailing program is built on three pillars: “customer identification” (with industry standards including advance information sharing and biometric airport recognition); “retailing with offers” based on NDC platforms which currently comprise just over 10% of travel agent sales globally; and “delivery with orders” including a full suite of new industry standards to remove the need to juggle PNRs, e-ticket numbers and EMDs.