Choosing The Appropriate NDC Implementation Strategy

New Distribution Capability (NDC) has become the new standard in the travel industry, enabling airlines to distribute promotional fares and directly book ancillary services.

Travel agencies have several options to access NDC content or integrate it into their existing booking systems:

Direct integration with airlines via NDC API
Integration through a Global Distribution System (GDS)
Integration through an NDC Aggregator

Let’s examine these methods from the perspectives of implementation effort, commercial flexibility, technical capability, and post-booking support:

* Information as per April 2025

	Direct NDC API	GDS	Aggregator
Implementation Effort	Connect with each airline individually	Single platform access to multiple airlines	Single platform access to multiple airlines
General Commercial	Incentives can be negotiated directly with airlines	Segment fees can be negotiated with GDS	Booking fees are payable to the aggregator
Capability	Depends on what the airline offers via its API	Depends on the level of implementation by the GDS for each airline	Depends on the aggregator’s implementation level for each airline
Post Booking Servicing	Requires building your own servicing tools or using airline portals	Support via GDS or airline portal (if GDS doesn't support certain features)	Depends on the aggregator’s implementation level for each airline

	Direct NDC API	GDS	Aggregator
Implementation Effort	Connect with each airline individually	Single platform access to multiple airlines	Single platform access to multiple airlines
General Commercial	Incentives can be negotiated directly with airlines	Segment fees can be negotiated with GDS	Booking fees are payable to the aggregator
Capability	Depends on what the airline offers via its API	Depends on the level of implementation by the GDS for each airline	Depends on the aggregator’s implementation level for each airline
Post Booking Servicing	Requires building your own servicing tools or using airline portals	Support via GDS or airline portal (if GDS doesn't support certain features)	Depends on the aggregator’s implementation level for each airline

Implementation Effort
Direct NDC API	Connect with each airline individually
GDS	Single platform access to multiple airlines
Aggregator	Single platform access to multiple airlines

General Commercial
Direct NDC API	Incentives can be negotiated directly with airlines
GDS	Segment fees can be negotiated with GDS
Aggregator	Booking fees are payable to the aggregator

Capability
Direct NDC API	Depends on what the airline offers via its API
GDS	Depends on the level of implementation by the GDS for each airline
Aggregator	Depends on the aggregator’s implementation level for each airline

Post Booking Servicing
Direct NDC API	Requires building your own servicing tools or using airline portals
GDS	Support via GDS or airline portal (if GDS doesn't support certain features)
Aggregator	Depends on the aggregator’s implementation level for each airline

Different airlines may implement varying versions of the NDC schema and support different capabilities. This variability poses a challenge for direct integration, as developers must stay up to date with each airline’s schema version and adapt to evolving functionality. For our analysis, we will compare the NDC capabilities of three airlines:

Capabilities	Singapore Airlines	Malaysia Airlines	Emirates
NDC Schema Version	18.1, 20.2	18.1	17.2
Seat Selection During Booking	✓	✗	✓
Add-on Baggage Purchase During Booking	✓	✗	✗
Seat Selection After Booking	✓	✓	✓
Add-on Baggage Purchase After Booking	✓	✗	✓
Frequent Flyer Promotion	✓	✗	✗

Capability	Singapore Airlines	Malaysia Airlines	Emirates
NDC Schema Version	18.1, 20.2	18.1	17.2
Seat Selection During Booking	✓	✗	✓
Add-on Baggage Purchase During Booking	✓	✗	✗
Seat Selection After Booking	✓	✓	✓
Seat Selection After Booking	✓	✗	✓
Frequent Flyer Promotion	✓	✗	✗

NDC Schema Version
Singapore Airlines	18.1, 20.2
Malaysia Airlines	18.1
Emirates	17.2

Seat Selection During Booking
Singapore Airlines	✓
Malaysia Airlines	✗
Emirates	✓

Add-on Baggage Purchase During Booking
Singapore Airlines	✓
Malaysia Airlines	✗
Emirates	✗

Seat Selection After Booking
Singapore Airlines	✓
Malaysia Airlines	✓
Emirates	✓

Each GDS is at a different stage of NDC activation for the airlines they support.

AC AF KL AI AA AV TA 2K LR BA EK EY BR AY IB LO LHG MH QF QR SK SQ TU UA VY

AM AC AI AA AV EK BA AY HA LO LHG MH QF QR SV SK SQ TP UA

AF AA LHG BA AY IB 4Y IB 4Y EK KL MH QF QR SK SQ UA

The capabilities implemented by each GDS for airlines can vary. For example, with Singapore Airlines:

Capabilities	Direct API	Amadeus NDC	Sabre NDC	Travelport NDC
Booking Servicing	✓	✓	✓	✓
Seat Selection During Booking	✓	✓	✗	✓
Add-on Baggage Purchase During Booking	✓	✗	✗	✓
Seat Selection After Booking	✓	✓	✓	✓
Add-on Baggage Purchase After Booking	✓	✓	✗	✓
Frequent Flyer Promotion	✓	✗	✗	✗

Capabilities	Direct API	Amadeus NDC	Sabre NDC	Travelport NDC
Booking Servicing	✓	✓	✓	✓
Seat Selection During Booking	✓	✓	✗	✓
Add-on Baggage Purchase During Booking	✓	✗	✗	✓
Seat Selection After Booking	✓	✓	✓	✓
Add-on Baggage Purchase After Booking	✓	✓	✗	✓
Frequent Flyer Promotion	✓	✗	✗	✗

Booking Servicing
Direct API	✓
Amadeus NDC	✓
Sabre NDC	✓
Travelport NDC	✓

Seat Selection During Booking
Direct API	✓
Amadeus NDC	✓
Sabre NDC	✗
Travelport NDC	✓

Add-on Baggage Purchase During Booking
Direct API	✓
Amadeus NDC	✗
Sabre NDC	✗
Travelport NDC	✓

Seat Selection After Booking
Direct API	✓
Amadeus NDC	✓
Sabre NDC	✓
Travelport NDC	✓

Add-on Baggage Purchase After Booking
Direct API	✓
Amadeus NDC	✓
Sabre NDC	✗
Travelport NDC	✓

Frequent Flyer Booking
Direct API	✓
Amadeus NDC	✗
Sabre NDC	✗
Travelport NDC	✗

As a general approach, you can use GDS as the foundation for NDC connectivity. However, for key regional carriers—such as Singapore Airlines in the Singapore and Malaysia markets—it may be beneficial to establish a direct NDC connection to maximize capabilities and content access.

Aggregators can be a strategic option for niche or regional markets. For instance, if you frequently operate flights to Greater China, you might consider partnering with TravelNDC, which connects to carriers such as CX, BR, MU, MF, CZ, 9C, NX snd SC.

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