American Airlines announced it would complete the full end-to-end workflow integration of Amadeus’ New Distribution Capability (NDC) technology for points of sale in North America by early 2022.
American became the first U.S. airline to complete an NDC integration with a Global Distribution System (GDS) by partnering with Amadeus for European points of sale earlier this year. The deal gives travel advisors access to the airline’s flights, ancillaries and elevated offers. Travel partners using the Amadeus Travel Platform for points of sale in North America will soon enjoy a more seamless shopping, booking, ticketing and travel management experience.
“We’re proud to be the first major U.S. airline to integrate with a GDS and look forward to completing full integration with Amadeus for the North American market early next year,” American Managing Director Neil Geurin said.
“This market launch will be a significant milestone for our industry and creates opportunities for more personalized offers and a more intuitive booking experience,” Geurin continued. “We enjoy a longstanding partnership with Amadeus and will continue to work with their travel seller network to modernize the booking experience for years to come.”
In addition, travel agents will have access to the carrier’s Main Plus offer, which includes complimentary access to Main Cabin Extra and preferred seats, boarding and a free checked bag in addition to the Main Cabin baggage allowance.
The integration also provides corporate travel buyers access to American’s Corporate Experience offer, which launched earlier this year and can be purchased on behalf of companies that are members of the airline’s Business Extra reward program. Corporate Experience provides access to a preferred seat, priority check-in, priority security, and priority boarding. Buyers will also have access to elevated offers like Main Select, which will provide refundable fares, priority boarding, priority check-in, choice of all seats in Main Cabin at time of booking including Main Cabin Extra, and free same-day flight changes.
Thousands of advisors worldwide already enjoy access to American’s NDC content through Amadeus. In 2019, American became the first airline to complete end-to-end integration, including ancillaries, through NDC in the Amadeus Travel Platform.
