Sabre Corporation and Air Canada, Canada’s largest airline announced the launch of Air Canada’s full content via NDC in Sabre’s travel marketplace. This launch empowers travel agencies to consume Air Canada’s expanded NDC offers and services, enabling them to provide a more personalized travel experience to the customers they serve.
As of July 17, 2024, travel agents and other travel sellers can shop, book, and service Air Canada NDC offers alongside traditional EDIFACT content and low-cost and ancillary XML options. NDC is now available in the following markets: Canada, Australia, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India[1], Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States. Following the launch in these countries, focus will turn to activating new markets based on demand.
“This partnership with Sabre marks a significant step forward in Air Canada’s NDC program,” said Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital, Air Canada. “From local independent agencies to large corporate travel management companies, our travel trade partners were, are, and will always be crucial to Air Canada’s commercial success. That’s why we’re committed to working collaboratively on a smooth transition, enabling the trade to connect with Air Canada using their preferred and familiar methods. Sabre’s marketplace plays a vital role in the travel ecosystem, making NDC content readily available to travel agents and buyers across the world, providing a consistent and efficient booking experience across all channels.”
Air Canada and Sabre are both committed to advancing travel retailing to create more personalized experiences for travelers. NDC is a vital enabler of this shared goal. It provides the technology infrastructure to expand offer-and order-based retailing from airlines to third-party travel sellers, such as travel agencies and online booking tools. By activating NDC through Sabre, travel sellers maintain their competitive edge by maximizing access to Air Canada’s content.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Air Canada on this NDC launch. Since the very beginning of our NDC efforts, Sabre has prioritized the operational efficiency and workflow integrity to offer a superior value proposition for travel agencies,” said Kathy Morgan, Vice President, Product Management – Distribution Experience, Sabre Travel Solutions. “Our robust technology ensures scalability, allowing agents to seamlessly access Air Canada’s latest pricing and bundled offerings without compromising service levels. Additionally, our comprehensive end-to-end booking management streamlines the process, reducing the burden on agency resources.”
Today, over 30,000 Sabre-connected travel agencies in more than 150 countries leverage Sabre’s solutions to shop, book, and service NDC content. These solutions include the Sabre Offer and Order APIs, agency booking solution, Sabre Red 360, and online booking tool, GetThere. Additionally, Sabre empowers NDC functionality for a growing list of third-party travel booking applications, including Atriis, SAP Concur, Serko, and Wooba. With this launch, these companies will also gain access to Air Canada’s NDC offerings.
