Are We Being Served?

The state of the passenger experience

Airline passenger experience in 2014 starts even before a flyer lays down the cold, hard cash (or, usually, credit card).

The first decision is: which airline? And, therefore, which channel will you use to buy your ticket? If 2013 was the year of the meta-search site, 2014 will only follow in its footsteps. The un-sexy world of distribution will become increasingly important as IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC), a new XML-based standard, is piloted, allowing airlines to sell the same products they sell on their websites via indirect channels – online and offline travel agents, corporate bookers, meta-search sites and elsewhere.