Has anything changed in this relationship between agents and airlines? This is an important topic for me beacuse of the roll out of NDC at scale in the US. And typically when it happens in the US it is like “the first time it ever happens”.

Additionally, there seems to be a level of frustration when the planned SAS wholesale model was abandoned. I can imagine that stress levels were running high with those agencies affected. There is obviously a lot of anger out there on social media and with the airlines introducing NDC in the US, those emotions seem to be stirring up. I think we can safely say that distribution is broken and has been for a long time. I thought I’d look at what I think is wrong and share my thoughts on whether we can work towards change.

Since the arrival of Internet, airlines started selling their flights directly to customers via web sites in addition to the existing intermediaries. It allowed airlines to distribute at a lower cost and to create direct relationships with their customers. Airlines typically have four options:

• a) Implement the eCommerce solution as provided by the PSS provider
• b) Contract a third-party provider or build an in-house eCommerce solution
• c) Implement a full stack Offer and Order Management solution (OMS)
• d) Implement a combination of b and c

The order fulfilment process is complex, especially in today's world, where customers expect accuracy and an excellent customer experience. Therefore, airlines use several systems for the order fulfilment process.

Efficient order fulfilment is key to generating profit, promoting brand reputation, and retaining customers. One tool used to achieve this is an Offer and Order Management System (OMS). An OMS integrates with other systems to meet customer expectations. The most common and vital integration is between OMS and a Passenger Service System (PSS).

Repeatedly over the years we see travel brands only looking at the size of their to-be technology provider. Why do we see this same pattern over and over again? When will travel brands stop buying the latest servers and the latest software from the biggest logos, a.k.a. the same providers?