New Distribution Capability (NDC) has come to mean many things to many people. Is it a standard, a program, a mechanism to change the cost dynamic in distribution — or truly a new way for airlines to retail their products and services?

At its core, NDC is a set of XML schemas that standardize how airlines communicate with their partners. Although the NDC standard enables richer information exchange, it was not designed to facilitate unique commercial and business relationships. That’s where ARC comes in.

Last year, ARC launched its enhanced settlement platform, which gives airlines and travel agencies the flexibility to apply a variety of distribution and settlement business rules to their unique business relationships, including NDC.

We are excited to announce that, in December 2018, ARC successfully began settling NDC-based ticket sales and refunds leveraging its enhanced settlement platform. To support the direct connection between an airline and travel agency, ARC partnered with both organizations to create a customized settlement and reporting solution.

This success is a tangible example of ARC’s leadership role in the future of airline distribution and its continued commitment to support all of its customers, regardless of their retailing strategy. ARC is providing customizable transaction rules for settlement and reporting — all the while taking advantage of ARC’s secure products and tools to manage both NDC and non-NDC transactions.

Whether your organization is NDC-ready or in the early stages of considering changes in distribution strategy, ARC can help you navigate this shifting landscape. We are in conversations with multiple airlines to create solutions for their unique NDC needs. Are you ready to talk about settling NDC transactions with ARC? If so, please contact your ARC account representative directly, or reach out to Shelly Younger at syounger@arccorp.com.

To learn more about ARC’s vision for the future of airline retailing, visit our Distribution: Evolved page.