Indra to participate in the 4th NDC (New Distribution Capability) working group in Montreal

Indra, one of the leading consultancy and technology multinationals in Europe and Latin America, will participate in the 4th working group related to the NDC initiative in Montreal, Canada, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and other leading companies in the industry. This meeting, which will take place from 11 to 13 June, will cover the most technical aspects of the NDC initiative within the framework of periodic meetings of the main agents of the sector to define the criteria to be followed in this proposal. The last meeting was held in March in Nice, France.

The NDC international programme aims to develop an open distribution standard, based on a common language (XML), to exchange data between airlines and travel agencies. The project will benefit consumers as it will provide them with the possibility of accessing a greater amount of content and comparing and making ticket purchases in a more transparent manner. Although now users have access to a great deal of information when they visit the websites of airlines, this is not the case for travel agency websites. The new NDC standard seeks to reduce this gap, providing consumers with the same purchasing experience, regardless of the website they chose to process their trips.

The basic ground rules for the NDC were agreed at the Passenger Services Conference in October 2012 and were presented to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) for approval. Various pilot programmes will be implemented throughout 2013.

Indra is one of IATA's strategic technology partners in the NDC Programme and is contributing its vast experience (more than 25 years) in the air industry, having implemented IT solutions, systems integration, consultancy, revenue accounting, ticketing, e-Commerce, CRM solutions, business analytics and mobility systems for the leading companies in the industry worldwide. Specifically, Indra is actively working on the booking modules and the ancillary services for passengers to enable them to benefit from a single offer, with added features, when formalising their bookings.

In addition to these scopes, the NDC programme has established various working groups in order to tackle other matters of relevance to its application: sale and payment of tickets, Interline flights, scalability of the new distribution model, fares, regulation...

The Montreal meeting will serve to define the NDC's requirements. It will also establish the bases to continue making progress in the initiative, review the work done by the working groups and establish the next steps and future priorities.

At the service of the air industry

Indra also offers a wide range of solutions aimed at improving the management and profitability of business processes in the airline industry. Increased mobility, internet penetration and changes brought about by users in relation to flight searches have led Indra to provide high value-added solutions and encourage companies to have a web presence and transform their online channel into competitive, differentiated and sustainable leverage through an innovative plan aimed at improving web positioning and the experience of the customer. Accordingly, it has committed to an effective cost reduction strategy based on bringing technology up to date and convergent channels, while supporting passengers throughout the search process and providing them with the tools necessary to make travel easier, less expensive and more enjoyable.

Indra is the leading consultancy technology multinational in Spain and a leader in Europe and Latin America. Innovation is the cornerstone of its business and sustainability. The company has allocated more than €550 million to R&D&i in the last three years, making it one of the leading companies in Europe in its sector in terms of investment. With sales approaching €3,000 million, nearly 60% of its income is from the international market. The company employs 42,000 professionals and has customers in 128 countries.