For decades, travel agencies sold airline tickets mainly through global distribution systems (GDS) such as Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. Today many airlines also offer direct connections based on IATA's New Distribution Capability (NDC). Both deliver flight content to your booking engine, but they differ in what they offer and what they demand from you. This article compares the two so you can plan the right mix.
What a GDS gives you
- Breadth: one connection reaches hundreds of airlines.
- Standard processes: booking, ticketing, changes and refunds follow familiar, consistent workflows.
- Mature servicing: queues, schedule change handling and after-sales tools are well established.
- Agency familiarity: many staff already know GDS concepts such as PNRs and fare rules.
What NDC gives you
- Richer offers: fare families, bundles, seats, baggage and other ancillaries described in detail.
- Airline-specific content: some fares or offers may be available only through the airline's NDC channel.
- Better merchandising: images and descriptions that help travellers understand what they are buying.
- Dynamic pricing: offers can be personalised or priced more flexibly by the airline.
The trade-offs
- Integration effort: each direct NDC connection is a separate integration, while one GDS covers many airlines. NDC content is also increasingly available through GDSs and aggregators, which reduces this effort.
- Servicing: after-sales functions such as changes and refunds can vary between NDC implementations and may be less mature than in traditional GDS workflows.
- Costs and commercial terms: airlines and GDSs have different fee and incentive structures, which change over time. Compare current terms before deciding.
- Display complexity: richer offers need a booking interface that can present fare families and ancillaries clearly.
Which should you use?
- Agencies that sell many airlines and routes usually keep a GDS or aggregator as their core source.
- Agencies with high volumes on a few airlines may benefit from direct NDC connections with those airlines.
- Most growing agencies end up using both: GDS or aggregator for breadth, NDC for key airlines.
In practice: building a mixed content strategy
A mid-sized online agency sells mostly domestic and short-haul international flights. It keeps a GDS connection for full-service carriers and broad coverage, adds low-cost carrier APIs for budget airlines, and connects to one major airline's NDC channel because that airline offers fare bundles its customers like. The booking engine merges all three sources, removes duplicate flights and shows the best offer for each itinerary. The agency gains richer content where it matters most without losing the breadth of the GDS.
What changes for your booking interface
Adding NDC content is not only a back-end task. Your search results and checkout must be ready to present richer offers:
- A comparison view for fare families with clear icons for baggage, seats, meals, changes and refunds.
- Ancillary selection screens that can show prices returned by the airline in real time.
- Labels that tell travellers when an offer comes directly from the airline.
- After-sales screens that support the servicing functions each NDC connection provides.
Without these, richer NDC content looks the same as a basic GDS fare, and much of its value is lost. Plan design and development time for the interface alongside the integration itself.
Common mistakes
- Adding NDC connections without a booking interface that can display fare families clearly.
- Ignoring after-sales servicing differences until customers start requesting changes.
- Comparing costs using outdated commercial terms.
Frequently asked questions
Is NDC replacing the GDS?
Not entirely. GDSs now distribute NDC content too, and many agencies access NDC through them. The industry is moving towards a mix of channels rather than a single replacement.
Do I need IATA accreditation for NDC?
Requirements depend on the airline and on whether you connect directly or through an aggregator. Check each airline's onboarding rules.
Key takeaways
- GDS connections offer breadth and mature servicing.
- NDC connections offer richer, airline-specific offers.
- Most agencies benefit from combining both in one booking engine.
Plan your content mix with our team. Explore our flight API integration and NDC API integration services.
