Episode 3 of the series “My NDC is better than yours”
In the first two episodes, we talked about tools and travel agents. Today, we're taking it a step further. We're talking to TMCs and travel managers. Because for them, NDC doesn't just transform a booking screen. It challenges entire business models and years of established processes.
And some people still haven't understood that.
Summary
The TMC model tested against NDC
Travel management companies (TMCs) have built their model on three pillars: access to GDS content, associated incentives (sometimes depending on the business model and the airlines used), and the added value of advice and service. The New Deal for Consumers (NDC) does not affect the third pillar. It disrupts the first two.
Content first. For decades, GDSs were the one-stop shop. A TMC connected to Amadeus, Sabre, or Travelport had access to the vast majority of global fare content. This promise justified the relationship. Today, that promise is crumbling. Airlines are gradually withdrawing content from GDSs to reserve it for their NDC channels. Lufthansa Group was the first to do this, and quite aggressively; Iberia and Air France-KLM are accelerating the process (lowest fares, promotional fares, new fares, continuous pricing, etc.). Others will follow.
The result: a TMC without a functional NDC connection starts selling incomplete content to its corporate clients. Not because it chooses to. Because it lacks the right tools.
Next, revenue. The TMC business model has historically relied on transaction fees and incentives from GDSs and/or airlines. The NDC redistributes these revenue streams. Incentives are shifting towards direct channels. Transaction fees remain, but their justification weakens if the TMC can no longer guarantee the completeness of the content.
This isn't an apocalypse. It's a transformation. But the media companies that are burying their heads in the sand today will have an existential problem in 24 months.
➡️ Discover episode 1 of our series “My NDC is better than yours” and delve into the real stakes of the NDC battle between companies, GDS and distributors.
The real question for a TMC in 2026 isn't "Should we adopt NDC?". It's "How quickly will my customer base realize it?"
The travel manager in the fog
Let's move to the other side of the table. That of the travel manager, responsible for business travel for his company, guarantor of the travel policy, and now confronted with a problem he had not anticipated: he no longer knows what he doesn't see.
The travel manager has always operated on an implicit assumption: their booking tool gives them access to the essentials of the market. Not necessarily the best price in every circumstance, but a sufficiently comprehensive view to guide their travel policy.
This hypothesis has proven false.
When exclusive NDC content exists for an airline and the TMC's tool doesn't have access to it, the travel manager continues to operate with incomplete data. They approve expenses that could have been lower. They believe they are adhering to their travel policy, but they are comparing incomplete offers. They produce reports that don't reflect market reality.
It's not a question of ill will. It's a question of visibility.
The problem with NDC reporting
Reporting is the lifeblood of business travel. Travel managers thrive on data: average cost per trip, policy compliance rates, savings achieved, carbon emissions. All of this relies on comprehensive and consistent data collection.
The NDC breaks this homogeneity.
Why? Because NDC ticket data doesn't travel through the same channels as GDS ticket data. BSP data, the standardized data streams that TMCs use to build their reports, don't always capture NDC transactions correctly. The result: reports with gaps, untracked ancillary data, and poorly categorized fare conditions.
A travel manager who doesn't know their reporting has gaps can't fill them in. And a report with gaps means a travel policy run blindly.
➡️ Discover episode 2 of our series “My NDC is better than yours” and understand in concrete terms what the NDC changes in the daily life of travel agents.
What NDC Corporate can really deliver
Let's focus on the good news. Because there is some, and it's substantial, provided you have the right system in place.
Corporate NDC rates: a new generation of negotiation
Some airlines are starting to develop corporate fare offers specifically through NDC. These offers go beyond classic GDS corporate fares: they incorporate customized bundles (baggage, flexibility, seats) negotiated directly with the airline, conditions tailored to the company's actual needs rather than standardized categories, and increased transparency on what is included.
For an SME that regularly travels on 3 or 4 airlines, this is an opportunity to renegotiate its agreements under better conditions, provided that its TMC is able to activate them.
Loyalty finally reconciled with travel policy
The great paradox of business travel: the traveler accumulates miles for themselves, while the company pays for the ticket. The right tools can better reconcile these two approaches by making the frequent flyer card visible and manageable at the time of booking, rather than simply hoping the traveler remembers to enter it at check-in.
With a good corporate NDC aggregator, the loyalty card is integrated into the traveler's profile, automatically linked to each booking, and editable after issuance if forgotten. A minor detail? Not at all. For a large account with 200 frequent travelers, this represents significant time savings in management and a considerable boost to employee satisfaction.
True reporting becomes possible
The apparent paradox is that the NDC that is disrupting reporting today is also the one that can rebuild it better tomorrow. NDC data, when properly captured by a competent aggregator, is richer than GDS data: detailed content of ancillary services, precise fare conditions, and modification history. This allows for the creation of truly comprehensive reports, not just a list of issued tickets.
The questions that no one is asking yet
“What portion of our content is currently missing?” Not one in ten TMCs can answer this question accurately. And yet, it’s the first question a travel manager should be asking their TMC today.
“Does our reporting capture NDC transactions in the same way as GDS transactions?” If the answer is “we think so”, the answer is no.
“Are our corporate agreements activable in NDC?” Some agreements negotiated in GDS are not automatically transposable to NDC. They must be revalidated company by company. Many have not done so.
Key takeaways
NDC is not just about airline distribution. In business travel, it's about power: who controls the content, who controls the data, who controls the relationship with the airline.
TMCs that adapt quickly have a real opportunity to strengthen their added value by becoming the preferred NDC partner for their corporate clients. Those that wait risk seeing their clients ask the wrong questions and find the right answers elsewhere.
Travel managers, for their part, have an urgent mission: to audit their current system. Not to change everything overnight, but to know exactly where they stand and what they are still missing.
In Corporate NDC, competitive advantage belongs to those who ask the right questions before everyone else.
➡️ Read more about the NDC in tourism
"My NDC is better than yours": The airlines' battle over NDC
NDC: What this changes in concrete terms for tourism professionals
Qantas and Navan: an NDC alliance that redefines business travel
