SAP Concur Warns GDS NDC Connections Might Not Be Active by April AA Deadline

SAP Concur customers relying solely on global distribution systems might lose access to some American Airlines content when the carrier’s April deadline for New Distribution Capability connection requirements rolls around in a few months, the platform’s team cautioned in a blog post on Thursday.

In December, American notified travel agencies that it would pull some of its content from the traditional EDIFACT-based connections to GDS—about 40 percent of fares currently available in those channels—and distributing them only through NDC connections or direct channels. While American has reached deals with all three major GDSs so support its NDC API and expects they will be ready to support it by April—and Concur “understands the importance of connecting to airline APIs via the GDS”—that does not necessarily guarantee they will be ready to run through Concur, according to the blog post.

“The reality today is that even a flawless API delivered in April by the GDSs will take time for us and your TMCs to connect,” the Concur team said. “We can’t realistically predict how long that will take because the APIs are not yet fully built for necessities of corporate travel.”

The team said it began testing the connection with Sabre in mid-January.

Concur said the NDC-exclusive American content would be available via Concur Select Access, its TravelFusion-powered program, which includes a fee per booking. Concur said it recently has enabled TMCs to conduct ticketing and ARC settlement through its API connection.

A second option is Concur’s TripLink, which enables travelers to book directly on American’s direct channels with the data sent to the travelers’ Concur accounts. The team acknowledged the solution “will require some traveler education” for those not already using TripLink.

Whether clients need to explore either of those alternatives will depend on what specific content becomes unavailable through EDIFACT connections. “Depending on exactly what goes missing, it may not be critical to wait for GDS/NDC technology,” according to the post.