The Business Travel Association (BTA) has confirmed its support for an American Society of Travel Advisors (Asta) complaint to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) about American Airlines.
Asta, the US equivalent of Abta, has accused American Airlines of “abusing its market power” by withdrawing 40%-plus of its fares from GDS distribution in April, leaving its best-priced fares available only through New Distribution Capability (NDC) channels or its website.
The complaint, submitted on July 31, was revealed in mid-August. The DOT has yet to respond.
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BTA chief executive Clive Wratten confirmed the association signed the letter of complaint to the DOT, describing it as “a line in the sand”.
He told Travel Weekly: “The issue is the removal of fares from the market – in particular, on routes where American Airlines holds a dominant position.”
NDC is an Iata technology standard for airlines to offer fares direct to agents and travel management companies (TMCs) via online application programme interfaces (APIs), bypassing GDSs.
TMCs have spent a lot of time and money getting ready for NDC, and the airlines have not delivered
Asta argues the industry remains “largely unprepared” for NDC and American’s action has “caused widespread disruption”, leading to “significant price discrepancies” and “difficulty to shop for, book and service bookings”. It also accuses American of anti-competitive behaviour in imposing “draconian” new terms on agents since May 1 in a Governing Travel Agency Agreement.
Wratten noted “we’ve no comment on the competition issue” and insisted: “We’re very supportive of NDC.” But he argued: “TMCs have spent a lot of time and money getting ready for NDC, and the airlines have not delivered. The point of NDC is it’s supposed to be a standard, but it varies by airline. It’s so very piecemeal. There is a long way to go with it.”
He added: “The fear in the US is that others could follow [American]. There is a risk that could happen. [But] the mood music in the UK at the moment is not to do that.”
Travel Weekly was awaiting a response from American Airlines as it went to press. But in April the carrier accused Asta of an “ongoing campaign to misrepresent American’s commitment to delivering a modern retailing experience”. However, it conceded: “Retailers need an NDC connection to book and ticket best-available third-party channel content.”