ASTA wants to hear from members concerned about American Airlines’ latest move to push travel agencies to book in systems using technology with New Distribution Capability (NDC).
American said starting May 1, it will stop awarding AAdvantage miles and loyalty accrual points through agencies not designated as “preferred.” Preferred status is gained by having a 2024 incentive agreement with the airline or by booking through American NDC channels and reaching progressive sales thresholds (30% by April 21, 50% by Oct. 31 and 70% by April 30, 2025).
“This latest development doubles down on American Airlines’ clear disregard for the travel agencies that distribute its service,” ASTA president and CEO Zane Kerby said in a message to members.
It follows American’s move to remove many fares from the legacy GDSs last April, restricting those fares to NDC channels, which ASTA has fought against. The Society has asked the Department of Transportation to force American to reinstate fares into the legacy GDSs, saying there are service problems with NDC bookings.
“This is yet another maneuver to force NDC onto an industry that is not ready,” Kerby said. “A year later, we have yet to see a reasonably functioning product in the market.”
Kerby said many travel agencies won’t be able to meet American’s threshold deadline for NDC bookings.
After American’s latest move to use loyalty points to pressure agencies, Kerby said ASTA convened a meeting of its Corporate Advisory Council to discuss it. Another meeting is coming in the next few weeks.
“We will continue to explore all available responsive options,” Kerby said.
In the meantime, ASTA is asking agencies to share their concerns at [email protected].
In particular, ASTA wants to hear from preferred agencies concerned about losing status; agencies concerned about meeting the requirements to be considered preferred; agencies for which the eligibility criteria are unclear; and agencies that have been impacted by NDC.
