IATA says its decision to replace the current NDC certification process with a multilayered program called the Airline Retailing Maturity (ARM) index is intended to spur quicker NDC adoption and implementation by the airline merchandising value chain.
But the initiative is being met with skepticism by analysts.
“I’m not sure this new way of benchmarking is going to make any change. There are airlines that are aggressive with NDC and those that are less aggressive,” said senior Phocuswright analyst Norm Rose, who added that the airlines that tend to be more aggressive are the stronger carriers.
Next October, IATA will sunset the existing NDC registry, under which airlines, travel sellers and airline merchandising system providers are…