ETW Staff– Mumbai
IATA has partnered with Travel Capitalist Ventures, a travel-focused investment firm, to create the New Distribution Capability (NDC) innovation fund. This fund will support innovation in airline distribution using NDC standard. NDC is a travel industry-supported programme launched by IATA for the development and market adoption of a new XML-based data transmission standard.
The innovation fund is a stand-alone strategic investment fund, which will make investments in small and medium-sized companies seeking to develop solutions which support airlines and agents as they leverage the enhanced distribution capabilities enabled by the NDC standard.
Tony Tyler, director general and CEO, IATA, said, “The NDC standard will modernise the way that airline products are presented through travel agents. It will help to promote efficiency and innovation, while supporting consumer demands for personalised travel products and services through travel agent channels. Airlines and travel agents will require tools and applications to manage this content. While we have every confidence in the abilities of existing players, IATA and travel capitalists have created the innovation fund to help spark creative solutions even more broadly.”
The fund is currently soliciting proposals from companies seeking the capital and strategic/business development support needed to develop applications and services to meet current and future industry distribution needs.
