NDC FastTrack

NDC FastTrack is a technical initiative aimed at identifying common technical roadblocks or issues in the adoption of NDC. It is not to be used as a forum for commercial coordination, join product development or roadmap alignment. Competitively sensitive information must not be shared as part of the NDC FastTrack.

NDC FastTrack is intended to be an open, industry-wide programme. At the outset, there will be three categories of participants: Providers, Users and Technology Partners.

Providers

Providers are organisations which develop and sell NDC products. Providers include providers of Global Distribution Systems (“GDSs”) and other NDC vendors. NDC FastTrack will be open to the three major GDSs (i.e. Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport) as well as all other GDSs and NDC vendors.

Users

Users are organisations which buy and use NDC products. Users include TMCs, OTAs and Travel Agents.

Technology Partners

Technology Partners are vendors whose software and services play a critical supporting role in NDC adoption such as Accelya , Concur, etc.

Initially, there will be spaces for up to twenty participants in NDC FastTrack. Spaces will be allocated to Users on a first come, first served basis provided the candidate meets the following objective criteria.

(1) operational readiness for NDC (to be satisfied by the candidate having live NDC bookings with at least one major airline and

(2) a meaningful market presence in NDC.

The objective criteria have been set so as initially to focus on the most active existing users of NDC. This is to be able to identify common roadblocks in the adoption of NDC and to have a meaningful impact on NDC adoption – in other words to maximise the chance that NDC FastTrack achieves its objective.

Technical Review Sessions

Technical Review Sessions will be bilateral conference calls or in-person meetings, Consistent with the objective of NDC FastTrack, the purpose of Technical Review Sessions is to showcase NDC’s benefits, explain its applications and identify technical issues which prevent or restrict the User from adopting NDC.

Periodic Forums

Periodic Forums will occur two to four times a year and will be open to all NDC FastTrack participants. Periodic Forums will include the following activities (which will be detailed in an agenda to be circulated in advance):

• General Updates – (1) a presentation of publicly released NDC developments by Providers and Technology Partners; (2) a discussion of technical documentation published by Providers; (3) a discussion of troubleshooting guidelines and techniques by Providers; and (4) a summary of progress made overcoming technical issues for NDC since the last Periodic Forum.
• Breakout Sessions – bilateral sessions along the lines of Technical Review Sessions outlined above.
• Technical Q&A

• Technical guidance and frameworks
• Case studies and rollout proof points
• Roadmap coordination
• Enablement newsletters
• Buyer-focused input via the BIG initiative
• Forums and workshops

NDC FastTrack participants will work together to produce items which may include the following types of NDC FastTrack publication:

• NDC Best Practice Summaries – capturing practical lessons learned from participants’ real-world experience.
• Technical Issue Log – a consolidated list of technical issues discussed at Technical Review Sessions, which will be updated on an ongoing basis and published on an anonymised basis on the NDC FastTrack website.
• Case Studies – promotional documents jointly developed by one Provider and one User and branded with those participants logos and the NDC FastTrack logo.
• Training Content – training content (e.g. videos and articles) designed to accelerate NDC adoption. Each unit of training content will be devised and produced by one Provider or Technology Partner and published on the NDC FastTrack website.
• Certification Programme – an NDC readiness certification programme devised by Providers and aimed at Users.