NDC Content & API Distribution
Network Planning & Scheduling › Sales & Distribution · 15 L4 steps · 5 phases · 7 decision gates · Updated 2026-03-18 21:26
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Process Flow Diagram (BPMN)
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L4 Process Steps
| Step | Step Name | Role / Swim Lane | System | Input | Output | KPI | Dec? | Exc? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phase 1 1.1 |
Enrol airline in IATA NDC Registry | Distribution Technology Manager | IATA NDC Registry Portal | Board approval to implement NDC, IATA two-letter airline designator, company registration data | IATA NDC Registration Certificate; airline listed in public NDC Registry at target certification level | IATA NDC Level 4 certification achieved; registration completed within 10 business days of approval | N | N |
| 1.2 | Select NDC API schema version and message set | API Architect | Accelya Offer & Order Management (Farelogix FLX) | IATA NDC schema release notes, aggregator compatibility matrix, PSS NDC support assessment | Confirmed NDC schema version (e.g. NDC 21.3); approved message set — AirShopping, OfferPrice, OrderCreate, OrderRetrieve, OrderChange, OrderCancel | Selected schema version covers ≥80% of target aggregator ecosystem by booking volume | Y | N |
| 1.3 | Configure NDC API endpoint and authentication | API Architect | AWS API Gateway | Confirmed NDC schema version, approved message set, cloud infrastructure specification | Live NDC API endpoint URL, OAuth 2.0 client credential flow, rate-limiting rules per aggregator tier | API endpoint availability SLA ≥99.9%; OAuth token issuance latency ≤200ms | N | Y |
| 1.4 | Submit NDC API for IATA certification testing | Distribution Technology Manager | IATA NDC Certification Tool | Live NDC staging endpoint, IATA test scenario scripts, OAuth credentials for test harness | IATA Certification Report with pass/fail per message type; certification badge at target level | Certification pass rate ≥95% of mandatory test scenarios on first submission; resubmission cycle ≤15 business days | Y | Y |
Phase 2 2.1 |
Build ancillary services catalogue for NDC | Ancillary Revenue Manager | Accelya Offer & Order Management | Ancillary product inventory (seats, bags, meals, lounge access, priority boarding), retail pricing strategy | NDC ServiceList catalogue, ancillary SKU definitions, rich content assets (images, descriptions, T&Cs) | Ancillary catalogue completeness ≥90% of available products accessible via NDC ServiceList; content refresh cycle ≤48 hours | N | N |
| 2.2 | Configure branded fare families in NDC OfferPrice | Pricing Analyst | ATPCO Routehappy Rich Content (UPA / Ancillary Optimizer) | Fare family definitions (Basic, Standard, Flex, Business), fare conditions, ATPCO filed fare rules | NDC BrandedFare objects, ATPCO UPA (Universal Passenger Ancillary) content packages, fare family display rules | Branded fare NDC display parity with GDS content ≥98% of fare families; ATPCO UPA filing-to-NDC sync ≤24 hours | Y | N |
| 2.3 | Map RM dynamic pricing to NDC AirShopping response | Revenue Management Analyst | Amadeus Revenue Management (NRM / AltéaRM) | O&D inventory availability, demand forecast, RBD thresholds from RM system, OfferPrice API call | Real-time availability matrix and dynamic prices embedded in NDC AirShopping response | AirShopping API response time ≤800ms at p95; dynamic pricing accuracy vs RM system ≥99.5%; availability sync lag ≤30 seconds | N | Y |
| 2.4 | Validate NDC offer-to-order round trip in staging | QA Engineer | Postman / SoapUI (API testing); NDC API Gateway staging environment | Full NDC message set, test booking scenarios (return, ancillaries, exchange, refund), staging PSS environment | QA validation report, defect log, go/no-go recommendation for aggregator onboarding | Zero P0/P1 defects before aggregator onboarding gate; ≤5 P2 defects accepted with documented workaround | Y | Y |
Phase 3 3.1 |
Register NDC aggregator in API gateway | Distribution Partnerships Manager | AWS API Gateway (API key and usage plan management) | Aggregator IATA NDC certification proof, signed commercial agreement, IP whitelist, rate tier classification | Aggregator API credentials (client ID, client secret), whitelisted endpoints, rate-limit profile assigned | Aggregator API credentials provisioned within 5 business days of commercial agreement execution | N | N |
| 3.2 | Conduct end-to-end NDC booking flow UAT with aggregator | Distribution Technology Manager | NDC API Gateway; Amadeus Travel API (aggregator side) | Aggregator test environment credentials, test booking scenarios (one-way, return, multi-ancillary, exchange) | Aggregator connectivity test report; confirmed booking flow — AirShopping → OfferPrice → OrderCreate → OrderRetrieve | End-to-end booking flow success rate ≥99% in UAT; ancillary attachment and retrieval validated across all test scenarios | Y | Y |
| 3.3 | Configure NDC agency incentive and cost model | Sales Strategy Manager | PROS Smart CPQ (commercial incentive management) | Agency productivity data, GDS segment fee benchmarks, NDC adoption targets, commercial agreement terms | NDC booking incentive rate card, agency tier classification, cost-per-segment comparison model | NDC booking share of total indirect bookings ≥25% within 12 months of aggregator go-live; NDC cost-per-segment <GDS segment fee by ≥30% | N | N |
Phase 4 4.1 |
Monitor NDC API transaction health and SLA compliance | API Operations Engineer | AWS CloudWatch / Datadog | NDC API transaction logs, HTTP error codes, response time metrics by aggregator and message type | Real-time API health dashboard, automated SLA breach alerts, daily SLA compliance report | NDC API uptime ≥99.9%; AirShopping p95 latency ≤800ms; transaction error rate ≤0.5% of all NDC calls | Y | Y |
| 4.2 | Investigate and resolve NDC booking exceptions | Distribution Operations Analyst | AWS CloudWatch Logs; Amadeus Altéa PSS (order reconciliation module) | NDC error alert, failed OrderCreate transaction log, PSS PNR status query | Root cause analysis report, incident ticket, corrected booking or passenger compensation workflow initiated | NDC booking exception resolution ≤4 hours for P1 (passenger impacted at airport); ≤24 hours for P2 (booking error, no immediate travel) | N | Y |
Phase 5 5.1 |
Plan and execute NDC schema version migration | API Architect | Accelya Offer & Order Management; IATA NDC Change Log | IATA schema deprecation notice, aggregator readiness assessment, PSS compatibility matrix, dual-version support window | Schema migration plan, aggregator communication pack, rollback procedure, updated API endpoint supporting new version | Schema migration completed within 6 months of IATA deprecation notice; ≤2 aggregators requiring extended dual-version support beyond migration deadline | Y | Y |
| 5.2 | Report NDC adoption metrics to commercial leadership | Distribution Analytics Manager | Tableau / Power BI; AWS Redshift (data warehouse) | NDC transaction logs, GDS PNR booking data, agency adoption reports, incentive payment records | NDC vs GDS booking share report, revenue-per-booking comparison, agency adoption scorecard, ROI calculation vs GDS segment fees | NDC booking cost-per-segment <GDS segment fee; NDC ancillary attach rate ≥GDS equivalent; report delivered monthly within 5 business days of month-end close | N | N |
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