Qantas has revealed details of its new distribution model, which will come into effect in mid-2025.
The Australian carrier on Wednesday (27 November) said its new model “reflects a global shift towards adoption of IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) technology” and that it will include booking and servicing offers “that are either difficult or just not possible through traditional systems”.
From 1 July travel agents and bookers will be able to access the carrier’s content in several ways, with varying ticket surcharges applied to different booking channels.
The new model will replace Qantas Channel agreements and will offer four booking channel options: EDIFACT bookings via legacy systems, ‘standard NDC’ via GDS partners such as Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport, standard NDC via technology partners and the carrier’s own Qantas Distribution Platform, and a ‘premium NDC’ option via technology partners or GDS partners with an agreement.
The EDIFACT and standard NDC options are available to all agents, while the carrier’s premium offer is by invitation only and promises differentiated pricing and access to all available NDC sales fares.
EDIFACT tickets and NDC fares booked via the GDS will also incur per segment surcharges of $13 and $3, respectively. See table below for more details.
The carrier added that the new model “will help us to recover costs of indirect distribution” and will “enhance booking and servicing experiences” for agents, including the ability to lock in the price of a booking for up to five days before ticketing.
The carrier said it “remains committed to working with our agency partners… [and] we encourage you to reach out to your technology partner now to understand readiness for accessing Qantas NDC content from 1 July 2025.”
The carrier’s certified technology partners include Amadeus, Sabre, Serko, Travelport, ClarityTTS, and Travelfusion.
The move, however, has been criticised by travel industry stakeholders. Garner Advisory founder Cory Garner on LinkedIn said the model is “not new” and that it is a “close cousin” to existing NDC or wholesale deals offered by European and US carriers.
“It’s not a huge departure from what Qantas already had in-market and it’s unlikely to affect my forecasts for NDC adoption in Australia. The market is waiting for an airline to help define the next era of distribution strategies, but this is not it. This one is a continuation of the pre-pandemic era,” he said.
SAP Concur EMEA regional VP Paul Dear also commented on LinkedIn that Qantas is “implementing a very similar NDC strategy to LHG [Lufthansa Group]”.