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Most common questions on NDC

Based on our numerous and ongoing talks with agencies
around the world we have listed some of the most common
questions & answers to the NDC topic below

Will I see the NDC booking in my GDS/ OID/ PCC?

No, since NDC bookings are created by the respective airline directly in its inventory you won’t see those in your GDS. However, Symphony.Hub enables you to have a real time access to all your NDC bookings made. Similar to the GDS world you can get all the necessary details for each and every booking incl. the price breakdown, baggage allowance, ticket numbers, ancillary services booked, etc. You can also filter all the bookings by using various criteria, e.g. airline, routing, passenger name, PNR, etc.

Do I need to pay and issue all the NDC bookings instantly?

Most of the airlines support On Hold  booking / Postpone payment functionality allowing you to pay for the booking at a later stage. So, similar to the GDS world today you just create a booking and will be given a deadline for payment and ticketing. Once your customer confirms the booking you simply open it, choose the appropriate Form of Payment and issue the ticket.

What Form Of Payment can I use for NDC bookings? Does NDC work with BSP/ARC payments?

All of the airlines support credit card payments for NDC bookings and most of the airlines also the option of BSP/ARC payments for the IATA accredited agents. This means the settlement process for the agency is absolutely the same as in the GDS environment.

If required by the customer, can I cancel, void or refund a NDC booking?

Yes, most of the airlines support cancel, void and refund options for the NDC bookings made. This is a completely stress-free process for the agents as it’s actually the airline's responsibility to check the options available and to calculate the correct refundable balance. So there's no risk of ADMs for a wrongly calculated refunds anymore. 

How can NDC bookings talk to my mid- and back-office systems?

Symphony.Hub stores a complete range of details for any booking made which can be easily exported to third party mid- and back-office systems. So with a minimum adjustments on the agency side this works the same as in the GDS environment.

Can I book Ancillary Products when using NDC?

Yes, you can book at least the same range of Ancillary Products through NDC as through the GDS. Additionally, some airlines don’t distribute their Ancillary content through GDS and only do so through NDC - so this is an additional benefit of using NDC on top of the more favourable prices.

Does NDC work with corporate fares?

Yes, depending on each airline’s individual settings.

Where can I service a NDC booking I made- e.g. when the customer wants to change it?

There are multiple ways to service the NDC bookings. For the time being the NDC booking made through Symphony.Hub are to be serviced through the agency portal of each airline. However as soon as in Q2/2019 we will be extending the Symphony.Hub funcionality to allow the agents to change the bookings through Symphony.Hub directly - so agents will be able to consolidate all key daily their action here.

How many NDC bookings do I have to make for Symphony.Hub to pay for itself?

It’s hard to believe but it's enough to sell only 3 return bookings to London using NDC content and the price difference versus GDS will pay for the monthly Symphony.Hub maintenance fee.

How many agents from my company can use Symphony.Hub?

There’s no restriction on how many agents from your agency can use the application - Symphony.Hub comes with its own user administration tool, so you can administrate your staff access rights on your own and in real time.