LANGLEY, UK — The Lufthansa Group airlines and Travelport have signed a new distribution agreement, paving the way for modern airline retailing.

Applying to the carriers Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS and Air Dolomiti, the agreement will allow Travelport to distribute Lufthansa Group airlines’ NDC content through Travelport+, the next-generation content distribution and travel retailing platform.

The agreement builds on the ongoing distribution of Lufthansa Group airlines’ content through traditional EDIFACT channels.

Both companies are already in the process of implementing end-to-end NDC functionality. The launch, expected in the first half of 2022, also lays the foundation for a diversified NDC program, giving Travelport-connected travel agencies the ability to access Lufthansa Group airlines’ content through Travelport+ by signing up to one of the two available commercial NDC models: NDC Public or NDC Bilateral.

“Lufthansa Group is firmly committed to delivering superior customer experiences along the entire travel journey, increasing reach of our most attractive offers and enabling a diverse travel ecosystem,” says Tamur Goudarzi Pour, Senior Vice President Channel Management at Lufthansa Group Network Airlines and Chief Commercial Officer SWISS. “Especially in these times of crisis and when creating additional customer value through advanced technology proves to be more important than ever, we are doubling down on our long-term NDC strategy.”

Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Travel Partners at Travelport, added: “Expanding our longstanding partnership with Lufthansa Group airlines to include NDC content, with the retailing possibilities it offers, is a significant stride forward. Managing multiple sources of content and merchandising them effectively with personalized and dynamic offers is exactly with Travelport+ has been built for.”