Iberia has announced that it is extending the reservation hold period for its Business Long Haul corporate routes sold through the NDC (New Distribution Capability) channel to a full week. With this improvement, the airline aims to provide companies with more time to organize the logistics of their international travel, avoiding the risk of losing their chosen fare or seat while finalizing trip details.
As the airline details in a statement, this initiative offers a triple benefit. Firstly, companies gain significantly greater operational flexibility than the traditional distribution model offers. Additionally, business travelers have a wider range of alternatives and combinations to plan their journeys.
The third advantage highlighted by Iberia is the reinforcement of the competitiveness of travel agencies and commercial partners already working with the airline's NDC standard, as they can offer a service more tailored to the needs of corporate clients.
"With this new development, we reaffirm our commitment to the development of the NDC channel as the key tool for distribution in the present and future, and we continue to transform the corporate travel purchasing experience with service personalization as the best ally for solutions adapted to the demands of the business sector," assured Iberia's Director of Sales for Spain, Portugal, and North Africa, Antonio Linares.
Recognition for agencies and companies leading the use of the NDC channel
In parallel to this announcement, Iberia has celebrated the awards ceremony for its first "Mundial NDC," through which the airline aims to recognize the work of travel agencies and companies in adopting this technological standard to drive the transformation of air distribution.
In this first edition, 660 agencies from 37 different markets and 68 companies participated. The top positions were awarded to Global Business Travel, Telefónica, W2M, and Viajes de negocios y tiempo libre.
In the second tier of recognition were Viajes Arenas, MTGlobal, Carrefour Viajes, and Amadeus; while CVT, IAG7 Viajes, Avoris BCD, Acciona, and FR Navan, the latter as a European agency, received the third award.