Analysis reveals bigger NDC-enabled journey packages may see as much as six-digit annualized financial savings
Navan, the all-in-one answer that makes journey and expense straightforward, at the moment introduced the discharge of the Navan NDC Savings Index, a complete evaluation of the affect of scaled NDC utilization for company journey packages. The in-depth evaluation explores NDC bookings from 12 airways and tens of millions of flight choices to know the state of NDC at the moment and quantify how a lot corporations with entry to this content material may save.
“There’s a huge difference between simply enabling NDC versus what Navan is doing, which is leading the way with an NDC roadmap that drives the industry’s modernization efforts forward,” says Rich Liu, CEO of Navan Travel. “As a tech company, we’re designed to quickly adapt to new technologies. Being an early adopter of NDC has allowed us to create a standard for how TMCs should optimize NDC content. The NDC Savings Index is the result of those efforts — illustrating the potential savings and traveler value of NDC done right.”
Most main airways already supply (or plan to supply) differentiated NDC content material as they proceed to leverage the expertise’s distinctive skill to enhance communication between carriers and clients.
To higher perceive the affect of those advances, Navan analyzed the info from flight bookings made on its platform over a three-month interval (Feb. 16 – May 16, 2024). The compiled outcomes supply an insightful deep-dive into the potential worth of NDC by uncovering NDC reserving traits (world, regional, and per airline), cost-savings alternatives, and insights from particular person airways.
Key findings:
- Nearly one in 4 flights booked on Navan in May was by way of NDC:
- In the U.S., which leads globally in reserving quantity on Navan, NDC represented roughly 24% of all flight bookings.
- In Europe, the place a single airline is commonly dominant per nation, NDC accounted for almost one-third (31%) of all flight bookings on Navan.
- Larger journey packages with NDC entry may see as much as six-digit annualized financial savings: Certain clients with NDC-enabled content material noticed potential financial savings per airline starting from 3.3% to 16.6%, because of averted GDS surcharges, in addition to entry to further worth factors and unique fares.
- Depending on the route, Navan information present that as much as 57% of fares printed by an airline could possibly be lacking from a reserving software — resulting in a bigger share of fares exterior a journey administration software than in, creating leakage and potential mistrust from staff, in addition to a scarcity of visibility and additional overspending.
- As NDC adoption elevated, so did traveler satisfaction: As entry to NDC content material was made broadly out there, Navan’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) — a measure of buyer satisfaction and loyalty, the place scores above 30 are thought of excessive — constantly elevated through the check interval.
- Navan’s NPS is up 13% this yr and at present sits at 43 for Navan’s flight platform. (This rating contains post-booking adjustments and in-trip expertise.)
“With all the changes in the industry, we needed a platform that was agile enough to accommodate new technology and processes,” says Melissa Watson, Group Travel & Corporate Events Director at Informa. “Informa is now seeing good savings from NDC via Navan; we’re on track to save around $215k this year.”
The NDC Savings Index showcases Navan’s industry-leading integrations with NDC content material now from 15 world airways. Navan connects to as many suppliers as attainable to ensure appropriate content material at the very best worth — with out compromising on consumer expertise. Leveraging AI and factoring in buyer firm coverage, private preferences, and optimum pricing, Navan dynamically shows related reserving choices to clients. NDC content material is optimized in order that vacationers profit from the identical self-serve capabilities anticipated from GDS bookings (reminiscent of flight adjustments, cancellations, and extra) — all on-line and with out the necessity for extra agent assist.
“Navan’s journey with NDC and American Airlines began as early as 2018, and a lot of work has been completed to define NDC and create an experience that meets the needs of modern business travelers,” says Anthony Rader, Director of Airline Retailing Technology at American Airlines. “Through Navan’s efforts, they have been able to provide our mutual customers more choices with bundles and ancillaries, a seamless booking experience, and added servicing benefits.”
