Sabre Agrees to Pilot New Technologies With American Airlines and Other Travel Giants
Photo Credit: Shown here are developers, designers, and entrepreneurs competing in Sabre’s annual global hackathon. The travel technology giant has begun pilot testing New Distribution Capability (NDC) technical standards for travel distribution along with key industry partners. Sabre
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After years of friction, Sabre and corporate travel giants American Express Global Business Travel, Carlson Wagonlit, and Flight Centre, have agreed to work together to test what new distribution methods might look like. Questions of who will pay what have been postponed.
Sabre was the travel technology company that gave the most resistance to airline industry efforts to embrace new ways of retailing travel. Yet in the past year, new CEO Sean Menke has signaled his intent to move with the times.
On Tuesday, the company said it has "a commitment to advance at an industry level" new technological and business practice methods with American Airlines and several key players in corporate travel — American Express Global Business Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and Flight Centre Travel Group, according to Sabre's Kathy Morgan, vice president of new distribution capability.
Here's the backstory: Several years ago, many airlines created the New Distribution Capability (NDC), a set of technology standards that will help airlines provide more sophisticated selling capabilities to travel agents.
Sabre — and to a lesser extent it
