NDC – Everything a travel manager needs to know in 2026

January 19, 2026

In this article, find out how:

TMCs play a critical role in aggregating and standardising NDC content across multiple airlines, ensuring consistent fare displays and smoother booking flows.
NDC is paving the way for greater personalisation, cost savings and efficiency, with TMC‑airline collaboration helping resolve challenges and prepare for the next phase of modern airline retailing.
Reed & Mackay now provides enhanced NDC access from 11 major global airlines, unlocking better fares, continuous pricing and more tailored options across hundreds of routes.

New Distribution Capability (NDC) has been one of the biggest changes to take place in the travel retailing industry in years. Plus, it’s been a key feature in corporate travel programmes for some time now.

And it’s here to stay. While NDC may still present some challenges, travel management companies (TMCs) are emerging as critical enablers of its success, as highlighted in our Business Travel Trends 2026 report.

Their role is shifting from traditional booking intermediaries to strategic partners in content integration, traveller experience and corporate travel policy compliance. In 2026, TMCs are likely to be even more instrumental in bridging the gap between airlines’ direct distribution ambitions and the complex needs of corporate clients.

Unlocking better fares and richer content

One of the most significant contributions TMCs will make is in aggregating and normalising NDC content across multiple carriers. With each airline implementing NDC differently, TMCs will help standardise fare displays, ancillary offerings and booking flows to ensure consistency and usability for travel managers and employees. This will require deep investment in technology platforms and API connectivity, as well as close collaboration with GDS and airline partners. As NDC offers continue to evolve, TMCs will help to further integrate NDC content into their booking, reporting and expense tools for clients.

Reed & Mackay recently introduced innovative features to its ecosystem designed to empower businesses to travel smarter while maximising value and efficiency. And those innovations included access to smarter air content.

As long-standing champions of NDC, Reed & Mackay now offers the opportunity to unlock better fares and more options with NDC content from 11 global airline leaders, currently varying across different markets. These include British Airways, American Airlines, Lufthansa Group*, Air France/KLM, United, Qantas, Emirates and Singapore Airlines. Whether booking online or through a consultant, clients can enjoy richer travel choices and value, all tightly integrated within Reed & Mackay’s end-to-end service ecosystem.

Airplane flying in sky with sunset — Unlock better fares and more options with NDC content

How can corporate travel programmes benefit from NDC?

“Ultimately, what we’re unlocking for our clients with these NDC options, is the richest content and the best prices,” Reed & Mackay Director, Air Partnerships, Richard Lindsay says. “It can generate cost-savings across travel spend, by giving those managing corporate travel programmes access to better, more tailored fares based on their travellers’ needs.

“For example, with Lufthansa Group, the benefits are the richer content, avoiding surcharges and having access to unique fares such as its light fare product (hand baggage only) and green fares,” Lindsay adds. “And, across all these airlines, it’s about continuous pricing, plus the fact that this is a huge amount of content that’s opened up to clients, across hundreds of global routes.”

Yet it goes further than cheaper individual fares, Lindsay adds. It’s also about being able to offer clients a simplified way of booking, saving the booker time, as well as money, from the travel budget. “One of our major benefits is having our own tech stack, so when we develop NDC connection it goes directly into our online and offline booking capabilities,” Lindsay says. “The NDC rate is visible in every platform.”

And the numbers show Reed & Mackay clients are steadily embracing NDC. Almost 27% of their British Airways bookings and almost 13% of Lufthansa bookings were made through NDC, over the last three months of 2025, both based on total transaction numbers.**

Will NDC personalise travel more effectively?

Overall, NDC will deliver a more personalised experience to the business traveller. Which should also lead to better outcomes for traveller wellbeing. Although full-scale personalisation is still in its infancy, there is an optimistic outlook.

“Airlines want to provide the best experience for the traveller possible and can offer more tailored offers via a TMC through NDC,” Lindsay adds. “To date that’s been limited across all carriers. However, longer term, there’s a transition towards Offers and Orders (the next stage of IATA Modern Airline Retailing vision) and, the theory is, that will unlock better personalised experiences. As airlines transition towards this scheme we expect this will open up those more tailored experiences.”

Business travellers can start to expect more personalised experiences through NDC

Are airlines acting on customer feedback about NDC?

It’s no secret that travel managers are still asking questions about some issues corporate travel programmes encounter when booking via NDC. Yet a TMC that has strong partnerships with airlines is helping move these issues on. “We’re taking feedback from clients who have embarked on working with NDC and explaining any pain points they might have directly to the airlines. The airlines can then use these insights to evolve,” Lindsay says.