Emd Exchange In Ndc: Closing The Servicing Gap Between Direct And Indirect Airline Channels

Abstract

Electronic Miscellaneous Documents are important tools in the management of ancillary revenue in the airline industry, but their exchange process is notably less evolved in the current distribution structure. Whereas New Distribution Capability has brought about enhancements in the creation of offers and the initial purchase process of ancillary products, the servicing of these sales post-processing has less evolved when compared to the sophistication in the front-end merchandising process. Certain asymmetries arise in the operations of the servicing from the viewpoint of the airline’s frontend and intermediated distribution, where the servicing of the ancillary products has to be pursued through different means by the customers. The servicing of these products is complex from a technical aspect, which arises from the different business cycles associated with ticket and non-ticket products, including their inventory types, dependency on coupons, and accounting treatment. Straight-line coupon structures make the servicing scenarios manageable, while the multi-coupon structure brings about exponentially increased levels of complexity associated with the partial usage process and the mixed financially related outcomes. Currently available order-centric distribution infrastructures provide conducive means of generating simplicity in servicing operations by defining the manipulation of associated documents in the context of logical modifications of orders. However, complete automation in the process demands enhanced levels of governance in areas associated with current taxes, revenue recognition standards, reconciliation of settlement processing, and management of operations-related risks. Capability parity in the distribution channel is the primary infrastructure prerequisite in the context of the sustainable multi-channel distribution of ancillary revenue streams.