The NDC debate is hotting up nicely. Industry figures are speaking out, with Svend Leirvaag, Amadeus Vice President for Industry Affairs among them.

Leirvaag says IATA’s pursuit of a new distribution capability (NDC) has “wasted time and energy” and “derailed” industry discussion. “NDC is ill conceived. It has not contributed to the efficiency of the industry,” says Leirvaag.

IATA describes NDC as a travel industry-supported programme for the development and market adoption of a new XML-based data transmission standard.

The goal is to make airline marketing and selling more effective in both the consumer and corporate sectors. It is, almost without question, going to have an impact on the way corporate travel is managed in the future.

So where are we right now? Eight major global carriers, including Air Canada, British Airways, United, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic, conducted NDC trials last year.

They tested codeshare flights, insurance upsells and mobile bookings. Business travellers buying United tickets though the Amadeus GDS can buy extra legroom seats for the first time, for example.

Meanwhile, Swiss is currently trialling the sale of packaged fares that include free checked bags, seat upgrades and Champagne onboard. Much more is expected throughout the rest of 2015 and into next year.

Change always brings challenges, however, and NDC will lead to a better-informed shopping environment for air travel that will deliver value to passengers and create business opportunities across all aspects of the industry.

Most of the industry appears to welcome the innovation and generally seems unconcerned by the potential impact of NDC. Nevertheless, a lot of questions appear to remain unanswered.