Amadeus Responds to Open Allies and IATA Deal

airlineAmadeus said it welcomes the agreement reached between Open Allies for Airfare Transparency and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on the conditions that both organizations recommend be included in the valuation and potential approval by the U.S.Department of Transportation (DOT) of Resolution 787

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"We are pleased that, with this agreement, IATA has responded to certain industry concerns and that such conditions make it clear that a DOT approval of Resolution 787 does not constitute.

This includes: 

1. An approval of a specific method or business model for distributing air content, or of any restriction on the use of any distribution channel

2. An approval of any agreement among IATA member airlines to require the disclosure by any passenger of personal information of any kind.

3. An approval of any agreement among IATA member airlines to require the use of any particular data transmission standard (s).

4. An approval of any reference to ownership of data in Resolution 787," Amadeus said. 

Additionally, the agreed conditions clarify that any standards developed under Resolution 787 shall be open standards, that Resolution 787 will not restrict what could be done with the existing standards and that any restriction on backward compatibility will be removed.

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"Open Allies and its members –including Amadeus- are committed to the principles of transparency, choice, competition, privacy, and innovation in the air travel marketplace. We are encouraged that IATA has engaged with the broader travel industry to address various concerns raised, and in doing so the industry is moving towards a solution that will benefit all."
 
"We look forward to engaging in the next steps with IATA in order to establish a new industry forum that will govern the setting of standards in the distribution value chain. Should the DOT approve Resolution 787 with all of the agreed conditions, Amadeus will also consider its formal position to the Resolution. We now urge IATA to ensure that the agreed conditions are reflected in an amended Resolution 787, to be approved at this year's World Passenger Symposium," Amadeus says.
 
Amadeus said it  has engaged consistently with IATA on NDC from the beginning and will continue to do so. "Furthermore, we are working with a number of airline customers on delivering the functionality envisioned by the industry’s ambition and we are ready to play a leading role in future development. With our scale and leadership position in the industry we believe that we are uniquely positioned to do that."

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