Finnair, the flag carrier of Finland, has selected TPConnects, a leading SaaS-based travel technology solutions provider, to power the Finnair Agency Sales Tool (FAST).
This agency booking portal enables Finnair to directly distribute NDC content to travel agents, including ancillaries and personalised exclusive offers. Travel agencies using FAST are also exempt from the 12 EUR one-way surcharge the airline has now implemented via traditional EDIFACT channels.
Finnair is the first carrier to announce it will stop using legacy EDIFACT technology to sell tickets and ancillary air products by the end of 2025, moving instead to an all-NDC distribution model for agency channel sales.
Jenni Suomela, Finnair Vice President Channel Management, said: “We continue to introduce new channels to distribute NDC content and address the varied needs of our seller partners. The roll out of FAST is an important milestone in Finnair’s distribution strategy, enabling us to introduce new and better products to customers, distributed by modern technology that is easily accessible by agents. By strengthening our co-operation with our technology partner TPConnects, we have been able to take an agile approach, delivering speed to market with this NDC agent portal.”
Rakshit Desai, CEO, TPConnects adds: “In support of Finnair’s progressive distribution strategy we have created a user-friendly platform to generate and service NDC bookings, without any technical integration work, booking or servicing fees. It provides a robust agency administration system, enabling Finnair to set up their agencies independently, and permits roles and unique access privileges to Finnair product.”
He continues: “Finnair joins the expanding group of NDC airlines adopting TPConnects’ visionary technology solutions, which open limitless retail opportunities through direct connectivity to travel agencies, free from the constraints of outdated systems. Our goal is to create a richer experience for travel vendors and the new platform we have developed for Finnair enables agents to fully leverage the complete spectrum of the airline’s products and services.”
