BCD Travel has stepped onto the industry’s centre stage once again, confirming today that it will participate in the NDC FastTrack program, a cross-industry effort designed to accelerate the long-promised shift toward modern air retailing. It’s a move that suggests BCD has no intention of waiting patiently on the sidelines while airline distribution undergoes its next great rewrite.
For the uninitiated, the New Distribution Capability (NDC) is IATA’s ongoing push to replace ageing legacy pipes with modern, data-rich connections. The airline world has been debating it for the better part of a decade, but as any seasoned traveller knows, new technology tends to land at its own pace, usually after circling the tarmac a few times. FastTrack aims to change that by giving airlines, travel management companies, and technology partners a structured place to navigate stubborn technical hurdles and finally get the wheels turning in unison.
Upon joining the program, BCD Travel will contribute as both a user of NDC content and a technology partner through its Travel Commerce Platform. The company hopes to smooth out the persistent barriers that still restrict scalable adoption issues that have long frustrated corporate travel buyers who expect consistency and serviceability as non-negotiables, not optional extras.
Thane Jackson – BCD
“BCD’s involvement in NDC FastTrack underscores our commitment to advancing adoption of NDC, delivering full functionality and choice for corporate travellers,” said Thane Jackson, the company’s senior vice president of Supplier Management and Delivery. “Our clients expect content to be consistent, transparent and easy to service. That’s evidenced by our enablement of 17 airlines’ NDC across the world and clients booking up to 65% of their air bookings using NDC fares. Participation in NDC FastTrack aims to make that a reality, no matter where or how travellers book their trips.”
It’s a statement that reflects an industry quietly acknowledging a simple reality: corporate travellers want the best available fare, the right inclusions, and the ability to mend a booking without wrestling with a chatbot at midnight. If NDC is ever going to earn its place as the backbone of modern retailing, it must deliver not only new content but the service infrastructure that surrounds it.
For buyers, those long-suffering travel managers who must balance budgets, duty of care, fractured global content, and the occasional executive who insists on flying “just a bit more comfortably”- BCD’s move sends a reassuring signal. The company is betting that NDC’s future lies in scalable, transparent, serviceable delivery rather than fragmented experiments.
Sam Gilliland – Accelya
Accelya’s CEO, Sam Gilliland, welcomed the news, noting the broader benefits of collaboration. “We’re excited that BCD will participate in NDC FastTrack and value their leadership across the travel value chain,” he said. Considering Accelya’s role as a significant technology provider powering airline retailing solutions, that endorsement carries more weight than the usual congratulatory sound bite.
The initiative also aligns with BCD’s broader modern retailing strategy, a push to provide seamless access to all content sources, NDC, GDS, direct connections, and anything else the future throws at the sector. In an era where the travel industry is leaning harder into personalisation, dynamic pricing and bundled ancillaries, corporate players are increasingly expected to match the intuition of consumer-grade platforms while maintaining the rigour corporate travel requires.
BCD argues that this future hinges on trusted partnerships, scalable tech, and a willingness to stay in the thick of the industry’s ongoing transformation. With FastTrack now in its sights, the company appears intent on shaping, rather than simply observing, how corporate travellers will shop, book, and service their journeys in the years ahead.
Further insights into the company’s approach to NDC and modern retailing can be found on BCD’s official blog.
