VIDEO: Airline distribution at a tipping point

Lufthansa created a huge stir in the airline industry three years ago when it introduced a surcharge for all bookings made via the global distribution systems.

Despite the war of words that ensued between it, agencies and the GDSs, it actually marked the beginning of the end of a period where the sector was still trying to figure out how far-reaching IATA's New Distribution Capability was going to be.

Airlines didn't exactly fall in line behind it immediately but many players in the industry realized that NDC was the new reality that there was no turning back from.

Heike Birlenbach, Lufthansa's senior vice president of sales for the Lufthansa Group Hub Airlines and chief commercial officer for Hub Frankfurt, spoke at Phocuswright Europe 2018 about the carrier's distribution strategy and how it sees the model evolving over time.

Joining Birlenbach for a panel discussion following the presentation:

• Thane Jackson, vice president of global distribution and channel strategy at BCD Travel
• Gianni Pisanello, vice president of NDC-X Program at Amadeus
• Guillaume Teissonnière, vice chair for ETTSA and general counsel and company secretary at eDreams Odigeo

Here is the presentation and the discussion...