Agencies needs, first: Air Canada NDC on Travelport+ 

We sat down with Keith Wallis, Managing Director Enterprise Platforms at Air Canada, to unpack how selling Air Canada’s NDC content through Travelport+ gives agencies more price points, more products, and more control — with the servicing tools you rely on every day. 

Keith, starting with the basics — what do agencies actually gain by selling Air Canada via NDC on Travelport+? 

First up is price. With continuous pricing, we can surface more granular price points in NDC than EDIFACT channels ever allowed — so the fare your traveler sees through Travelport+ can be equal to or lower than the closest filed fare step. That helps agencies stay price-competitive without channels‑switching 

Second is content. Our domestic Basic fares are not offered in EDIFACT; they’re available in NDC. Agents also unlock discounted ancillary seat pricing, promo code offers, and Flight Pass — which historically were difficult or impossible to access in other flows. 

Tell us more about continuous pricing. How does it translate into everyday wins for agents? 

Think of traditional pricing as 26 rungs on a ladder. If the lower rung sells out, the next available fare jumps up. With continuous pricing, we can offer intermediate prices between those rungs. That means fewer abrupt jumps for your customers and a better chance to win the sale at a more precise price point. In our program, continuous pricing is enabled across our network in modern channels like NDC; that’s exactly what Travelport+ delivers to your desktop or API. 

Which NDC-only items should agencies (especially in North America) watch for?

A few high-impact examples: 

• Broader ancillary catalog in NDC (beyond seats): Advanced & Preferred Seat selection with seat‑map pricing and Aeroplan recognition (*Aeroplan is Air Canada’s loyalty / frequent‑flyer program), Maple Leaf Lounge access, Air Canada Bistro meal vouchers, and additional optional services/SSRs — all retail‑ready in modern workflows. 
• Domestic Basic fares — available only in NDC, not in EDIFACT. 
• Discounted seat pricing — savings on paid and preferred seats compared with other channels. 
• Promo codes — tactical, regularly updated discounts you can only apply in NDC. 
• Flight Pass — a prepaid bundle of one-way credits by zone (Canada, U.S., Sun destinations, some international), useful for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) or frequent travelers who value price certainty and flexibility. 
• SMEs & corporate program offers (e.g., Air Canada for Business/Corporate bundles, meetings & events access) exposed in NDC for targeted selling 
• Protection against ADMs — when you shop, price, and exchange through Air Canada NDC, you are 100% protected against any agency debit memos (ADMs) from Air Canada for fare rule violations or change violations 

And there’s a 48‑hour extended refund policy on NDC bookings, which doubles the standard 24‑hour customer grace period you’ll see on other channels — helpful when agents need time to finalize trip details. 

We’re not reserving these offers to push agencies onto NDC. They live in NDC because modern retailing tech is what lets us deliver continuous, more granular pricing, richer ancillary content, and loyalty-aware seat maps and automation at scale — capabilities that NDC was designed to support.

While a few elements could be replicated outside of NDC, EDIFACT’s structural limits and lack of rich merchandising mean the customer experience and post-sale management are simply better in NDC — and we want customers to clearly see (and value) what they’re buying. 

Why bring this content specifically to Travelport+? What changes for agencies? 

Travel agencies remain essential to our success — they account for a huge share of our sales. Our NDC program was never about disintermediating the trade or modern retailing platforms such as Travelport+. For us, NDC is about casting a wider net and meeting agencies where they already work. That’s why Travelport+ mattered to us. It has a large global footprint, and its platform lets us put a modern, retail‑ready platform in front of advisors so they can quickly understand — at a glance — our fare families, branded offers, and extensive ancillary catalog. 

For the agent, the change is meaningful and tangible: you get richer content and clearer merchandising in a familiar workflow, so you can shop, compare, and explain Air Canada’s value proposition faster. In short, making NDC available on Travelport+ was a no-brainer — our objectives aligned, and it’s the best way to help agencies see and sell what makes Air Canada competitive. There is nowhere else other than an NDC outlet like Travelport+ that you can get what your customer wants. 

How did the implementation go? How was the work with Travelport? 

It was fantastic — genuinely collaborative. Both sides came in with experience from other NDC projects, and we benefited from that learning. From there, it felt like one extended team rather than two companies negotiating compromises. We had frank, open discussions, and every decision was anchored in what’s best for the customer (and the agencies), plus how to ship quickly and sustainably. It was mutual, pragmatic problem-solving to put the best joint solution into the market. That hasn’t always been our experience elsewhere, so it was refreshing to work with a partner willing to adjust when it made sense. 

What’s your view on agencies’ role as the industry pivots to modern airline retailing? 

As airlines diversify products and personalize offers, agencies remain critical now, more than ever in helping travelers navigate choice and complexity. NDC is the foundation that lets us get there: dynamic offers, bundling, richer merchandising, better servicing. If you postpone the shift, the gap widens between what you can sell in traditional channels and what your competitors sell in a modern platform. This is how you future-proof your business. 

What are you most excited about for this go-live of Air Canada NDC on Travelport+? 

Travel agencies being able to take advantage of all the hard work that we have done. We can now say with confidence to travel agencies that we have a viable solution for them and that it is the foundation upon which we're going to build the future of our retailing strategy. 

Air Canada and Travelport have a proven track record over the last decade doing things that are different and innovative together. This is just another example of it. 

Having all the content you need in one place is important for any agency, saving you time to put back in your day — and Travelport+ makes this happen. With smooth, easy access to both NDC and traditional offers available in one place, and smarter, intuitive results provided the first time around. This way, you can speed up the booking process and see your profits (and list of happy customers) grow. Want to know more about NDC? Click here. And if you want the smoothest, most secure NDC experience, Smartpoint V12 has everything you need.