Lime Management becomes first leisure wholesaler to migrate to NDC for BA fares

TMC’s online flights portal enables now utilises NDC connectivity Continue reading →

Lime Management, the leisure fares distribution partner of British Airways, has migrated its online reservations platform to be compliant with Iata’s NDC shop and book standard.

The aggregator claims it is the first wholesaler to adopt the technology with the airline within the leisure market.

Lime’s online flights portal, which enables tour operators to self-package with their own contracted ground arrangements, now utilises NDC connectivity for inclusive tour, seat only, cruise and published fare products to the travel trade.

The move to NDC Shop & Book capability also enables Lime to offer BA’s recently launched direct-only ‘Short Haul Additional Price Points’ (SHAPP fares), that provide most competitive trade fares in the market.

Bookings created in Lime’s online portal are also exempt from the Distribution Technology Charge (DTC) due to its NDC connectivity.

Matt Darlington, Lime’s head of commercial, said: “We are delighted to be leading the way as the first consolidator/wholesaler to adopt IATA’s NDC Shop & Book capability in conjunction with British Airways.

“Since our inception back in 2003, dedicated to British Airways (and in more recent years the IAG Group), we have consistently looked to align and lead on new technology implemented by British Airways within the various travel trade and airline services we offer.

“We are confident in NDC and its ability to provide a market leading offering to our trade partners, not least the direct-only SHAPP fares and the continued DTC exemption, as two initial key benefits.

“We are also planning further migration of post-book servicing as part of our ongoing roadmap of NDC implementation, which will be rolled out in future phases.

“With NDC paving the way for new opportunities of product offering and distribution from IAG, Lime want to ensure that the UK travel trade has access to some of the best content for British Airways, as this technology continues to evolve.”

Nicola Ping, BA distribution development and technology manager, said: “We are delighted that Lime has connected to our NDC APIs and is able to offer all of our NDC content to our joint customers. As a key partner, Lime has been able to provide useful development insight into our NDC which enables us to respond to our customer needs better.”