China Eastern Airlines expands NDC offering with new Amadeus partnership

Carrier becomes first in China’s Mainland to sign with the travel technology firm

China Eastern Airlines has signed a milestone agreement with Amadeus for international NDC distribution. 

The carrier which is a member of SkyTeam Alliance, is one of the three state-owned backbone airlines of China, but will become the first in the Mainland of China to sign for NDC distribution worldwide with Amadeus.

Javier Laforgue, executive vice president, travel unit & managing director, Asia Pacific of Amadeus, said: “China Eastern Airlines is an important and valued partner. 

"The agreement signed today is a milestone for Amadeus, expanding our presence in the key Chinese airline market. 

"The deal deepens our collaboration with China Eastern Airlines and will provide our global network of travel sellers with the ability to easily search, shop, and service product offerings from the airline.”

With NDC technology, China Eastern Airlines will be able to provide richer, customisable content to travel sellers, supporting better upsell of its branded and ancillary products. 

In the meantime, they will have further access to enriched China domestic airline content.

Fu Jian, vice president, commercial development of China Eastern Airlines, added: “We want to provide our customers around the world with more choice and personalisation when booking travel with us and NDC is one of the key enablers to do this. 

"It is also an important initiative for China Eastern Airlines to accelerate the recovery of international traffic and enhance the expansion of its overseas sales channels. As an innovative leader in the travel technology space, Amadeus is a significant partner for China Eastern Airlines." 

He added: "We look forward to working with Amadeus to expand our reach around the world.”