Lufthansa extends New Distribution Capability deal with Accelya

Global software provider to the airline industry, Accelya, has announced a long-term New Distribution Capability (NDC) extension with Lufthansa Group, the aviation company based out of Europe.

This move comes as the Lufthansa Group intends to increase its already substantial NDC processing volume. Under the deal, Accelya will continue to facilitate the NDC for six of the group's top airlines including Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS, Discover Airlines and Air Dolomiti.

The partnership between Accelya and the Lufthansa Group is not new. They have been working together on Lufthansa's successful retailing transformation programme. The new agreement reinforces their long-lasting relationship and promises to refine and advance the group's current NDC solutions and examine more retailing abilities together.

Accelya's NDC technologies empower leading airlines to control their retailing, update their distribution, personalise their offers and increase ancillary sales. The company takes pride in putting airlines in control without having to rely on typical legacy technology that tends to hamper innovation and customer experience.

Frank Naeve, SVP Global Markets & Stations at Lufthansa Group, said, "We remain wholly committed to our NDC journey and continue to aim for significant growth in the NDC channel in the coming years.

"This requires an approach which provides industrial scalability and offers highly flexible and modular components. Accelya, with its deep understanding of the airline industry combined with proven NDC adoption, is a strong partner for the Lufthansa Group's next level expansion phase."

Sam Gilliland, CEO at Accelya, echoed the sentiment, "We're thrilled to be continuing our partnership with Lufthansa Group. Having worked with them since the very start of their NDC journey, we're excited to be contributing to the next phase of their NDC growth and enabling Lufthansa Group's retail modernisation. 2024 looks set to be an exciting year for Accelya, and the industry, as we continue to enable pioneering airlines to take control of their retailing."

Independent consultancy leader in travel technology and distribution strategy, T2RL, revealed that Accelya leads in enabling NDC with more than 50% of global transactions and 85% of indirect transactions based on total passenger numbers for 2022.

The software platform powers 15 billion offers per day for its airline partners, with direct connections to over 200 agents and aggregators globally and 50,000 active IATA agencies.

The new extension with the Lufthansa Group further solidifies Accelya's position as the world's leading provider for NDC transactions. The mutually beneficial relationship between Accelya and Lufthansa Group is set to bring the latter's ambitions of airline retailing transformation to fruition, while enabling Accelya to achieve significant growth in the coming years.

Accelya is a global software provider to the airline industry, powering 200+ airlines with an open, modular software platform that enables innovative airlines to drive growth, empower customer experiences and take control of their retailing.  

Owned by Vista Equity Partners long-term perennial fund and with 2K+ employees based around 10 global offices, Accelya are used by many known names. The company's passenger, cargo, and industry platforms support airline retailing from offer to settlement, both above and below the wing.