Trade group should shelve resolution and apply for a business review letter
WASHINGTON, DC – Business Travel Coalition (BTC) today called on the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to abandon Resolution 787 and the included “New Distribution Capability” (NDC) and apply to the U.S. Department of Justice for a Business Review Letter. NDC represents a new, worldwide business model for the pricing and sale of airline tickets. As evidenced by public statements and comments filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation, an expanding number of travel organizations from around the world are raising questions, concerns and objections to the IATA Resolution and consider it antithetical to the public interest.
IATA has identified commoditization as a problem for some airlines. However, a horizontal agreement among airline competitors to terminate the very fare transparency from which consumers have long benefitted is misguided in the extreme. This construct for change needs to be abandoned and replaced with a responsible, thoughtful planning process that includes customers, distribution system participants and regulators.
IATA should carefully consider stakeholder feedback below, shelve Resolution 787, start over, and when prepared, file with the DOJ for a Business Review Letter. If IATA were to receive a favorable Letter, then the industry would be assured that an independent government agency expert in antitrust law and with the power to investigate and compel testimony looked closely at an IATA Resolution and was comfortable that competition and consumers would not be harmed.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
