Glossary

Words we actually use.

A travel commerce platform is software that lets a brand sell trips under its own name. The rest of this page is the vocabulary behind that sentence.

Stopover program

An airline product that sells a hotel night, transfer and often a tour during a hub layover, booked with the flight rather than as a later add-on.

Dynamic packaging

Bundling live flight, hotel and extras into one price at search time, with component prices hidden, so the seller can discount the trip without publishing a weaker public fare.

NDC

IATA New Distribution Capability. An XML standard that lets airlines send rich offers, bundles, ancillaries and images to sellers, instead of a seat and a fare class.

Airline holidays platform

Software that lets a carrier sell flight-plus-hotel holidays under its own brand, keeping the customer, the data and the trip margin.

White-label booking engine

A booking site that runs on the seller's domain and brand. The vendor supplies the engines; the seller owns the customer.

TMC / OBT

A TMC is a travel management company that runs corporate travel for clients. An OBT is the online booking tool those travellers use, with policy and approvals built in.

GDS

Global Distribution System. A network (Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport) that aggregates airline, hotel and car content for agencies. Still the default pipe; no longer the only one.

Ancillary revenue

Money an airline or agency makes beyond the base ticket: seats, bags, hotels, insurance, stopovers. Modern retailing is mostly a fight for this layer.

Direct share

The portion of bookings an airline takes on its own site rather than through agencies or OTAs. Platforms that keep the customer relationship exist to grow this number.

PSS

Passenger Service System. The airline host that holds PNR, check-in and inventory. Replacing it is a multi-year programme; most carriers add a retailing layer on top instead.