Airlines are approaching customers in a new way, known as modern airline retailing, which attempts to bundle every offering from an operator at once.
- On Tuesday, United Airlines and Travelport entered into a strategic relationship that represents a new model of collaboration between an airline and a multi-source content provider to scale modern airline retailing.
- American Airlines said that IATA designated it with Airline Retailing Maturity status based on our retailing capabilities, partnership development, and value capture.
- In July, AmTrav reported a 61% NDC booking adoption rate in the second quarter of 2025.
To attract customers now, airlines have a new strategy called “airline retailing” to sell everything from tickets to meals in a shopping experience kind of way, helping bundle offers for customers and drive more sales with just one click.
Simply put, airline retailing is like an online store that lets you choose more than just a seat. It includes extra baggage options, meals, Wi-Fi, lounge access, and hotel bundles, among other options to help the traveler check off necessities before departure.
Airlines have been increasingly adopting this airline retailing to improve the digital shopping journey for travelers using agency platforms.
What Is Airline Retailing?
Airline retailing is a modern retailing standard created by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to encourage airlines to switch from the traditional Global Distribution System (GDS) to New Distribution Capability (NDC).
GDS is where third-party sellers, mainly travel agencies, interact with the airline’s content in the passenger service system and manage bookings and tickets. According to IATA, NDC is a modern airline retailing method and a data exchange format based on “Offer and Order management” processes that enable airlines to create and distribute relevant offers to customers regardless of the distribution channel.
Using NDC is expected to allow airlines to set prices and bundle offers dynamically based on season, demand, and macroeconomic changes. IATA aims to ensure a personalized experience and, eventually, let customers buy tickets and complete an online shopping experience.
According to a report by McKinsey and IATA, the airline industry could generate up to $40 billion in new value annually by 2030 through NDC. Put another way, modern retailing might be worth up to $7 per passenger.
United Airlines And Travelport
On Tuesday, United Airlines and Travelport entered into a strategic relationship that represents a new model of collaboration between an airline and a multi-source content provider to scale modern airline retailing.
United said this marks a significant evolution from the traditional airline-distributor relationship, with teams from both companies working closely together to enable new capabilities and functionality for agency and corporate buying communities.
Through this deal, Travelport will gain early access to United’s NDC technology roadmap and co-development opportunities, helping ensure more sophisticated merchandising tools in the marketplace.
United said the partnership would introduce several new customer-friendly capabilities, including the ability to pool unused United travel credits, directly enroll in the United MileagePlus loyalty program, and more.
US Carriers Using Airline Retailing
American Airlines has completed full integration of NDC across its global systems, primarily in North America. The airline said that IATA designated American Airlines with Airline Retailing Maturity status based on our retailing capabilities, partnership development, and value capture.
Alaska Airlines’ NDC is open to travel agencies, online travel agencies, aggregators or IT providers, and travel management companies, who can integrate it to enjoy an improved shopping experience.
In October, low-fare airline Frontier Airlines and Etraveli Group announced the launch of a direct connection via IATA’s modern airline retailing method. Through this partnership, Etraveli Group has direct access to Frontier’s content, including real-time fares, ancillary products, and bundles, enabling customers across Etraveli Group’s brands and business partners to book Frontier flights with greater flexibility and choice.
How Does Airline Retailing Help Plane Operators?
IATA has said that airline retailing helps improve revenue as airlines modernize their revenue management by implementing more dynamic pricing, adding price points, creating bundles, and optimizing the overall offer.
The transport association has noted that airlines can benefit from new technology intermediaries and diversify their sourcing. This method of retailing also helps improve targeting and customer engagement by personalizing and contextualizing Offers.
In July, AmTrav, a business travel management platform part of Perk Group, a business travel & spend company, said it saw a 61% NDC booking adoption rate in the second quarter of 2025. The firm said that customers can access the full array of seating and ancillary options, including free and paid seats, such as American’s Main Plus bundle and United’s ancillary options.
What Is Retail Thinking?
Retail sentiment on United Airlines improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’ territory a month ago, with message volumes at ‘normal’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.
Sentiment on American Airlines was in the ‘neutral’ territory compared to ‘bearish’ a month earlier, and on Alaska Airlines, retail sentiment improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ a day ago.
Shares of United Airlines have jumped nearly 12% this year, while American Airlines’ stock has declined over 16% year-to-date. Alaska Airlines shares have fallen almost 30%.
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