American Airlines has extended its New Distribution Capability (NDC) commission program through the end of the year.
The program, which pays 10% commission on NDC bookings of American's Main Plus, Main Select and Flagship Business Plus bundles, had been scheduled to expire on Sept. 30.
The airline put the commission program in place in June as part of its effort to re-engage with travel agencies and corporate customers. In late May, American jettisoned a 13-month strategy in which it attempted to compel agencies to adopt NDC booking technology through a variety of measures, most notably by pulling more than half of its fare content from legacy GDSs.
Scott Laurence, American's vice president of partnerships and retailing, said that ultimately the best way to drive NDC bookings is by offering continuously priced dynamic fares, a process that is already being deployed by United.
Legacy distribution systems, which rely on the alphabet-based booking codes that are familiar to travel advisors, cannot support continuous price points.
"Continuous pricing is where the industry is going, and it creates a great incentive to utilize NDC," Laurence said. "It's great for customers. They see the lowest fares. It is hard to look at that and not think it has potential to be a really effective product for American."
The airline, Laurence added, is experimenting with continuous pricing, though he declined to provide details.