NDC Frequently Asked Questions

Cathay’s goal is to provide curated offers to our customers in both direct and indirect sales channels and hence creating a level playing field for all travel intermediaries who wish to access Cathay’s products and sell through their own channels. Our NDC solution helps to achieve that. Following are some notable benefits from connecting to Cathay NDC:

• No ADMs from fare discrepancies as Cathay creates the offers and issues the tickets; travel intermediaries do not have to worry about incorrect manual pricing
• Travel intermediaries now have the opportunity to create a one-stop-shop solution for everything as on Cathay’s flagship site. Less time spent hopping between GDS and airlines website to shop for flights and ancillaries for customers
• Shopping, booking, ticketing, changes, and cancellation can be through own agent portal
• Rich content will be available through Cathay’s NDC for you to explain to your customers what they will expect on their flight journey
• Cathay will also be enhancing our personalization ability to provide offers matching with a customer profile or corporate policy

With the advancement of NDC schema each year and the development of our merchandising solution, more product offers, ancillaries, and services may be provided through the NDC channel. Content availability is subject to the technical feasibility of each distribution channel. Cathay is open to discuss incentive schemes with potential agents on an individual basis. Please approach our local sales team/NDC commercial team for further discussion.

There are 3 ways a travel agent/TMC can connect with Cathay

1. Connect via a Cathay approved NDC aggregator. You may access to Cathay NDC content via one of our aggregator partners.
   
2. Connect via your GDS. Some GDSs have also launched their NDC aggregation solution. Cathay will progressively provide NDC content to these GDS partners. Please contact your GDS for further information on how to access to Cathay NDC content.
3. Direct connect with Cathay NDC API. Cathay welcomes companies with technical capability to connect directly upon internal assessment by Cathay on the technical compatibility.

Yes, Marco Polo Club and Asia Miles members can be identified during the booking process when they input their FFP numbers. The respective member entitlements will be applied for their booking accordingly. From time to time, personalized or members exclusive offers may be available through Cathay NDC.

Please refer to the “How to connect to Cathay NDC” section on our CXagents.com NDC page. 

For direct connection, depending on the time taken for integration test and commercial discussion, it usually ranges from 2 to 3 months. An integration through an aggregator or GDS aggregation will be much faster ranging between 1 – 3 weeks. However, it is good to note that the time taken may vary depending on your arrangement with your chosen aggregator.

There is no plan for Cathay to introduce surcharge at the moment, but we will continue to review our distribution strategy and share with the trade when there is any new development.

Cathay accepts BSP cash and customer credit card settlement. (card settlement applicable to certain fare products only) Your aggregator partner may have other payment options for you to settle with Cathay.

Yes, most of the aggregators connected with Cathay’s NDC has developed servicing capability, allowing you to make changes to your customers’ bookings (i.e. cancellation and refunds etc.). Please approach your preferred aggregators to understand more about the services they can provide.

Currently Cathay does not offer such booking portal. Please approach one of our listed aggregator partners to start your connection and obtain Cathay’s NDC content.

1. For connection via our designated aggregator partner, agents will need to sign our Cathay NDC Intermediary Agreement T&C along with the registration form.
2. For connection via GDS, we will provide more details on the onboarding process and documents required once the GDS aggregation option is ready for launch. Please stay tuned for updates.
3. For direct connection, please approach Cathay NDC’s commercial team or your local account manager more details regarding the required documents.