ATPCO and Blockskye proof of concept will explore application of blockchain in airline offer management

17 September, 2018

Blockchain is a current buzzword, but there still remains confusion among many areas within the travel sector as to what it is and what it will mean for the industry. Earlier this month ATPCO and Blockskye provided some insight into its value in a whitepaper describing its key features and its applicability to airline distribution. In addition, the companies, along with SITA, announced a proof of concept (POC) on blockchain and how it could potentially be utilised in next-generation airline offer management.


Summary:

  • New ATPCO and Blockskye white paper describes the key features of Blockchain and its applicability to airline distribution;
  • The paper 'Blockchain and Offer Innovation', says Blockchain can become an authority to ensure the validity of the product offered;
  • ATPCO and Blockskye, together with SITA, are developing a proof of concept (POC) on blockchain and how it could potentially be utilised in airline offer management;
  • The POC will explore augmenting NDC Exchange with blockchain technology, providing a trusted and secure offer authority that can reduce integration costs and transaction risk for airlines and sellers alike.

Blockchain is an undeniable and transformative force, with wide-reaching applications across many industries, including aviation. As airlines embrace more sophistication in offer generation, beyond fares to dynamic products, the paper 'Blockchain and Offer Innovation', says blockchain can become an authority to ensure the validity of the product offered.

READ THE FULL REPORT...Blockchain and Offer Innovation

"Blockchain can be applied to the movement of any asset transferred between a seller and a buyer, and applications of blockchain in commercial aviation continue to expand," it explains. "For commercial aviation, and the wider travel industry, 2019 will bring further PoCs, pilots, and in some instances, full production of blockchain solutions driven by startups, airlines, and airline industry leaders."

The paper helps to explains what is blockchain?, why it is important to the future of air travel, how it can identify new opportunities and how private and permission-based blockchains are governed and partitioned, as well as its own POC proposal on the subject.

Together in this POC, technology solutions company, ATPCO, inventory booking and transaction management solutions experts, Blockskye, and IT and telecommunication services provider, SITA, are advancing a discussion on how the industry might create value for the market using decentralised airline offer generation based on International Air Transport Association's (IATA) New Distribution Capability (NDC) and ONE Order initiatives. The concept would enable airline and channel partners to handle the exponentially increasing volumes of data accurately and securely.

The POC leverages NDC Exchange, built by ATPCO and SITA, because it is a neutral platform that facilitates real-time connectivity, on SITA's global IT infrastructure, between airlines and travel sellers so that they can exchange messages easily and cost-effectively.

IMAGE - The ATPCO, Blockskye and SITA POC shows how blockchain can provide multi-point, secure, and accurate access for everyone involved in the offer and orderSource: Blockchain and Offer Innovation white paper.

As airlines and sellers deliver greater value and choice through NDC, it becomes increasingly important for offers to be consistently and accurately managed. NDC Exchange provides the ability to integrate fulfilment and data sources from shopping through settlement across all actors in the value chain. The POC will explore augmenting NDC Exchange with blockchain technology, providing a trusted and secure offer authority that can reduce integration costs and transaction risk for airlines and sellers alike.

"Blockchain is an undeniable transformative force. With the support of Blockskye, we wanted to ask the question, 'How could this technology be implemented to support the future-state airline distribution ecosystem, and where can ATPCO add industry value?'" says Gianni Cataldo, head of ATPCO Research & Development. "The concept of a persistent offer managed by a neutral authority addresses many of the coming challenges of direct distribution. We hope this paper spurs discussion on how technology can drive paradigm shifts and in turn lead to industry alignment."