NDC Flight search

You can now shop for NDC offers, traditional fares, or both all within a single screen. By choosing the All option, you can view and compare NDC offers and traditional fares side by side.

Important: If you choose NDC flights, you can shop, price, book, ticket, and modify using the plugin. If you choose traditional (GDS) flights, you can shop, price, and book and hold in the plugin. After you book and hold in the plugin, ticketing and servicing requests are completed in the terminal window in Smartpoint Desktop.

  • NDC content cannot be added to an existing reservation (air, car, or hotel). You can create an NDC booking then add car or hotel segments.

  • NDC and GDS air bookings cannot be in the same booking file at this time. If you have an open booking, ignore it before selecting Flight Search. Having NDC and GDS content in the same booking may result in mismatched data, errors, or canceled segments.

  • If your point of sale is India and travel will be on Singapore Airlines, you must enter Goods and Services Tax information before searching for flights.

  • Priority boarding can be added to Iberia NDC flights. Traveler details must be added using a terminal entry (N.) before searching for a flight in order to add priority boarding during booking.

See FAQs for additional Flight Search information.

It is recommended that you start by moving a profile or entering customer data before opening the plugin. Passenger information is required in the booking file/PNR prior to search if you want to assign seats before completing the booking. Refer to NDC Profile Fields for information about how best to format profile fields.

  1. Launch the plugin by selecting Flight Search from the Search ()icon or drop-down menu (Travelport+ and Apollo) or the Fares & Pricing menu (Worldspan). Note: For users of Smartpoint versions 10.0 and below, the menu option is named NDC Flight Shopping Search.

    Important:

    • For Apollo and Worldspan users, the plugin only allows you to search for NDC content. The ability to view and compare traditional and NDC content side by side is only available for Travelport+ users.

    • You cannot add GDS or NDC flights to an existing booking using the Flight search panel. If you have an existing car or hotel reservation, use terminal entries to add GDS flights.

    • If you have an existing booking open, ignore it before launching Search to avoid errors.

    • If you want to add priority boarding to Iberia NDC flights, you must enter traveler details through AAA before searching for a flight.

  2. Select whether to search Traditional only, NDC offers only, or both (All). All is the default option.

    • When All is selected, traditional and NDC content is combined and duplications are eliminated from the results.

    • If the Traditional and NDC offers have same marketing carrier and same flight number(s) but different brand names, the offers are combined. You can check the content source of the different brands by selecting a search result and opening the flight detail page.

    • If the Traditional and NDC offers have the same marketing carrier, same flight number(s) and same brand name, duplications are eliminated. If the price for both offers is same, only Traditional offer is returned. However, if the price of these offers is different, the lowest cost offer is then displayed.

  3. Enter the trip information.

    1. Enter the city or airport codes in the first From-To section. The codes can be entered directly if known or can be selected from a drop-down display after the first characters are entered. The full text origin and destination city display when entering the city or airport code.

      If the code for the airport and city are the same, each location is identified by a city () or airport () icon. If you select the city location, all airports in that city are considered. If you select the airport location, only flights to or from that airport are considered.

      Note: If your point of sale is India and will be on Singapore Airlines, you must enter Goods and Services Tax information before searching for flights.

    2. Select departure date from the calendar, or enter the date in format DDMMM (10MAR) or MMMDD (MAR10).

    3. To restrict results to within +/- 2 hours of a specific time, enter the time in a 24-hour format (e.g., to search around 2:00pm, enter 14:00). Search results display a range of -2 and +2 hours from the desired departure time.
      Note: Only certain NDC carriers support the time filter. See NDC capabilities by airline for more information.

    4. If you are searching for a round trip, complete the same fields in the second From-To section. To search for one-way, remove the return section by selecting the X above the Time field. To add another leg, select the plus icon.

    5. (Subject to airline support) You can add multiple passengers (up to 9 total) and passenger type codes (PTCs) . Search results are priced based on the number of passengers and PTCs selected. The first passenger must be an adult.

      • Change the number of adults by entering a new number or using the arrows.

      • To add other PTCs, select the + icon under the adult row, then select a PTC from the list.

        Not all PTCs available in the drop-down list are currently supported by all NDC carriers; therefore, there are scenarios where carriers price the requested PTCs different than what was requested at shop. Following a PTC conversion, agents see blue text in the fare details section with more information accessible in a hover-over tool tip.

      • To add the ages of the passengers, select the Add passenger age link beneath the passenger types. Some countries exempt passengers of a certain age from paying taxes, but ages are required. You do not have to enter ages for all passengers, only those that may qualify for a discount or tax exemption. Select Apply once ages have been added.

      Agencies with a Spanish PCC booking an NDC Iberia (IB) itinerary can obtain the Spanish residency discount by:

      1. Select departure and arrival destinations within Spain that are applicable for SRD (e.g. Madrid to Palma Mallorca).

      2. Select an applicable Spanish resident passenger type code from the Passengers drop-down list.

      3. Select IB Iberia Airways in the Airlines field.

      4. Select the residency region from the Residency (Spain) drop-down list.

      5. Select Search. If all required data is included, a success message displays.

      6. On the Review and Confirm screen, complete the Spain residency and large family fields including, name, identification type and number, residency code, and municipal code.

      7. In a confirmed itinerary, the residents details display in the notepad remarks.

      Note: There is a known issue with Spanish resident discount fares when an infant is in the itinerary. A resolution is forthcoming.

      Spanish Residency eligibility

      Residents in the Balearic/Canary Islands traveling between their region of residence and any other part of Spanish National Territories are entitled to a discounted air fare.

      In order to be entitled to the Spanish Resident discount, the traveler must be:

      • A registered resident in: Balearic and Canary Islands, traveling between their home region and any other destination within Spain.

      • Residents of Ceuta traveling between Seville, Málaga and Jerez and any other destination within Spain.

      • Travelers must have a residency certificate valid at time of travel.

      • Traveler’s residency information is sent to the Department of Transport for validation. If validated, travelers do need to show their Residency certificate at the airport. If not the case, traveler is required to display it, together with ID, at the airport for validation before boarding.

    6. You can filter results by airline. You can select up to 5 airlines, then choose whether these airlines are preferred, should only be returned, or should be excluded. If Preferred is selected, the selected airline's flight display first followed by other airlines.

      If your agency has access to multiple NDC airlines and if no airline is specified, then results for all applicable NDC airlines are returned.

      Currently, only 100 results are supported. Therefore, some carriers may not be returned in the shop results even if fares are available. For the best result, use targeted searches when possible, such as selecting a desired cabin or selecting an airport rather than a city. Future releases will address this limitation to ensure all relevant results are returned.

    7. Optionally, select a number of stops to filter results.

      • Nonstop only returns direct flights only.

        Note: At this time, a flight that has a stop within the route but does not change its flight number is returned in nonstop results. This issue will be addressed in a future release.

      • Up to 1 stop returns direct flights and 1-stop flights.

      • Up to 2 stops returns direct flights, 1-stop flights, and 2-stop flights.

      • When no filter is applied, any number of stops is returned.

    8. (Subject to airline support) Select a cabin class and then the option Only to return only that class in results. Select Preferred to return other cabin classes in the results.

       

    9. Optionally, if the fare type includes Private Fares, you can select a private fare qualifier, which will request private fares for the selected PTC, irrespective of the PTC selected for the travelers.

      Note: In order to know which Private Fare Type qualifier is needed for each carrier, please visit the specific carrier capabilities page.

      BA private fares are now available to search. Select Private Fares and select one of the following: Tour Operator Deferred, Tour Operator Semi-Deferred, Contract Bulk, Private Fare Adult, and Humanitarian.

    10. Optionally, select the fare types you want returned. If search is to use Private Fares, enter the Private Fares Code in the text box. The search response will then include the relevant private offer. Search response and fare details indicate which are private offers.  

    11. Optionally, select the Corporate Agreement Number from the drop-down field, provided a corporate agreement number is present in the SI. field in the booking file.

      Corporate Agreement Number includes KLM's Bluebiz corporate program. Ensure the Bluebiz number is present in the SI. field and the fare type search is Public fares only.

    12. To select a Membership Number, the frequent flyer number must be present in the M. field in the booking file prior to launching the flight search panel.

      When a membership number is selected, the fare details card for non rich content and branding results states that the membership number has been applied.

      Note: For NDC airlines, only Qantas (QF) supports membership number.

      For searches with multiple passengers, only one Membership Number can be applied during shop and is only reflected along with the primary traveler.

    13. Optionally, for Air France only NDC flight search, select Abonnement Number. Abonnement is a subscription Air France (AF) offers to access special fare discounts that is automatically extracted from the booking file.

    14. Optionally, select from the list of popular preferences to restrict flight results to those flights that offer these amenities.

  4. Select Search. The plugin performs an NDC shop, or a Traditional shop, or both as selected at the top of the flight search panel.

    Note: If any discount or loyalty information was entered, a message displays at the bottom of the page indicating that the discounts have been submitted to the airline.

  5. Flight options display. The amount shown on each offer is the price for all passengers.

    • CO2 information displays if available. If the label is green, the actual CO2 emissions for that flight are lower than the typical value. If the label is gray, the actual CO2 emissions for that flight are equal to or higher than the typical value. Hover over the CO2 label for an explanation of how figures are calculated.

    • If an asterisk follows the carrier name, hover over it to indicate the operated by information, which may be multiple carriers or if the flight is operated by a different airline.

    • If a +# (e.g., +1, +2) follows the flight number, hover over it to view additional flight numbers included in the route.

    • If a flight option is an NDC offer, the label NDC displays beneath the price in the search results list. If no label displays, the option is a traditional offer. Also, once you select a flight option, the type of offer displays in the Content source row.

  6. You can sort and filter flight results to quickly find the options you need.

    The sort and filter options display at the top of the flight result list.

    • To sort flights, select the Sort By default drop down and choose another sort method. By default, flights are sorted by lowest to highest price.

    • To filter flight results, select the Filter () icon. The filter options panel displays on the right of the flight results.

      Select which filters to apply to the flight results. You can select Show non-stop flights only to filter out any flights with stops. If your origin or destination has multiple airports, uncheck any airports you do not want in the results. You can also select departure and arrival time windows.

      As you choose filters, the flight result list is automatically updated and the Filter icon displays a checkmark (), indicating that filters are applied. To remove filters, select the Reset button.

  7. Optionally, check the Compare option for different flights or flight options to display these flights and their options in a matrix.

    1. As you select options to compare, a Compare button displays at the bottom of the panel. The number next to Compare matches the number of your selections.

    2. Select Compare. A matrix of the selected flights displays with the options included in the price.

      • Click the price button to choose one of these brands.

      • Click the X button at the top right of the airline icon to remove a brand from the matrix.

      • Select the Return to results link in the upper left to return to the search results.

  8. Select a flight row to view flight details.

    The right panel displays upsell opportunities for the selected flight. Each brand card displays the price and what is included (e.g., rebooking, refund, baggage). The flight details display below the brands.

    Note: If an airline does not return attributes for a particular brand, the text No information displays.

  9. Select the Pricing link to display the fare breakdown, including taxes and charges, for each passenger type. Select the Go Back link at the top to return to the upsell options.

  10. Select the Rules link to display rules for this brand. Select the Go Back link at the top to return to the upsell options.

  11. To view all brands for the a flight, select the View more brands for this flight link at the bottom of the right panel. Select the Return to results link to return to the upsell options.

    • A matrix of brands for the selected flight displays. If an airline does not return attributes for a particular brand, the text No information displays.

    • Select the price button below the brand name to choose one of these brands.

    • Scroll down to see the options and information for each brand.

    • Select the Return to results link in the upper left to return to the search results.

      Notes:

      • For some itineraries, SQ and QF might not return all the details around brands and attributes, improvements coming soon.

      • For some itineraries, QF might not return price information (shown as n/a). The agent can get the leg prices by clicking on View more brands for this flight for each leg, as well as being able to select the desired brands and complete the selection of all the legs.

      • UA doesn't return branded fares information.

     

  12. If you have not yet selected a flight, select the price button from the list of flights or brands.

  13. If you have more than one leg, select flights for all legs of the trip. Options for other legs of the trip are based on your previous flight brand selection. The number of available flights displays at the top of the list.

    As with the first leg, you can compare different options and view brands for a flight. You can select the tab for the first leg if you want to change the flight you already selected.

    Important: Agencies can restrict the ability to create booking files. If you do not have the appropriate permission, a blue information message displays above the flight search results.

  14. The Extras panel displays if add-ons are available for the selected flights. Refer to Add-ons for information on selecting these extras. To skip extras, select the Review and confirm button.

  15. Once you have chosen flights for all legs, the Review and Confirm panel displays the fare and itinerary information, as well as the offer time limit and ticketing time limit.

    Tip: Unpin the search panel to increase the horizontal space.

    • NDC offers are only available for a certain amount of time. If the booking is not completed in that time, the offer is no longer valid and will fail to book. The Review and confirm panel displays the offer time limit in an orange box beneath the booking total. Complete the booking within the time limit.

    • Select View rules for flight rules or Price details (under the total price to view a price breakdown per passenger type. Baggage details display in the Itinerary Details section.

    Note: For Air France, if a Discount Pass offer was selected in the search, then Abonnement number applied displays on the Review and confirm screen under Fare Details.

Important: NDC offers are guaranteed for 20 minutes. Once an offer is chosen, you should book (either hold or ticket) within 20 minutes of the offer being returned.

After selecting flight, use the graphical display to: