Travel Aggregator Afro Atlas has partnered with Ethiopian carrier Ethiopia Airlines to offer New Distribution Capability (NDC) platform, a one-stop solution that offers all travel needs for its customers.
The platform by Afro Atlas will help travel agencies access the NDC content from Ethiopian airlines, get merchandising, and proper product personalization.
The platform brings together different airlines with different technology platforms to one central platform thus eliminating the need of visiting different sites for different services by the end user.
Speaking during the signing of the partnership, Afro Atlas Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ahmed Ugas said the platform intends to change how travel products are distributed in the continent and how the travel agencies operate especially with start-up agencies as they strive to embed technology in their operations to make work more efficient and easier.
“This partnership is going to expand to the distribution of NDC which was recently launched by the Ethiopian airline and we are honoured to be the first travel consolidator in Africa to directly connect to this NDC which is a new technology that major airlines around the world are now moving to. We are committed to shaping the regional travel industry with distribution and innovation” said Ugas.
With over 400 travel agencies already onboard on Afro Atlas, 100 of them are from Kenya as the startup has already established offices in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Mogadishu in Somalia as well as in Dubai even as it looks forward to penetrating the market of other countries in East Africa.
“We are taking the burden of seeking different technologies or getting to know different technologies. With this platform, you get everything on one platform,” he said.
Ugas further exuded confidence that the pact will help increase the reach of Ethiopian Airlines, Afro Atlas and all the stakeholders involved in the process beyond the continent even as the concept of NDC is still new in Africa.
“We are happy, as the leading aviation group in Africa to partner with Afro Atlas which is the first travel consolidator to directly connect with Ethiopian Airlines NDC and also taking a leading step in technology and we will further strengthen our relationship with future enhancement on the NDC and ready to serve our common customers together,” said Ethiopian Airlines Country Manager Kenya Seble Azene.
Ethiopian airlines also hope the pact will help improve its performance as it is yet to reach its pre-Covid performance.
The airline which operates in over 128 destinations in the world, intends to open new destinations in Amsterdam, Zurich, Port Harcourt, Berbera and Chennai in October.
Source: Capital News
