For more than a decade, airlines have placed high hopes on IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) to modernize how they sell. The reality in 2025 is clear: despite all the talk, NDC adoption remains stubbornly limited — hovering around ~20% of global bookings, ~18% of US agency, ~30% leisure, only ~6% corporate, with legacy GDSs’ portion barely breaking 3% of overall NDC transactions.

Airlines are learning the hard way that messaging standards alone won’t deliver true retail transformation. NDC is simply a richer way to communicate offers — it does not deliver the seamless retailing experience that travelers expect, nor does it replace the legacy systems that continue to constrain growth.