United and Travelport will co-develop New Distribution Capability (NDC) and the modern retailing that technology supports, under a strategic agreement described as a new model of collaboration between an airline and a GDS.
Under the deal, United will work in concert with Travelport to create NDC capabilities for the Travelport Plus platform used by travel advisors. The process will differ from traditional GDS-airline relationships, in which technology is built separately by each party and later integrated, Travelport chief commercial officer Jason Toothman said in an interview with The Beat.
"That's caused real pain points for travel agencies and corporates. Our goal is to evolve that so we can start to build tomorrow's capabilities together," Toothman said.
United currently uses NDC within the GDSs to merchandise, such as bundling fares that include an extra-legroom seat, checked bag or club pass.
The companies said that the new agreement will provide Travelport with the ability to accelerate the deployment of new merchandising and post-booking features for United. Those will include United's portfolio of what it calls Online Booking Tool (OBT) extras, which will be available in Travelport's Deem OBT platform for corporate travel as well as within Travelport Plus.
Those extras will eventually include the ability for corporate travelers to pool unused United travel credits; directly enroll in the MileagePlus loyalty program; and use United Jetstream amenity funds as a form of payment for ancillary products.
United and Travelport said capabilities from the collaboration will roll out in phases beginning early next year and continue throughout 2026.
United said it would offer specialized support teams to assist travel agencies, including the enhancement of NDC capabilities "to ensure smoother adoption of new technologies and to maximize the value agencies may receive from the relationship."