British Airways NDC (BA NDC): how agencies and developers access it
Key dates, the GDS distribution charge, NDC-only fares, BA’s move to NDC 21.3, and the three ways to connect.
By the Tripgic team · Last updated
What is BA NDC?
BA NDC is British Airways’ implementation of IATA’s New Distribution Capability: an XML API through which travel agencies, TMCs and travel-tech platforms shop, book and service BA flights using the airline’s own offers, including branded fares, ancillaries and price points that the legacy EDIFACT/GDS channel cannot carry.
BA was among the first major airlines to push agency bookings towards NDC. Its parent IAG began charging for non-NDC GDS bookings in 2017, and BA later moved its lowest European basic fares to NDC only. For anyone selling BA, NDC is no longer optional. See our plain-English guide to NDC for the standard itself.
British Airways NDC timeline: key dates
| Date | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2017 | IAG introduces a distribution technology charge on BA and Iberia bookings made through GDS channels that do not use NDC: £8 / €9.50 per fare component. | source |
| Sep 2018 | Charge raised to £9 / €10.50 per fare component (£18 / €21 on a return). | source |
| 2020 | BA rolls out NDC-exclusive content on European routes; the lowest no-bag basic fares are removed from the GDS and offered through NDC only. | source |
| May 2023 | BA NDC content goes live in Amadeus: UK on 2 May, ten more European markets from 16 May. | source |
| Mar 2025 | BA NDC content available through Sabre (Sabre Red 360 and the Sabre Offer and Order APIs), including short- and long-haul price points not offered via EDIFACT. | source |
| Jun 2026 | BA announces a move from its in-house NDC programme (“17.2”) to Amadeus Altéa NDC on IATA NDC 21.3. No go-live date published. | source |
Charges and fare rules change. Confirm current amounts in BA Travel Partner Connect. British Airways — Travel Partner Connect.
Three ways to access British Airways NDC
You can connect to British Airways directly, through a GDS that carries its NDC content, or through an NDC aggregator. The right choice depends on your engineering capacity and how many airlines you sell.
| Direct to British Airways | GDS NDC | Aggregator (Tripgic) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Large agencies and TMCs with their own NDC engineering team | Agencies already working in a GDS desktop or GDS API | OTAs, B2B platforms and startups that want REST/JSON |
| What you build | BA’s NDC XML flows plus onboarding with BA | The GDS’s NDC workflow, separate from EDIFACT | One REST API; British Airways NDC blended with GDS and LCC fares |
| BA schema changes (17.2 → 21.3) | You migrate | Handled by the GDS | Handled in Tripgic’s connector; your JSON stays the same |
| Other airlines | One integration per airline | NDC carriers that GDS supports | Other NDC airlines, 3 GDS networks and 67 LCCs |
What BA’s move to NDC 21.3 means
In June 2026 British Airways said it will replace its in-house NDC programme with Amadeus Altéa NDC running IATA NDC 21.3, as the base for a full Offer and Order model. BA expects faster partner onboarding, more consistent data, and wider servicing: exchanges, re-shopping, name changes and synchronised order updates. (source)
- Direct connections on 17.2 should plan a migration once BA publishes its timeline.
- GDS NDC users follow their GDS’s rollout.
- Tripgic customers keep the same normalized API. The schema change is absorbed in Tripgic’s BA connector, not in your code.
BA NDC vs GDS (EDIFACT) bookings
- Lowest fares: BA’s no-bag basic fares on European routes are sold through NDC only, not the GDS EDIFACT channel.
- Distribution charge: BA and Iberia bookings made through non-NDC GDS channels carry IAG’s per-fare-component charge.
- Price points: BA says NDC carries short- and long-haul price points that EDIFACT cannot.
- Offers: branded fares, ancillaries and rich content come through NDC as BA retails them.
How NDC differs from the GDS in general: NDC vs traditional GDS.
Frequently asked questions
What is BA NDC?
BA NDC is British Airways’ implementation of the IATA New Distribution Capability standard: an XML API through which travel agencies, TMCs and travel-tech platforms shop, book and service BA flights using the airline’s own offers, including branded fares, ancillaries and price points the legacy EDIFACT/GDS channel cannot carry.
Does British Airways charge extra for GDS bookings?
Yes. Since November 2017, IAG has applied a distribution technology charge to BA and Iberia bookings made through GDS channels that do not use NDC. It started at £8 or €9.50 per fare component and rose to £9 or €10.50 in September 2018. Check BA’s current agent terms for today’s amount.
Which NDC version does British Airways use?
BA has run its own in-house NDC programme, referred to as 17.2. In June 2026 BA announced it is moving to Amadeus Altéa NDC on IATA NDC version 21.3 as the foundation for Offer and Order retailing. No go-live date has been published.
Can I get BA NDC fares through Amadeus or Sabre?
Yes. BA NDC content went live in Amadeus on 2 May 2023, starting in the UK and expanding to ten more European markets from 16 May 2023. It became available through Sabre, including the Sabre Offer and Order APIs, in March 2025.
How do I access BA NDC through Tripgic?
Tripgic holds the British Airways NDC connection. You integrate one REST API with sandbox credentials, and BA NDC offers come back blended with GDS and low-cost carrier fares in the same normalized JSON, with no per-airline NDC certification on your side.
Sources
- Travolution — IAG’s BA and Iberia announce increased GDS charge (Sep 2018)
- TravelNews — BA, Iberia pull bag-only fares from GDS (Jan 2020)
- Business Travel News Europe — British Airways starts selling NDC content through Amadeus (May 2023)
- The Business Travel Magazine — BA’s NDC content now available through Sabre (Mar 2025)
- Amadeus — British Airways adopting Altéa NDC (Jun 2026)
- British Airways — Travel Partner Connect
Other airline NDC guides
- Emirates NDC
- Qatar Airways NDC
- Riyadh Air NDC
- Saudia NDC
- Etihad Airways NDC
- Turkish Airlines NDC
- Lufthansa Group NDC
- Air France-KLM NDC
- Singapore Airlines NDC
- American Airlines NDC
- United Airlines NDC
- Qantas NDC
- Cathay Pacific NDC
- Iberia NDC
- Finnair NDC
- Air India NDC
- Biman Bangladesh Airlines NDC
- flydubai NDC
- Gulf Air NDC
- Oman Air NDC
- Malaysia Airlines NDC
Related
Sell British Airways NDC fares without a BA integration
British Airways NDC, GDS and LCC content in one normalized REST API. Sandbox credentials at no charge.
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