Iberia NDC: how agencies and developers access Iberia content
The IAG distribution charge, NDC-only Basic fares, certification, GDS NDC availability, and the three ways to connect.
By the Tripgic team · Last updated
What is Iberia NDC?
Iberia NDC is the IATA New Distribution Capability channel of Spain’s flag carrier, part of IAG alongside British Airways. Agencies connect through a direct API, an aggregator or the free IAG Portal to book Iberia with NDC-only Basic fares and extra price points, without the per-segment distribution charge on GDS bookings.
Iberia moved in step with British Airways: the same IAG charge on non-NDC GDS bookings from November 2017, NDC@Scale certification in December 2019, and the cheapest domestic fares sold only through NDC from 2020. See our plain-English guide to NDC for the standard itself.
Iberia NDC timeline: key dates
| Date | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2017 | Iberia and BA start charging €9.50 per fare component (£8 / US$10) on traditional GDS bookings; direct and NDC bookings are exempt. | source |
| Nov 2017 | Iberia says more than 300 Spanish parent agencies have signed up to its NDC channel; agency association CEAV asks for the fee to be postponed. | source |
| Sep 2018 | IAG raises the charge to €10.50 / £9 per fare component from 18 September 2018. | source |
| Dec 2019 | Iberia and BA receive IATA NDC@Scale certification, with more than 4,000 agencies connected through NDC. | source |
| Dec 2019 | Iberia starts selling Basic fares only through NDC on selected Spanish domestic routes and offers NDC partners up to three times more price points. | source |
| Feb 2020 | From 21 February 2020, Iberia’s cheapest O and A classes on 20+ domestic routes are bookable only via NDC; NDC is 20% of Iberia’s sales in Spain. | source |
| Feb 2021 | Amadeus and IAG agree to distribute NDC content from BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling on the Amadeus Travel Platform. | source |
| Oct 2022 | Iberia NDC goes live for agents in Spain on Amadeus, including NDC-only offers and full refunds within 24 hours. | source |
| Jan 2024 | Travelport launches Iberia NDC on Travelport+, starting in Portugal and extending to 38 countries in March 2024. | source |
| Apr 2025 | Sabre makes Iberia NDC content available through its GDS, shortly after British Airways. | source |
The latest confirmed charge figures are from 2018. Iberia’s agency page says NDC tickets don’t pay the per-segment distribution charge; confirm current amounts there. Iberia Agencias — Todo sobre NDC.
Three ways to access Iberia NDC
You can connect to Iberia 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 Iberia | 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 | Iberia’s NDC API (or the free IAG Portal) plus onboarding | The GDS’s NDC workflow, separate from EDIFACT | One REST API; Iberia NDC blended with GDS and LCC fares |
| IAG fee and schema changes | You track them | 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 |
Iberia NDC vs GDS (EDIFACT) bookings
- Distribution charge: non-NDC GDS bookings carry IAG’s per-fare-component charge; NDC tickets do not.
- Basic fares: Iberia’s cheapest Basic fares on Spanish domestic routes are sold only through NDC.
- Price points: Iberia offers NDC partners up to three times more price points than legacy channels.
- Same group as BA: Iberia follows the IAG approach used by British Airways.
How NDC differs from the GDS in general: NDC vs traditional GDS.
Frequently asked questions
What is Iberia NDC?
It is Iberia’s NDC channel. Agencies connect through a direct API, an aggregator or the free IAG Portal to book Iberia with NDC-only Basic fares and extra price points, without the distribution charge on GDS bookings.
Does Iberia charge extra for GDS bookings?
Yes. Since November 2017 IAG has applied a charge to Iberia and BA bookings made through non-NDC GDS channels: €9.50 per fare component at launch and €10.50 from September 2018. Iberia says NDC tickets don’t pay it.
Are Iberia Basic fares available in the GDS?
Not through EDIFACT on selected domestic routes. Since December 2019 Iberia has sold those Basic fares only through NDC, and from February 2020 its cheapest O and A classes on 20+ domestic routes were NDC-only.
Can I book Iberia NDC in Amadeus, Sabre or Travelport?
Yes. Amadeus went live in Spain in October 2022, Travelport+ in January 2024 (38 countries by March 2024) and Sabre in April 2025.
How do I access Iberia NDC through Tripgic?
Tripgic holds the Iberia NDC connection. You integrate one REST API with sandbox credentials, and Iberia 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
- Business Travel News Europe — British Airways and Iberia to add GDS booking fee (May 2017)
- Hosteltur — El sector considera que el NDC de Iberia está muy verde (Nov 2017)
- Travolution — IAG’s BA and Iberia announce increased GDS charge (Sep 2018)
- Iberia Group — Iberia and British Airways achieve IATA NDC @scale certification (Dec 2019)
- Business Travel News Europe — NDC represents 20 per cent of Iberia’s sales in Spain (Feb 2020)
- Amadeus — Amadeus and IAG NDC content agreement (Feb 2021)
- Iberia Group — Iberia’s NDC content now available to agents in Spain on Amadeus (Oct 2022)
- Business Travel News Europe — Travelport rolls out Iberia’s NDC content in 38 countries (Mar 2024)
- Business Travel News Europe — Sabre activates Iberia’s NDC content through its GDS (Apr 2025)
- Iberia Agencias — Todo sobre NDC
Other airline NDC guides
- British Airways NDC
- 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
- Finnair NDC
- Air India NDC
- Biman Bangladesh Airlines NDC
- flydubai NDC
- Gulf Air NDC
- Oman Air NDC
- Malaysia Airlines NDC
Related
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Iberia NDC, GDS and LCC content in one normalized REST API. Sandbox credentials at no charge.
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