Turkish Airlines has entered a new era of distribution technologies with the launch of New Distribution Capability (NDC) platform, TKCONNECT, empowering travel agents with exclusive content and services. Starting Oct. 1, 2024, TKCONNECT will provide a tailored marketplace of differentiated products and benefits.
TKCONNECT marks a significant milestone in the airline’s mission to enhance passenger experience and to support commercial partners. Among the advantages awaiting travel agencies are: a wide range of exclusive features and privileges, including differentiated ticket pricing, NDC only promotional fares, rich content supported with visuals & descriptions, enhanced and promoted ancillary services such as excess baggage, seat selection and special equipment.
In a media announcement, Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmustur stated, “Our new distribution capability platform, TKCONNECT, will be an important milestone in our mission to enhance passenger experiences and support our commercial partners. As Turkish Airlines, we offer TKCONNECT to our business partners and travel agencies as a result of our goal to always offer advanced technology in a user-friendly way.”
Meeting a Network of Commercial Partners
TKCONNECT offers three alternative options to meet the needs of Turkish Airlines’ extensive network of commercial partners.
- TKCONNECT Direct offers instant fare, inventory and additional service opportunities with direct access to airline content via IATA-certified NDC APIs.
- TKCONNECT via Aggregator is a facilitated integration point to Turkish Airlines products and services provided by industry-leading, IATA registered and Turkish Airlines certified technology partners.
- TKCONNECT User Interface provides instant fare, inventory and additional service opportunities with a user-friendly web-based booking portal that simplifies booking, ticketing and post-ticketing services.
Agencies not yet onboarded as TKCONNECT partners can keep their current setup to Turkish Airlines’ legacy content through Global Distribution Systems (GDS). However, starting in October 2024, bookings made via GDS will incur a distribution cost charge and the airline’s differentiated content products will only be available for TKCONNECT users.
Travel agents interested in TKCONNECT can find more information on the Turkish Airlines’ Partners Landing Page, ndc.thy.com.
