Korean Air partners with Accelya for strategic retail modernisation

Accelya, a global leader in flexible, airline-centric software solutions, has secured a major long-term agreement with Korean Air to provide strategic retail modernisation. Announced on February 20, the partnership will facilitate Korean Air's control over its retailing efforts and allow for additional innovation in its leading customer experience through the deployment of Accelya's FLX Platform.

The Accelya FLX Platform, trusted by many of the world's leading airlines, facilitated more than half of all global New Distribution Capability (NDC) transactions in 2022. It combines the power of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud and the latest advanced technologies to deliver unparalleled scalability and reliability. Consequently, this allows airlines to efficiently present millions of retail offers across all channels.

As part of the agreement, Korean Air will integrate Accelya's NDC and the innovative FLX-Merchandising module. This strategic move will enable the airline to deliver personalisation and the most relevant offers to its customers. The NDC offering, which forms the core of airline-retail agency connectivity, links airlines with over 50,000 travel agents including the world's largest online travel agents (OTA's) and travel management companies (TMC's).

Accelya's advanced NDC capabilities, guided by the latest 21.3 standard, enable over 30% NDC adoption for partner airlines on average. This results in improved customer servicing, more ancillary sales, and allows for customers and airlines to benefit from much richer offers.

The FLX-Merchandising module leverages both Accelya and AWS technologies to refine customer offerings and experiences. The cutting-edge tool will enable Korean Air to create, personalize, and adjust its offers to better serve travellers across both direct and indirect channels.

Yoo Tae Jung, Managing Vice President and NDC Platform Director at Korean Air, expressed delight at the partnership. He remarked, "The exhaustive RFP process has highlighted Accelya's technological expertise and flexibility. Our partnership with Accelya, a leader in retail modernization, is a key step in reshaping our retailing strategy."

Sam Gilliland, CEO of Accelya, echoed these sentiments, stating "Our alliance with Korean Air is built around a shared belief in putting the customer first, making modern and forward-looking technology choices and ensuring airlines are truly in control of their retailing journey and not being held back by legacy old world technology vendors. The deployment of the Accelya FLX platform will provide Korean Air with a clear pathway towards offer and order transformation, empowering them to control their future, with Accelya supporting them every step of the way."

This strategic partnership underlines Accelya's continued momentum in the Asia Pacific region and reinforces its position as the world's leading NDC enabler.