Airlink’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) content is now live on Aeronology, the single-screen travel platform that lets advisors search, book and service flights from multiple airlines without switching portals. Branded Airlink Direct Connect, the integration gives travel advisors full booking and servicing control for the regional carrier’s flights in one place for the first time.
For travel advisors, this means a direct solution to the fragmentation in regional African travel, where processing a flight change or refund has often depended entirely on the original booking portal. As the airline sitting at the centre of this network, Airlink’s integration into Aeronology solves a critical bottleneck for the trade.
Joao Regal, Senior Distribution Manager at Airlink, says: “NDC lets us present our full fare and ancillary offering properly, but that content is only as valuable as the ease with which the trade can actually sell and service it. For a network like ours, where itineraries change and need servicing, that matters just as much the initial booking.”
“Airlink is fundamental to how this region moves,” adds Rian Bornman, Managing Director Africa at Aeronology. “Having it live in the same environment as GDS and LCC content removes one of the biggest remaining sources of friction. Advisors get their time back, and they spend it on clients instead of fighting technology.”
With Airlink Direct Connect live, Aeronology advisors can now:
- Shop, compare, and book Airlink flights seamlessly alongside Global Distribution System (GDS) and Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) content.
- Maintain full post-booking control, including the ability to void, cancel, and manage schedule changes without switching portals.
- Sell and manage ancillary services directly within the same workflow.
Solving the trade’s biggest operational headache
The integration lands against a backdrop the trade has already named as its core operational problem. A recent survey by ASATA, the Association of Southern African Travel Agents and Advisors, found that 82% of South African travel advisors identify managing multiple platforms as one of their biggest daily challenges.
Pete Egglestone, CEO of Aeronology, notes that this milestone proves the platform’s servicing-first model. “We built this platform because the industry outsourced its engine room and then wondered why servicing became so painful. Airlink is exactly the kind of content that proves our model, a carrier African advisors sell every day, now fully serviceable from tip to tail on the same screen as everything else.”
Airlink Direct Connect is available immediately to all Aeronology advisors, including those without prior GDS experience, featuring real-time commission visibility and 24-hour telephone support.
