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Welcome to the Q2 2025 edition!
Did you miss our previous editions? Catch up here >>
June Highlights: Industry Momentum Reflected Across Key Events
In this edition of the IATA Airline Retailing newsletter - The Hub, we are excited to bring you coverage from a month shaped by critical milestones in the industry's retailing transformation journey.
June saw a convergence of strategic dialogue and tangible progress -- from the Offers and Orders Forum and Retailing Value Chain Event, to the spotlight on payments at the IATA AGM, and the release of the IATA Annual Review 2025.
Each of these moments reflects how the dial is moving in a positive direction, with growing alignment across airlines and their value chain partners, and renewed focus on customer centricity, simplification, and collaboration.
Lastly, do not miss the announcements at the end of this edition, featuring value-adding releases including:
📌 Early bird for the upcoming IATA WFS-WPS 2025
📌 The newly enhanced Financial Services Hub on IATA.org
📌 The opportunity to shape the passenger travel experience through the 2025 edition of the IATA Global Passenger Survey (GPS)
We hope you find this edition insightful and relevant to your work.
Happy exploring!
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Airline Payments Discussed as a Strategic Priority at IATA AGM 2025
At the 2025 IATA Annual General Meeting (1-3 June, New Delhi, India), airline payments were formally featured as a strategic topic, reflecting their growing importance in the industry's transformation journey.
The session brought together senior airline executives and global consultancy experts to explore how payment is evolving from a back-end process into a core enabler of customer-centric airline retailing.
This discussion comes at a time when the industry is accelerating its shift toward Modern Airline Retailing (MAR) -- a transformation aimed at delivering more personalized, seamless, and dynamic travel experiences through a framework of Offers and Orders, gradually replacing the decades-old industry standards, processes, and artifacts (e-tickets, PNRs, EMDs). In this context, payment is no longer just the final step in a transaction -- it is a critical touchpoint that shapes customer satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue potential.
Watch the full panel discussion to understand why payment is becoming a boardroom topic, and reflect on its role in the future of airline retailing >>
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IATA Annual Review 2025: Retailing Transformation Gains Momentum
The IATA Annual Review 2025 is now available, offering a comprehensive view of our industry’s performance, priorities, and transformation efforts.
Among the highlights is a dedicated update on the industry's journey towards Modern Airline Retailing (MAR) -- a transformation centered on the move to 100% Offers and Orders.
The review also encapsulates key milestones from the Industry Transition Roadmap, released in late 2024, according to which the transition is no longer theoretical but is happening -- with leading airlines already on the journey and first core solutions by IT providers expected by 2026. Wider adoption at scale is projected from 2030.
The review also emphasizes how this shift will impact multiple airline functions. For example, finance departments will benefit from end-to-end transaction transparency, reducing the need for complex reconciliation. Meanwhile, the transformation of payment standards is underway -- freeing airlines from proprietary constraints and enabling more flexible, customer-preferred payment options.
📌 Don’t miss the MAR transition overview and key milestones on page 33-34.
🔗 Access the full Industry Transition Roadmap here >>
🔗 Learn more about Modern Airline Retailing at iata.org/Retailing
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Momentum Builds at the 3rd IATA Offers & Orders Forum in Geneva
The 2025 edition of the IATA Offers & Orders Forum, held in Geneva on 17-18 June, brought together over 170 participants, representing 47 airline brands and 18 IT provider companies members of the IATA Offers and Orders Transformation (OOT) Strategic Partnerships program.
The event marked a significant milestone in the industry's journey toward a fully modernized retailing and delivery ecosystem.
Key Takeaways from the 2025 edition include:
📌 Native Orders Go Live: the transition to Offers and Orders is becoming reality, with the first legacy-free, native Order implementations now live—demonstrating the feasibility of a clean break from legacy systems.
📌 End-to-End Integration: the P-O-O-D-F model (Product, Offer, Order, Delivery, Finance), aligned with IATA PSC RP1786a (Business Reference Architecture framework), is emerging as the blueprint for holistic transformation.
📌 NDC 24.1 as a Foundation: the 2024 generation of the NDC standard, is now recognized as the critical enabler for removing dependencies on legacy artifacts, paving the way for scalable, modern retailing.
📌 Interlining is Meant to Evolve in the New Context: several proof-of-concept initiatives are underway exploring the O&O Supplier/Retailer model, signaling a new era for interline collaboration.
📌 Industry Taxonomy Evolution: discussions also highlighted the need for a shared, evolving product taxonomy to support consistent and scalable Offer and Order management.
The Forum also introduced Delivery Management as a core component of the transformation agenda, reinforcing the industry's commitment to a seamless, customer-centric experience from offer creation to fulfillment and settlement.
As the industry accelerates toward 100% Offers and Orders, the Forum underscored both the progress made and the collective ambition driving this transformation forward. Airlines continue to take a leadership role in defining and driving the transition, while IT Providers commit to delivering the critical solutions that make MAR operationally viable.
The final progress is made possible through close collaboration across the entire value chain -- each stakeholder playing a vital role in shaping a more modern, efficient, and customer-centric future for air travel.
With an increasing number of industry players entering the journey to Modern Airline Retailing with 100% Offers and Orders, the Forum serves as an essential industry checkpoint, clearly showing that momentum is building and the vision is steadily becoming reality.
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Retailing Value Chain Forum: Advancing Together Toward Offers and Orders
The second edition of the Retailing Value Chain Forum, held in Geneva on 10-11 June, brought together over 50 organizations from across the airline distribution ecosystem, including airlines, TMCs, OBTs, corporates buyers, aggregators, OTAs, and MBOs.
The forum was designed to foster meaningful exchange across all stakeholders in the ongoing industry transition to modern retailing, away from legacy artifacts, processes, and collaboration dynamics.
For the first time the full value chain convened in one room to engage in open, strategic dialogue on the industry's transition toward modern retailing with 100% Offers and Orders.
The discussions reflected a growing consensus: the transformation ahead is not only about technology; it is equally about mindset, education, and how we communicate value.
Key Takeaways encompassed:
📌 Collaboration is essential: radical collaboration across the ecosystem is needed to break down silos and move forward together.
📌 Value must be clearly articulated: there is a strong call to define and communicate the value of Offers and Orders in a way that resonates across all stakeholders.
📌 Simplification is a strategic priority: simplifying complex processes and communication is seen as a critical enabler for successful transformation.
Participants emphasized the importance of transparency, shared roadmaps, and continued dialogue to ensure alignment and momentum.
The forum also highlighted varying levels of readiness across the value chain, thus underscoring the need for coordinated progress. The lively discussions amongst value chain representatives culminated into a shared commitment to building a more connected, customer-centric future -- together.
What’s Next?
To maintain momentum, a follow-up session will engage participants in further exploring the concept of value -- examining it from the unique perspectives of each stakeholder to deepen understanding and drive alignment.
Recognizing the important role sellers play in shaping the future of modern retailing, a Travel Sellers dedicated webpage has been enriched with a new FAQ section on Modern Airline Retailing with 100% Offers and Orders. This resource is designed to support sellers in understanding the evolving landscape and planning their transition with confidence.
The Travel Sellers FAQ will continue to grow, reflecting key discussion points and questions raised by the seller community, ensuring it remains a relevant and practical tool.
📌 Explore the Travel Sellers webpage and FAQ here >>
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Making Sense of Orders: A Key Step in the MAR Journey
As the industry shifts from familiar NDC-centric terminology to the broader language of Modern Airline Retailing (MAR) and 100% Offers and Orders, it is natural for some to wonder how these elements connect, and what they truly mean in practice.
To help clarify this, we have released a short video with IATA's Director of Distribution and Payment - Yanik Hoyles, that focuses on the Orders phase of the transformation.
With airlines getting closer to creating native Orders, like Finnair's recent announcement, the transition is entering a new, accelerated phase.
Orders are not just a technical upgrade -- they are the operational backbone of MAR, enabling enhanced offers, seamless servicing, delivery, and accounting across both flight and non-flight products.
🎥 Watch the video to explore how Orders are reshaping the future of airline retailing and why they’re essential to unlocking the full potential of Offers and Orders >>
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ARM index Recognitions Update
The Airline Retailing Maturity (ARM) index registry is your single source to find industry players recognized for capabilities enabled by the IATA Enhanced and Simplified Distribution (EASD) standards.
Organizations having joined the ARM registry since our last update include:
AIRVIATECH TEKNOLOJI A.S.
On 16 June 2025, AIRVIATECH TEKNOLOJI A.S. was granted “Airline Retailing Maturity” status as a System Provider for its airline retailing-based solutions AirviaTech and AirviaGo, under ARM index Program. This designation recognizes that AirviaTech and AirviaGo support deployments using Shop capabilities which are compliant with the standard Enhanced and Simplified Distribution message schema version 21.3 and the ARM index Capabilities Verification Guidance.
WestJet
On 30 April 2025, WestJet was granted “Airline Retailing Maturity” status as Airline, under the ARM index Program. This status recognizes that WestJet uses Shop capabilities which are compliant with the standard Enhanced and Simplified Distribution message schema version 17.2 and the ARM index Capabilities Verification Guidance.
Explore the full registry >>
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Planning Ahead: WFS-WPS 2025 to Take Off to Vibrant Istanbul!
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Supporting Financial Excellence in the MAR Transition
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As the industry transitions to Modern Airline Retailing (MAR) and embraces 100% Offers and Orders, financial operations play a critical role in enabling this transformation.
Discover the new IATA Financial Services web section - your gateway to recognized, secure, and effective financial industry services and solutions.
Whether you're an airline, travel agent, airport, freight forwarder, or industry partner, the IATA Financial Services hub offers tools and insights to help you optimize cash flow, manage risk, and enhance profitability.
👉 Explore the hub now: iata.org/Finance
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2025 Global Passenger Survery - Be Heard!
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Faster immigration screening? Baggage tracking? Easier check-in? Now's your chance to be heard.
How would you improve the air travel experience? What are your top priorities?
Since 2012, IATA’s Global Passenger Survey (GPS) has been the leading source of global insights into passenger satisfaction, behaviors, and expectations.
By sharing your opinion, you are supporting continuous improvements in the air travel experience.
👉 Complete the survey here >>
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