Fear of missing out (FOMO) is driving Modern Airline Retailing (MAR) more than conviction

When NDC became the talk of the town in airline distribution, quite a few airlines lunged head first into IT projects and procurement based not on a clear strategy and defined expectations, but more because of a fear of falling behind their competitors, or perhaps in even worse in terms of perception, their alliance and/or joint venture partners. In many cases, buyers remorse set in once business cases evaporated when confronted with reality. Most often, this failure to deliver was caused

• by a false perception of NDC being an all-in-one solution, rather than "just" an enabler, and

• by a lack of clear strategic priorities regarding the expected benefits.

Conditions are ripe for the same type of disappointment regarding the even more complex and opaque MAR, now that key MAR innovator airlines are out of the gate: Follower airlines engaging in MAR because they "can't afford to fall behind airline partners", it will once again become painfully clear that FOMO is a bad substitute for strategy and prioritized objectives.

NDC learnings for airlines to take onboard when maneuvering MAR:

1. Be sure you have a clear strategy as well as prioritized and concrete use cases before lunging into MAR. ("wanting to become a retailer" is not specific enough)

2. Carefully consider timelines including the pros and cons of committing early vs. remaining a vigilant and agile observer from the sidelines for now