Air Canada Enhances AC2U Direct Connect API

Air Canada Enhances AC2U Direct Connect API

Air Canada, a founding member of the recently formed airline XML standards body Open AXIS Group, said that it has completed its project of rebuilding and enhancing its airline direct connect API, marketed as AC2U. Dubbed the New AC2U and first revealed in August of last year as a joint effort with Farelogix, Air Canada’s direct connect API is now beginning its initial customer implementations.

The New AC2U incorporates all the existing AC2U functionality plus added enhancements in the areas of shopping, flight changes, Flight Pass, and overall performance. It utilizes the new industry standard for airline XML connectivity, supported by the Open AXIS Group.

The New AC2U is available free of charge to any and all distribution partners, to address the very real distribution issues that the industry is now facing. By delivering its full set of products and fares over a modern and industry standard protocol, Air Canada says it has overcome the “distribution gap” created by legacy systems, thereby enabling its efficient integration with content from other suppliers. This means travel agencies, corporations and individual customers can quickly access, in a very transparent manner, all of the information they require in order to make an informed choice about their travel needs.

Air Canada had already deployed its AC2U direct connect to a number of third party companies over the past several years. These companies have all been given access to the New AC2U and implementation activities have already started, with completion expected by early in the second quarter.