For online travel agencies, utilizing a flight booking API is essential. Over the years, booking and tracking flights has become significantly more manageable due to Global Distribution Systems (GDS). This improvement stems from airlines and travel agencies allowing third-party developers to utilize their infrastructure via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
As a crucial component of any travel booking system, Flight APIs not only connect you with major airlines worldwide, but they also provide real-time data, including flight availability, fares, duration, number of layovers, and much more. In this blog, we will explore what a flight booking API is and identify the leading providers in the market.
What is a Flight Booking API?
A flight booking API is a tool designed to be integrated into your travel portal, website, or application. By incorporating this API, you gain access to real-time data from hundreds of airlines around the world. This system forms one of the most effective worldwide distribution networks, allowing travel portals to offer a comprehensive range of flight-related services all in one place. It consolidates flight services into a single platform, helping travelers find the best deals.
Top Flight Booking API Providers
If you are considering integrating a flight booking API into your portal, you must connect with a GDS or flight API to access airline inventories. However, before you approach any provider, it’s essential to determine whether you are an IATA or a non-IATA agent. IATA agents connect directly with GDS and obtain their APIs from providers like Amadeus, Galileo, and Sabre. For low-cost carriers (LCCs), you should reach out to a specific LCC API provider. Non-IATA agents, on the other hand, need to source APIs from third-party providers.
Here are the top Flight Booking API Providers:
1. Kiwi.com
Headquartered in the Czech Republic, Kiwi.com not only offers competitive flight prices but also equips online travel agencies (OTAs) and travel agents with a powerful flight API. Kiwi.com performs over two billion flight searches daily. Agents interested in receiving real-time flight data should consider integrating Kiwi.com’s API.
This API allows travel agents to search by location, radius, airport code, and various other parameters. Additionally, agents can easily access extensive airline content, popular destinations, fare information, and can filter results by city, date, price, and more.
Advantages
- Book airline tickets directly.
- Search for one-way or round trips.
- Find flights by city or airport name.
- Instantly reserve and cancel flights.
- Filter results by price, duration, carrier, and number of changes.
- Access reservations by ticket number, passenger name, flight number, and PNR.
- Search by arrival/departure time, class, and layovers. Direct flight options available.
2. Expedia
Expedia, under the Expedia Group, functions as a travel fare aggregator and metasearch engine, while also providing API services to OTAs and tour operators. Developers can leverage Expedia’s API to incorporate advanced functionalities into their systems, allowing users to view and access airline inventories, complete with an API key authentication model.
This single-purpose API operates with a RESTful architecture and supports XML response formats as well as JSONP and URI Query String/CRUD request formats.
Advantages
- Efficient implementation of airline booking engine.
- A modern, user-friendly interface suitable for mobile devices.
- Search capabilities for one-way, round trip, and multi-city flights.
- Access to real-time deals and promotions.
- Support for multiple currencies and languages.
- Seamless integration with secure payment gateways.
3. Travel Portal Solution
Travel Portal Solution is a trusted provider of flight booking APIs. Their API integrates into new or existing portals, enabling real-time search capabilities. The API communicates requirements to both service providers and airlines, delivering the best available flight data.
Whether you need Amadeus API integration or Galileo API integration, Travel Portal Solution simplifies the process, allowing searches by route, one-way or round trips, and detailed information such as departure and arrival times, carriers, prices, durations, layovers, and more.
Advantages
- Access to a global inventory of airlines.
- A single-window interface for convenient access.
- Rapid and easy connectivity.
- Efficient revenue and commission management.
- Fast, error-free online reservation system.
- Custom design capabilities for personalized inventory management.
- Filtering options for flight types, fares, live ticketing, cancellations, and other features.
4. Tripjack
Tripjack, a venture by Atlas Travel Group, an IATA-approved travel agency, offers a comprehensive flight booking API catering to both large corporate clients and small to medium enterprises. Agents can log in via the Tripjack portal, gaining access to a vast network of airlines across over 40 nations.
Its aggregated multi-source content enhances offerings, boosting revenues and commissions. Tripjack provides real-time inventory from low-cost carriers, GDS, NDC fares, private fares, and global SOTO fares, with seamless API integration that can go live in just one to two weeks.
Advantages
- Aggregated content from multiple sources.
- Access to inventories from GDS, consolidators, and direct airlines.
- Special rates and private contracted fares.
- Fast response times.
- Real-time booking and confirmation capabilities.
- Reliable and flexible integration solutions.
- Real-time price visibility.
- User-friendly design tailored to business needs.
5. PKFARE
PKFARE is a travel trade marketplace that provides flight tickets, accommodations, and travel products. It offers global travel agencies integrated solutions such as real-time inventory data, multilingual customer service, and competitive pricing. By integrating PKFARE’s flight booking API, you gain access to real-time inventory from over 600 airlines spanning more than 100 countries.
If you’re seeking to broaden your offerings without the complexity of creating a booking system from scratch, PKFARE is an excellent solution.
Advantages
- Robust, reliable, and secure platform.
- Flexible integration options based on business requirements.
- Real-time tracking of bookings.
- Airport parking API integration available.
- AI-driven dynamic pricing algorithms.
6. Travel Boutique Online
Travel Boutique Online (TBO) stands as India’s largest B2B travel portal with a growing footprint in the global market. Apart from a variety of travel services, its Flight API is particularly well-received. The API solution allows small to medium-sized travel agencies to streamline flight booking processes, cut operational costs, and boost revenues, enabling direct sales of extensive flight inventories from numerous airlines to customers.
Implementing TBO’s API is straightforward, and they provide continuous integration support whenever necessary. You can create a web booking engine that requests real-time information from TBO, delivering quick results. The API is customizable, allowing secure payment gateway integration when needed.
Advantages
- TBO’s flight API offers access to a vast network of airlines.
- Real-time availability checks for bookings.
- Instant confirmations for timely transactions.
- Centralized access to detailed flight information, schedules, fares, and seat availability.
- A booking management system that allows easy modifications, cancellations, and retrieval of booking details.
- Support for multiple currencies and languages.
- A multi-channel distribution system.
7. Mystifly
Mystifly is an airfare distribution marketplace platform that empowers travel businesses to source fares from GDS, airlines, and other suppliers. By connecting with Mystifly to integrate its API, you gain the flexibility to incorporate flight booking software into any website or app.
The platform provides real-time data for over 700 airlines and features such as easy check-in, multi-platform compatibility, rapid response times, customizable pricing, and various payment options. This API simplifies managing your global air travel retail business.
Advantages
- Mystifly API offers access to 750 airlines and 180 low-cost carriers.
- Supports multiple GDS, currencies, and languages.
- Reduces booking and transaction costs.
- Enables last-minute changes, cancellations, and rapid bookings per supplier policies.
- Simplifies the procurement process.
8. Amadeus
Amadeus is a prominent flight booking engine that provides flexible Flight API integration, linking your website or app with flight booking and search functionalities. By connecting to Amadeus REST/JSON flight booking APIs and building your booking engine with this data, you gain access to an online flight booking market worth $300 billion.
Amadeus offers a search API that features deals from over 500 airlines, including baggage allowances, departure terminals, and additional prices for ancillary services. Customers can easily add extra baggage, secure legroom, and reserve bookings instantly.
9. Sabre
Sabre Corporation, located in Southlake, Texas, is a leading travel technology firm and the largest provider of Global Distribution Systems for air travel. Their flight booking API, commonly known as airline tagging software, is designed to integrate with third-party XML GDS APIs such as Amadeus, Galileo, and TBO, consolidating airline data.
When travel agencies implement Sabre’s API, they gain real-time access to flight search options, including alternative dates, airports, basic fares, rules, and other travel-related information. Furthermore, this API allows for various essential features such as flight booking, ticketing, payments, pricing, reservation management (covering itineraries and PNRs), seat maps, reporting, and data analytics. It effectively manages flight itineraries, enabling users to add or remove segments and modify dates as needed.
10. Galileo GDS
Galileo, owned by TravelPort, is one of the leading Global Distribution Systems, providing advanced reservation software (CRS) for the travel industry. By integrating the Galileo flight API, you can access inventory from low-cost carriers and a diverse array of content through a single API. This integration aids in airline inventory management and consolidation for international airlines.
Travel agents can smoothly incorporate Galileo’s flight booking API, gaining extensive access to airline data. The API offers multiple programming interfaces, ensuring that you receive a premier travel system and web services that link to a primary database.
Bottom Line
Integrating a flight API into your travel website or application can significantly boost revenue while streamlining the booking process and minimizing the effort required to secure airline tickets. A robust and reliable flight API transforms your traditional travel agency into a modern online travel agency (OTA), granting you access to an extensive inventory of flights. This enhancement allows you to elevate your business and provide superior customer service.
