Travel technology has revolutionized how we plan, book, and experience our trips. The travel industry has become increasingly tech-savvy, from online booking platforms to travel apps and virtual reality. Travellers can now research and book their trips on the go, access real-time flight updates, receive personalized recommendations, and even explore destinations through immersive virtual reality experiences. With the help of travel technology, we can now travel smarter, faster, and more efficiently than ever before.
The travel industry has become more interconnected thanks to application programming interfaces (APIs). An API is a technical term that facilitates data sharing and functionalities between different systems. Developers can use APIs as a control panel to connect software components without dealing with the source code. Essentially, APIs act as a bridge between different systems, allowing them to communicate with each other seamlessly. There are different travel APIs, including flight, hotel, and car rental. Flight API provider real-time access to flight schedules, availability, and pricing, while hotel APIs allow access to real-time room availability, rates, and other information. Car rental software offer access to car rental inventory, prices, and reservations. Developers can use travel APIs to create travel-related applications that provide users with up-to-date information and services, ultimately enhancing their travel experiences.
The use of travel APIs has revolutionized the travel industry. For example, if you own a hotel business, you can provide your customers the convenience of renting a car directly from your website by integrating it with local car rental services. This integration can generate additional income from car rental commissions and simultaneously spare your customers the hassle of searching for car rentals online.
Many travel APIs are critical for unifying travel industry features and information. These APIs include flight search and booking by Global Distribution System (GDSs) and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), New Distribution Capability NDC integration for merchandising and rich content, access to flight data, schedules, and fares, direct hotel booking with Property Management Systems (PMSs) and channel managers, hotel booking software with aggregators such as GDSs, connectivity providers, and switches, wholesale hotel booking with bed banks, partner hotel booking with OTAs, hotel mapping, car rental booking, business travel management and expense tracking, reviews and ratings, tours, attractions, and experiences, and public transportation.
Each API serves a specific purpose in the travel industry, and integrating them into travel-related applications can enhance the user experience and make travel more seamless and efficient. Suppose you are interested in learning more about these APIs. In that case, there are 13 sections available to explore, and you can easily navigate through them by using the menu on the right side of the page if you are using a desktop computer.
Flight search and booking APIs by GDSs and OTAs
Travel application providers, OTAs, and Travel Management Companies (TMCs) are the main users of flight search API made available by Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs).
GDSs serve as the primary data source and point of contact for online travel agencies, collecting and consolidating travel data from various service providers.
GDSs allow agents to reserve airplane seats, book hotel rooms and rental cars, and book other travel-related services without establishing direct connections with hundreds of airlines, hotels, and other end providers. Additionally, GDSs provide APIs that allow the integration of reservation support into OTA booking engines, enabling travelers to book online. The three major players in the GDS market are Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport, covering 99.9% of the market share.
However, IATA or ARC accreditation is necessary to book flights and complete a reservation. Alternatively, non-accreditation ticketing options, such as negotiating with consolidators or host travel agencies, can be explored.
For smaller businesses, startups, or travel enthusiasts who require access to flight booking APIs but find GDSs too costly, partnering with other travel agencies that offer affiliate programs and APIs is a viable option. While this option may not be as common as GDSs, it can still provide the necessary access to flight booking APIs.
Amadeus flight APIs
Amadeus, one of the major global distribution systems (GDSs), launched a new portal called Amadeus for Developers in November 2018. This portal provides a range of travel APIs, including air, hotel, and other travel APIs. However, there is no single API for all data services; each service has sets of APIs.
Amadeus aims to speed up innovation and foster collaboration across the community of developers by offering quick and easy access to travel APIs. Through the portal, developers can take advantage of Amadeus APIs and get access to the tools, resources, and support needed to build and launch their applications quickly. According to Fran Romero, Head of Open Innovation Programs at Amadeus, the platform is designed to inspire new ideas and empower those at the forefront of travel.
Sabre flight APIs
Sabre also offers a developer portal called Sabre Dev Studio, which provides access to their APIs, documentation, SDKs, sample code, and other developer tools. Sabre has also partnered with Microsoft Azure to provide additional cloud-based capabilities for developers using their APIs. With Sabre API Integration, travel companies can access a wide range of flight data and reservation management functions, helping them offer their customers more comprehensive and convenient booking experiences.
Travelport flight APIs
It seems like the previous message was duplicated, but I'll provide some additional information on Travelport's flight APIs.
Travelport also offers a Low Fare Search API, which allows developers to retrieve the lowest available fares for a specific itinerary. This API includes advanced search options, specifying a preferred airline or a specific departure or return flight time range.
Travelport's Universal API supports ancillary services such as baggage fees, seat selection, and in-flight amenities. This enables developers to build applications that allow travellers to customize their travel experience by adding or removing these services.
Overall, Travelport Flight API provides comprehensive features for flight search, booking, ticketing, and ancillary services, making it a good option for travel companies and developers looking to integrate flight booking functionality into their applications.
