Flight API integration services
Flight API integration for travel agencies, portals and apps
Flight API integration connects your booking website, B2B portal or mobile app to the airline content you are contracted to sell: GDS, NDC, low-cost carrier and consolidator fares. We build the connection from search through ticketing, refunds and reissues, normalise the data so your front end stays simple, and keep it running after launch. For agencies, OTAs and consolidators in India, the US, Canada and the UK.
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What flight API integration covers
A flight API is the interface a GDS, airline or consolidator provides so your software can search fares and issue tickets without an agent keying commands into a terminal. Flight API integration is one part of our wider travel API integration services, and it is usually the first supplier connection a travel business needs. A complete integration covers the whole life of a booking, not just the search screen.
- Search and pricing: one-way, return and multi-city itineraries, calendar and flexible-date searches, cabin classes, passenger types and the re-pricing call before payment.
- Fare rules and conditions: change and cancellation penalties, refundability, minimum and maximum stay, presented in plain language at the right moment.
- Ancillaries: seat maps and seat selection, baggage allowances and paid bags, meals where the supplier exposes them.
- Booking and PNR creation: passenger details, passport and frequent-flyer data, contact and emergency fields, time-limit handling for unpaid bookings.
- Ticketing: issuing e-tickets after payment, including split ticketing where the itinerary needs it.
- Post-booking servicing: voids within the void window, refunds with penalty calculation, reissues and date changes, and retrieving the latest PNR state after an airline schedule change.
Flight API supplier types
The supplier you connect to determines what content you get, what paperwork you need and how the API behaves. The names below describe our integration experience only; each supplier requires its own commercial agreement with you.
| Supplier type | Examples | What it gives you | What to expect technically |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDS | Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport | Full-service airline content worldwide, published and private fares, mature PNR and ticketing workflows. | Stateful sessions, certification before production, strict PNR formatting rules. See GDS integration. |
| NDC | Airline NDC programmes, often reached through an aggregator | Airline-specific offers, bundles and ancillaries that may not appear in traditional GDS channels. | Offer and order model, per-airline certification, frequent schema updates. |
| LCC direct connects | Low-cost carrier booking APIs | Fares for carriers that are absent from the GDS or priced differently there, plus their ancillary catalogue. | Each airline has its own API shape, payment rules and error codes; no shared standard. |
| Indian consolidators | TBO, Tripjack, Kafila | Domestic and international fares, LCC content and net fares through one account with a deposit wallet. | REST or SOAP APIs, wallet balance checks, supplier-side markups and commission rules to map. |
| Aggregators | Mystifly, Duffel | Multi-airline content through one modern API with ticketing handled on their side. | Generally well-documented JSON APIs; content breadth varies by market and fare type. |
Not sure which to start with? Our flight booking API comparison weighs GDS, NDC, consolidator and aggregator options by content, cost model and paperwork.
What we deliver
Mapping and normalisation
Every supplier response is converted to one internal itinerary model: segments, fare families, baggage, penalties and taxes in the same shape regardless of source. Adding a second supplier later does not touch your front end.
Caching and rate-limit control
Airport and airline reference data is cached and refreshed on a schedule. Search results are cached briefly where the supplier permits, and calls are throttled so you never exceed the supplier's request limits.
Error handling that makes sense to travellers
Supplier error codes are translated into clear messages and recovery paths: fare no longer available, re-price and confirm, booking held but unpaid, ticketing failed after payment.
Certification support
We prepare the test scripts and sample bookings that GDS and NDC certification requires, run them in the sandbox, and work through the supplier's feedback until production access is granted.
Monitoring and alerts
Response times, error rates, failed ticketing and wallet balance warnings are tracked from go-live, with alerts to your team and ours.
Documentation and handover
You receive documentation for the internal API, mapping rules and operational runbooks, so you are not locked to us for routine changes.
Where flight API integration plugs in
The same connection can power several products, and we build it so it does. On a flight booking whitelabel your supplier is configured into an existing booking flow with your markups and payment gateway. In a custom flight booking engine the integration is a standalone service with its own API, shared by your website, your B2B agent portal and your mobile app. On a flight campaign website it provides live fares behind a search widget so paid traffic sees real prices before calling or booking.
Process
Scope and documentation review
You share the supplier documentation and sandbox credentials. We list the endpoints in scope, the passenger and fare types you sell, and any markets or currencies with special rules, then issue a fixed quote.
Sandbox integration
Search, pricing, booking, ticketing and servicing calls are built against the test environment with full request and response logging.
Mapping and business rules
Supplier data is mapped to your itinerary model. Markups, commissions, service fees and agent-level pricing rules are configured where the platform supports them.
Test bookings and certification
We execute the supplier test plan, including edge cases such as infants, multi-city and reissues, and submit for certification where required.
Production cut-over and monitoring
Live credentials go in, the first real bookings are verified end to end, and monitoring dashboards and alerts are switched on.
Timeline and requirements
One flight supplier into an existing platform typically takes a few weeks; a GDS with certification, or several suppliers at once, takes longer because approvals run on the supplier's timetable. [TO CONFIRM: delivery windows you want to publish]
Before we start you will need: a signed agreement with the supplier, sandbox credentials and documentation, a payment gateway account if bookings complete on your site, and clarity on who issues tickets (you, a consolidator or a ticketing partner). If you do not yet have a supplier, we can explain the options, but the contract has to be yours.
Pricing approach
We quote a fixed price per supplier based on the functions in scope and whether the platform already exists. Search-only integrations cost less than full booking, ticketing and servicing. Ongoing monitoring and supplier version upgrades are an optional monthly plan. [TO CONFIRM: whether to publish starting prices]
Frequently asked questions
What is a flight API?
A flight API is an interface offered by a GDS, airline, consolidator or aggregator that lets your software search schedules and fares, check rules, hold a booking, issue tickets and service the booking afterwards. Your platform sends structured requests and receives structured responses, so the fares on your site are live rather than copied from a spreadsheet.
Which flight API should a travel agency in India use?
It depends on what you sell and what agreements you can get. Agencies without IATA accreditation usually begin with a consolidator such as TBO, Tripjack or Kafila, which supplies domestic and international fares through one deposit account. Accredited agencies with international volume often add a GDS. We can help you compare once we know your markets.
Does flight API integration include ticketing?
It can, and for most agencies it should. Ticketing depends on who holds ticketing authority: a GDS agency issues its own tickets, while consolidator and aggregator APIs issue on your behalf. We build the ticketing, void, refund and reissue calls into the integration and handle the cases where payment succeeds but ticketing fails.
Can one integration serve my website, B2B portal and app?
Yes. We build the supplier connection as a separate service with its own internal API. Your consumer website, agent portal and mobile app all call that service, so a supplier change or a new supplier is made once. This is also how we keep white-label and custom front ends in step.
What do I need to provide before you start?
A signed supplier agreement, sandbox credentials and API documentation, a payment gateway if bookings complete on your platform, and a decision on who issues tickets. For GDS work you will also need your office ID or PCC and certification contact. We do not hold supplier contracts on your behalf.
Related pages
Put live airline content on your platform
Share your supplier and what you are building. You will receive a written scope and a fixed quote for the integration.