GDS integration services
GDS integration: Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport for your booking platform
GDS integration connects your website, agent portal or booking engine to a global distribution system so your team can search, book and ticket full-service airline content without working in a terminal. We do the technical side for accredited agencies and consolidators in India, the US, Canada and the UK: the API build, PNR and queue workflows, ticketing, certification and production support. You bring the GDS agreement; we bring the engineering.
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What is a GDS, and what does GDS integration mean?
A global distribution system (GDS) is a network that aggregates inventory from hundreds of airlines, plus hotels and car rental companies, and distributes it to travel agencies. Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport are the three main systems. Agents have traditionally used them through a terminal with cryptic commands. GDS integration means connecting your own software to the GDS through its API, so searches, bookings, ticketing and servicing happen inside your platform instead.
GDS integration is one of our travel API integration services. It is the right choice for agencies that already hold a GDS contract, or are about to, and want to sell online or equip sub-agents with a modern interface. If you do not hold accreditation, a consolidator API is normally the better path; see flight API integration.
Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport in plain English
All three offer the same core functions: low fare search, pricing, PNR creation, ticketing and queues. The practical differences are regional strength, which airlines prefer to distribute through which system, and the shape of the APIs. The summary below is general, not a substitute for the supplier's documentation.
| System | Typical strengths | Regional presence | Content and API notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amadeus | Wide airline coverage, strong on published and private fares, widely used by agencies in India and Europe. | Strong in Europe, India, the Middle East and Asia Pacific; present worldwide. | Air, hotel, car and rail content; SOAP web services and newer REST APIs; NDC content via its own programme. |
| Sabre | Deep North American airline content and long-established agency tooling. | Strong in North America and Latin America; present worldwide. | Air, hotel and car content; SOAP and REST APIs; NDC offers available through its distribution platform. |
| Travelport | Unified access to its Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan systems, with a single modern API layer. | Broad presence across the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. | Air, hotel and car content; JSON-based API for newer work; NDC and low-cost carrier content in its aggregated offering. |
Product names and availability vary by market and change over time. We will confirm the current API options for your country and contract type at scoping. [TO CONFIRM: GDS products the business has most recently integrated]
What GDS integration involves
PCC or office ID and credentials
Your GDS contract gives you a pseudo city code (Sabre, Travelport) or office ID (Amadeus) and API credentials. These identify your agency on every request and carry your fare access and ticketing rights.
Low fare search and pricing
Shopping calls that return itineraries and fares for flexible criteria, followed by a pricing call that confirms the fare, taxes and fare basis before a PNR is built.
Fare rules
Retrieving and presenting the rule categories a traveller needs (penalties, refunds, changes, minimum stay) in readable form rather than raw rule text.
PNR creation and management
Building the passenger name record correctly: names, contact fields, ticketing time limit, special service requests, remarks and form of payment, then retrieving and modifying it later.
Queues
Reading and processing GDS queues so schedule changes, ticketing deadlines and airline messages reach your operations team inside your own system.
Ticketing and servicing
Issuing e-tickets and EMDs, voiding within the void period, refunds with penalty calculation, and reissues for date changes, all recorded back in the PNR.
GDS versus NDC versus consolidator APIs
A GDS gives an accredited agency direct control: your own PNRs, your own ticketing and the full published fare universe. NDC is an airline-led standard for offers and bundles that airlines may withhold from traditional channels, usually reached through the GDS's own NDC programme or an aggregator, with certification per airline. Consolidator APIs, common in India, let unaccredited agencies book on the consolidator's ticketing authority through a deposit account.
Many platforms use more than one. See flight API integration for NDC, low-cost carrier and consolidator connections, and the flight booking API comparison for the options side by side.
Requirements before we begin
- Your own GDS agreement. The contract, PCC or office ID and API credentials belong to your agency. We cannot obtain them for you or share another company's access.
- Accreditation or a ticketing arrangement. IATA or equivalent accreditation to issue tickets yourself, or a ticketing partner or consolidator who issues on your PNRs.
- Sandbox access and documentation. Test credentials and the API developer documentation for your contracted products.
- Clarity on who does what. We build, test, certify and maintain the technical connection; commercial terms, fare access and ticketing rights stay between you and the GDS.
Process
Scope and documentation review
We confirm your GDS, contracted products, markets, passenger types and the workflows you need (search only, full booking and ticketing, queues and servicing), then issue a fixed quote.
Sandbox build
Session handling, shopping, pricing, PNR creation, ticketing and servicing calls are built against the GDS test environment with complete logging.
Platform integration
The GDS connection is mapped to your booking engine, B2B portal or website through a normalised itinerary model, with your markups and service fees applied.
Certification
We prepare the test scripts the GDS asks for, run the required bookings and ticketing scenarios, and resolve the feedback until production access is granted.
Go-live and support
Production credentials are enabled, live PNRs and tickets are verified, queue processing is switched on and monitoring covers sessions, errors and response times.
Timeline and pricing
GDS projects take longer than consolidator integrations because certification and credential issuance follow the GDS's schedule, not ours. We give you a dated plan once we have seen your contract scope and documentation. [TO CONFIRM: typical GDS delivery windows you want to publish]
We quote a fixed price for the integration based on the workflows in scope and whether it feeds an existing platform or a new flight booking engine. GDS fees, segment charges and ticketing costs are set in your agreement with the GDS and are separate from our quote. Monitoring and version upgrades are an optional monthly plan. [TO CONFIRM: whether to publish starting prices]
Frequently asked questions
What is GDS integration?
GDS integration is the connection between your own booking software and a global distribution system such as Amadeus, Sabre or Travelport through its API. Instead of agents typing commands into a terminal, your website, agent portal or booking engine searches fares, builds PNRs, issues tickets and processes queues automatically, using your agency's own GDS credentials and fare access.
Which GDS is best for a travel agency in India?
There is no universal answer. Amadeus has a large agency footprint in India, but the right choice depends on the airlines you sell most, the commercial terms each GDS offers you, and any existing relationship. We integrate all three and will work with whichever your agency contracts with. Ask the GDS sales teams for terms before deciding.
Can I integrate a GDS without IATA accreditation?
You can usually obtain GDS access for searching and booking, but issuing tickets requires accreditation or a ticketing arrangement with an accredited consolidator who issues on your PNRs. Many Indian agencies without accreditation use a consolidator API instead, which bundles content and ticketing behind one deposit account. We can build either.
Do you provide GDS access or credentials?
No. GDS agreements, office IDs or PCCs, fare access and ticketing authority are contracted directly between your agency and the GDS. We are a technology vendor: we build, certify and maintain the integration using the credentials you hold. We are not affiliated with Amadeus, Sabre or Travelport.
How long does GDS certification take?
Certification is controlled by the GDS and varies by product, region and how quickly test scenarios pass. We reduce the wait by preparing the test scripts in advance, running them fully in the sandbox and responding to feedback the same day, but we do not promise a fixed certification date because the review is not ours to schedule.
Related pages
Bring your GDS into your own platform
Share your GDS, contracted products and what you want to build. You will receive a written scope, the certification steps and a fixed quote.