Top 10 Airfare Aggregators to Develop Flight Reservation Software (2024)
03 APR 2024Author - Shally
Over the past 10 years, the travel agency business has undergone significant changes and experienced notable growth driven by various factors. Initially challenged by the rise of online booking platforms and direct airline bookings, traditional travel agencies have adapted and evolved to stay competitive in the digital age.
One of the key drivers of growth has been the increasing demand for personalized travel experiences. Travel agencies have capitalized on this trend by offering specialized services tailored to individual preferences, such as luxury travel, adventure tourism, or eco-friendly vacations.
Air ticket aggregator
plays a larger role in digital transformation from a conventional agency to full scale OTA model (online travel agency).
Flight APIs are key tools that allow travel agencies, DMCs, distribution platforms and extranets to provide great value to customers. Customers can search the flight prices & deals globally and book it online.
Travel and tourism GDP is predicted to grow, on average, at 5.8 percent a year between 2022 and 2032, outpacing the growth of the overall economy at an expected 2.7 percent a year. Another survey done by the global tourism body has forecasted that the travel and tourism industry will grow its GDP contribution worldwide to reach a staggering
$15.5 trillion by 2033. So the overall growth in travel and tourism vertical is looking robust.
Importance of Air Ticket Aggregators to Travel Industry
Airline ticket aggregators play a crucial role in market expansion and reach, particularly in niche or underserved markets. Their specialization and expertise allow them to reach customers who may not have direct access to airline booking platforms or traditional travel agencies, thus increasing airlines' market penetration.
Furthermore,
flight aggregator and suppliers offer efficient distribution channels, simplifying the booking process for travel sellers and consumers alike. They provide flexibility and customization options, such as group bookings and flexible air ticketing, catering to diverse customer needs.
How to find the best air ticket aggregator : A quick guide in 6 Steps
Finding the
best airfare aggregator
involves considering various factors to ensure you get accurate information, competitive prices, and a user-friendly experience. In this section, we will go through the six steps to help you in selecting the top air ticket aggregators :
Step 1 : Research and Compare
Begin by researching different air-ticket aggregators available. Look for popular ones like GDS, third party
air ticket aggregators
, flight suppliers or APIs. Compare their features, such as search inventory, rates, airlines covered and user reviews, to understand which one aligns best with your preferences and needs.
Step 2 : Check Coverage
Evaluate the air ticket aggregator's coverage in terms of airlines and destinations. A comprehensive aggregator should include a wide range of airlines and routes to ensure you have ample options to choose from.
Step 3 : Price Transparency
Look for airline ticket aggregators that offer transparent pricing. Ensure that the displayed prices include all taxes and fees upfront, so you're not surprised by additional costs during the booking process.
Step 4 : User-Friendly Interface
Opt for a
flight wholesaler with a user-friendly interface and intuitive search functionalities. The platform should allow you to easily input your travel dates, preferred destinations, and any other relevant preferences, and then present the results clearly for comparison.
Step 5 : Filter and Sorting Options
Consider the filtering and sorting options provided by the
airfare aggregators. Look for features like flexible date search, filtering by airline alliance or specific airlines, sorting by price, duration, or number of stops. These features can help you refine your search and find the most suitable flights quickly.
Step 6: Reviews and Recommendations
Lastly, read reviews and recommendations from other travelers to gauge the aggregator's reliability, accuracy, and customer service. Pay attention to any recurring complaints or praises mentioned in the reviews to make an informed decision
By following these steps and considering these factors, you can identify the best air ticket aggregator that meets your requirements and helps you find the most suitable flights for your travel plans.
Is your travel agency API ready?
Flight Booking API
(which stands for Application Programming Interfaces) are interfaces which communicate with other technologies / platforms / environments and which effectively allow content and data to be pulled from one system to another. For travel agents and aggregators,
travel API can give them global access of the inventory / deals including airlines, hotels, car-rental, transfers, sightseeing and holiday packages.
List of the Best Ait Ticket Aggregators for IATA and Non IATA Agencies
Amadeus GDS
Amadeus is one of the most preferred
air ticket aggregators for travel agents
. Global travel management companies are using Amadeus gds to access online travel contents including airline, hotels, transfers, sightseeing, cars and other ancillary services through Amadeus travel APIs / web services. Amadeus processes the highest number of transactions on a day to day basis. In the last 25+ years, Amadeus has become the largest gds system and the biggest travel content aggregator around the world.
PROVAB APIs
Provab Technosoft is a leading
travel API provider and along with its IATA accredited fully owned subsidiary, it helps you to maximise your need of travel inventory through a single unified flight API connection while providing rich flight contents aggregated through several IATA and Non IATA consolidators. Provab’s open travel API XML suite includes flight API, hotel API, car API, transfer API and sightseeing API.
Travelport UAPIs
Galileo GDS system - offered by TravelPort, is one of the
top air ticket aggregators
globally. Galileo GDS provides global distribution services for the travel industry with advanced computer reservation software, top of the line travel system and web services APIs. B2B and B2C booking software with Travelport universal APIs are surging in India, United States, Mexico, Europe, South Africa and Malaysia. In the last 22+ years,
Galileo GDS software has become one of the largest gds systems.
Sabre APIs
Sabre GDS system is a leading wholesaler of airline tickets. Sabre GDS is supported (in terms of flight inventory) by more than 400 flight carriers, 200,000 hotels, global tour operators and several car and cruise providers. Sabre system is connected to more than 400,000 travel agents worldwide, who are serving to end clients.
Sabre GDS system processes more than a million travel booking transactions per minute during the high season. B2B and B2C travel portals with Sabre
software are surging in United States, Europe, UAE, India, Africa (Nigeria, Egypt) and Indonesia.
TBO APIs
TBO Holidays is one of the leading travel wholesalers, connected with 70,000 travel agencies across 100+ countries while using TBO’s award winning platform to book global
travel contents online. TBO offers flights, accommodations, cruise, cars, transfers and sightseeing.
PKFare APIs
PKFARE is a
leading airline ticket aggregators
, aggregates real time big data from over
600 airlines, 400,000 properties and 20 DMCs, covering over 100 countries and regions. PKFARE is an innovative global travel trade
marketplace offering air tickets, hospitality and destination products. Empowered by its global resources, machine learning technology, big data and dynamic hedging and payment model, PKFARE provides global travel players with smart integrated solutions including real time inventory data, best buy rate, seamless multilingual customer service and diversified product portfolios.
Hotelbeds APIs
Hotelbeds is one of the largest hotel wholesalers with 1,80,000 hotels in around 185 destinations worldwide. Hotelbeds API enables any hotel booking system or distribution platform to provide their agents and B2C clients, best hotels and activities at lowest wholesale rates. Simply using
Hotelbeds API integration solution is enough to gain access to vast inventory from multiple sources with competitive prices. Hotelbeds booking API additionally provides you access to additional services such as sightseeing, transfers and even car rentals.
Skyscanner APIs
Skyscanner was established in 2003 with the unique objective of showing all flight options in one place. Today it has gone from a
flight search engines to a global leader in travel. More than 100 million people across the world (that's quite a few!) rely on its app and website each month to help them with their travel plans. It also provides skyscanner APIs to distribute the contents on global OTA platforms.
Booking.com APIs
If you are an OTA or a destination website, want to have top of the hotel inventory on your booking platform, integrate
Booking.com APIs. It offers solutions for OTAs, hotel channel managers, property owners and affiliates like travel bloggers and media outlets. The online accommodation platform currently offers over 29,420,861 properties, 12,500 affiliates, and well-architected framework features in 41 languages, 23 countries with payment card supports Visa, American, Express, MasterCard. The Booking.com APIs support both XML and JSON formats using HTTP basic authentication.
Expedia API
Expedia Affiliate Network (EAN) APIs robust structure brings quick responses and retrieves data from multiple sources instantly to give real-time updates on rates and availability on your booking platform. The EAN APIs are used to book hotels, flights and cars. Expedia's well designed framework enables 200+ travel booking sites across 75 countries and 150+ mobile websites.
Expedia API Integration connects any online booking system to 140,000 hotels spread across 245 countries. Expedia has a great user base in the United States, Canada, Mexico, India and UAE.
Flight Wholesaler Integration Workflow
At PROVAB, our
flight consolidators integration team and framework experts provide extensive support during
APIs integration and live certification. They let you leverage the ready codes and libraries to complete the integration sooner than expected. You are assured of full scale OTA,
white label travel portal or mobile application to build rapid growth in travel booking vertical.
Sandbox Access
Post API contract signoff, agency code is created. Same time, sandbox and test credentials are sent to client’s developers.
Web Services Integration
Developers get the integration kit and they can start integrating PROVAB’s travel APIs on their platform in a seamless way.
Test Cases Evaluation
Post flight APIs web services integration, test cases are sent to client’s developers to validate the logic of application or mobile app.
Live Credentials
On approval of all test cases, followed by few airline bookings in test environment, live credentials are granted to set the application live.
Definition of An Air Ticket Aggregator
An air ticket aggregator is a company or entity that aggregates the airline data (inventory/rates) globally. These are typically acquired through negotiated agreements or contracts with airlines, allowing wholesalers to secure lower prices than those available to individual travelers or traditional travel agencies. Flight wholesalers then sell these tickets to travel agencies,
tour operators, or other resellers at a markup, enabling them to earn a profit while still offering competitive prices to their customers.
Airline aggregator often specialize in specific markets, routes, or regions, leveraging their purchasing power and expertise to secure the best deals from airlines.
List of things to consider before hiring a flight APIs integration company?
Now that you are well aware of
flight aggregators and why to integrate flight APIs, you must find the
list of travel wholesalers and API integration companies. While plenty of
travel portal companies are available, the question is how to find the best travel API company. Let me help you in preparing a questionnaire that fits your requirements.
- What are the major flight API integration services you offer?
- Please provide 7-8 benefits you offer to travel agents?
- Do you make custom web design or use the theme?
- Can you provide the portfolio?
- Do you provide case studies to showcase the results of your web design?
- What is the policy for building websites in comparison with the competitors?
- How do I get the timely work progress of the project?
- What are the types of travel technologies you are specialized in?
- Do you give round the clock support and also handling the updates of the applications?
