Travel API is a set of web services using which any agency / OTA platform or IBE connects to a source, which may be GDS or any third party travel content aggregators. By integrating travel API, agencies can offers real time availability of flights, hotels, transfers, sightseeing and all ancillary services including bookings, amendments and cancellations.
If you are an IATA agent, you can take the travel booking APIs (web services) from any of the leading GDS systems like Amadeus, Travelport or Sabre. But if you are Non IATA, then you should contract with third party travel API providers to get the access of flight data. Once you get the travel APIs access, hire a professional portal development company to integrate the travel APIs on your booking platform. Once the integration is done, you can proceed for live certification to make it live.
Travel APIs provide a single point of access for consolidated airline inventory and pricing. Millions of agents access that data, process the bookings for their end customers at any given time. The information provided by travel XML providers like inventory, rates, availability, details are in real time and thus it reduces the overall execution time per booking for travel agencies is less, which leads to higher revenues and profits.
In terms of most searched flight APIs providers - Amadeus, Travelport, Galileo, Expedia, TBO, Priceline and Travelomatix are leading the stock.
If you want a right on time deployment of your flight booking portal, it is better to go for dedicated flight API developers who work solely on airline API integration and live certification to deliver you faster results.
If you are going for third party flight API provider, you must look for IATA certified provider. Apart from live projects and test system, you must look for IATA certificate which is issued by International Air Transport Association.