Travel API’s

A cursory view of the Travel Industry’s use of API’s is a good example of the proliferation and access to services for SME’s over the past 5 to ten years.  There has been and continues to be considerable room for industry disruption from a number of newcomers who have managed to garner the attention of financial backers.  Ever increasing access to Global Distribution Systems - companies who aggregate an airline’s flight schedule and make these available between players is driving the growth of Online Travel Agents (OTA’s) year on year.

A good example is Amadeus’ launch of a Dedicated Airline Consolidation Service.   Directed at SME’s who are comfortable using API’s and can bring to the table their own offering of ticket sales is indeed a reflection of how the big players are responding to market disruption.

However, apart from the players who have gone viral with their take on market  disruption ( Trip Ninja ), there are opportunities to be had by taking the road newly travelled.  For the most part, gone are the days of the high street travel agents enjoying a monopoly on your travel itinerary.  The big brand names being merely storefronts for the global tour operators and simply using the in-house systems of inventories with whom they are associated. The truly independent shops may have had access to multiple systems with the associated costs for access.

This blog thread will explore Amadeus' api offering to highlight the potential commercial opportunies available. We begin by connecting to their development service environment.