If you’ve been tasked with integrating a flight booking API, the decision goes far deeper than price. The API you choose will shape your developers’ experience, your customers’ booking journey, and your ability to scale. The wrong choice costs months.
Here’s what to evaluate, and how InfiniteAPI measures up.
NDC and GDS access: are you getting the full picture?
A strong travel API should give you both GDS and NDC content from a single source. NDC fares, distributed directly from airlines via modern XML standards, often carry lower prices and richer ancillary content. For British Airways, NDC access also means avoiding the Distribution Technology Charge (DTC), which can quietly erode margin on every booking.
InfiniteAPI combines NDC and GDS airfares from Lime and Aviate in a unified feed, covering IT, Published, Seat Only, Cruise, and Regional Flying fares across 75+ airlines.
Response times and reliability: the non-negotiables
A slow flight search API is a conversion killer. Equally, availability SLAs matter most during high-demand periods like sale windows, bank holidays, and last-minute surges.
InfiniteAPI surfaces real-time pricing and availability, backed by the operational maturity of the Travel Innovation Group – supporting over 1,200 tour operators through Aviate alone.
Booking flow: can it handle the full journey?
A flight booking API that only searches is only half an API. InfiniteAPI covers the full lifecycle: search, quote, book, ticket, payment, fare rules, ancillaries, frequent flyer requests, and booking retrieval. Amendments and cancellations are in development.
Crucially, it’s modular. Choose the features you need rather than inheriting a one-size-fits-all build.
Documentation, sandbox, and Postman: the developer experience stack
These three things will help you differentiate mature APIs:
- Documentation — The InfiniteAPI developer portal covers every endpoint, authentication, error handling, and code examples, so your team can move from evaluation to integration without handholding.
- Sandbox — Test the full booking journey safely before a single real booking is made.
- Postman collection — InfiniteAPI’s public collection gets your developers to their first API call in minutes, with no boilerplate setup required.
Support and onboarding: who answers when it counts?
InfiniteAPI integrations include dedicated support from the Travel Innovation Group Technical Integrations team. Post-integration, both Lime and Aviate offer brand-dedicated customer support, including free out-of-hours assistance.
Frequently asked questions
What is a flight booking API? A software interface that allows travel platforms and tour operators to search, quote, and book flights programmatically within their own systems.
What is the difference between NDC and GDS? GDS is the traditional airline distribution channel. NDC is a modern XML-based standard enabling airlines to offer richer content and lower fares directly to travel sellers, often without legacy distribution surcharges.
Does InfiniteAPI support NDC? Yes. InfiniteAPI combines NDC and GDS content from a single source, with particular depth on British Airways NDC through Lime.
Ready to explore InfiniteAPI?
Whether you’re evaluating your first flight booking API integration or looking to replace an underperforming connection, the best next step is to get hands-on with the platform.
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