July 24, 2014 at 09:10QPX Express API: Airline Ticket Business
The airline market is gaining momentum. Have you thought about how to start selling them on your project? Google has a simple solution to enter this market: the QPX Express API , which allows you to connect to one of the most powerful global airline ticket search systems QPX . This is one of the most affordable ways to start your own airline ticket business, supplement the functionality of a travel blog, or replace the ticket purchase system on the airline’s website with a more efficient one.
The QPX airline ticket search system was developed by the ITA Software team in 1999. It is currently used by companies such as Kayak.com, CheapTickets, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Alitalia, S7 and others. You can test the system directly on the website: matrix.itasoftware.com .
In 2011, ITA Software received the Google prefix for the title. Later we introduced the API for free access to this search engine QPX Express API, which will be discussed in this post.
To activate an account and get an API key, you just need to start a project on the Google Developers Console (GDC) . All interaction with the developer comes down to receiving an API key and payment.
The QPX Express API has only one trips / search API method. This means that directly buying / booking a ticket is carried out through the GDS (Global Distribution System).
GDS, the global distribution system - an international computer reservation system, including the ability to book airline tickets, hotel rooms, sea cruises, car rental, etc. The list of the largest GDS can be found on Wikipedia .
In the trips / search answer, the QPX Express API provides the maximum information (the table immediately after the JSON structure), which can be used in GDS for booking a ticket, but still we recommend that you carefully study everything so as not to miss the set of parameters.
Somewhere between these stages, the user pays for the ticket, but this already depends on the GDS.
For using the QPX Express service, the developer (company, travel agency, etc) is paid from his budget. 50 search queries per day are provided for free, but if your business has outgrown these scales, then from the 51st query the price will be $ 0.035 apiece.
The QPX platform is traditionally used by major market players. In May of this year, S7 Airlines switched to a new booking platform using the QPX Express API:
Now passengers have the opportunity to purchase a ticket not only one way or round-trip, choosing from the options offered by the system, but also to build a difficult route of several flights. Flight search results are displayed in a more convenient format, allowing the passenger to get all the necessary information on one page: flight duration, distance, type of aircraft, type of food on board, free baggage allowance, number of miles that S7 participants can get for this flight Priority . ”
But the advent of the QPX Express API opens up the same opportunities for start-ups and companies that had not previously thought about independently searching and selling airline tickets.
A bit of history
The QPX airline ticket search system was developed by the ITA Software team in 1999. It is currently used by companies such as Kayak.com, CheapTickets, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Alitalia, S7 and others. You can test the system directly on the website: matrix.itasoftware.com .
In 2011, ITA Software received the Google prefix for the title. Later we introduced the API for free access to this search engine QPX Express API, which will be discussed in this post.
How it works
To activate an account and get an API key, you just need to start a project on the Google Developers Console (GDC) . All interaction with the developer comes down to receiving an API key and payment.
The QPX Express API has only one trips / search API method. This means that directly buying / booking a ticket is carried out through the GDS (Global Distribution System).
GDS, the global distribution system - an international computer reservation system, including the ability to book airline tickets, hotel rooms, sea cruises, car rental, etc. The list of the largest GDS can be found on Wikipedia .
In the trips / search answer, the QPX Express API provides the maximum information (the table immediately after the JSON structure), which can be used in GDS for booking a ticket, but still we recommend that you carefully study everything so as not to miss the set of parameters.
As a result, the work process is as follows:
- Receive from the user information about the flight that he has planned.
- Send a request to the Google API (QPX Express) with data from the user.
- Show the user all possible options on the screen.
- You receive a request from the user to register tickets for the selected flight.
- Send a request to GDS to register your ticket.
- Everything is registered, rejoice, notify the user.
Somewhere between these stages, the user pays for the ticket, but this already depends on the GDS.
For using the QPX Express service, the developer (company, travel agency, etc) is paid from his budget. 50 search queries per day are provided for free, but if your business has outgrown these scales, then from the 51st query the price will be $ 0.035 apiece.
In life
The QPX platform is traditionally used by major market players. In May of this year, S7 Airlines switched to a new booking platform using the QPX Express API:
Now passengers have the opportunity to purchase a ticket not only one way or round-trip, choosing from the options offered by the system, but also to build a difficult route of several flights. Flight search results are displayed in a more convenient format, allowing the passenger to get all the necessary information on one page: flight duration, distance, type of aircraft, type of food on board, free baggage allowance, number of miles that S7 participants can get for this flight Priority . ”
But the advent of the QPX Express API opens up the same opportunities for start-ups and companies that had not previously thought about independently searching and selling airline tickets.