Top 10 Best Flight APIs: Kayak, Expedia, Skyscanner and more
The aviation industry is a very important part of the global economy, as every year millions of people fly to multiple destinations worldwide. Over the years, the process of booking and tracking flights has become a lot easier and automated. This degree of ease is a direct result of airlines and travel companies allowing third parties to leverage on their infrastructure via APIs (Application Programmable Interfaces).
In this article, we created a list of the best Flight APIs currently being used. In coming up with this list, we ranked the APIs based on the following criteria.
- API Features: We evaluated the various features that make the APIs appealing for businesses
- Ease of use: In considering this, we delved into their API documentation and thoroughly examine how easy was to understand. We also check out their developer communities and see the level of activity.
- Price: We assessed the cost of using each of the APIs.
Ultimately, we created the following list of the top 10 best Travel APIs.
- Google Flight API
- TripAdvisor API
- Skyscanner API
- Expedia API
- Kayak API
- British Airways API
- Emirate Airline API
- Lufthansa API
- Travel Time API
- Fareportal API
Google Flights is an online flight booking search service which facilitates the purchase of airline tickets through third-party suppliers.
API Features: Google Flight API allows developers to search, veiw and compare flight prices. It employs an API Key, OAuth 2 authentication model. And is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports JSON, JSONP response format and JSONP, URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: Google recently shut down this service, only offering it to enterprise clients
Price: There is a free quota of 50 queries per day. After exceeding this quota, a usage fee of $0.02 USD applies
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website. With 702 million reviews and opinions covering the world’s largest selection of travel listings worldwide.
API Features: Allows developers to gain dynamic access to up-to-date rating content and select travel websites. This API is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports a JSON response format and JSONP, URI Query String/CRUD request format. TripAdvisor API employs an API key authentication model.
Ease of use: The TripAdvisor API content is not publicly available and is only for licensed partners.
Price: The API is offered for free.
Skyscanner is a leading global travel search site, this platform allows users to access millions of travel options at the best prices.
API Features: Skyscanner API allows developers to easily integrate their application to their platform to get all the available flight data. It employs an API key authentication model. And is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports JSON, XML response format and JSONP, URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: Skyscanner has a very active community of developers and well-detailed documentation.
Price: This API is free to use.
4. Expedia API
Owned by Expedia Group, expedia.com is a travel booking website which is primarily used as a travel fare aggregators and travel metasearch engine.
API Features: With Expedia API developers can integrate advanced functionalities into their application, enabling users to easily view and access pieces of information like availability, rates, restrictions, booking notification, retrieval and confirmation all from a third party application. It employs an API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports XML response format and JSONP, URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: This API is well documented with a growing developer community so developers can be sure to have all their questions in their developer community forums
Price: The API is offered for free.
5. Kayak API
Based in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. Kayak is travel fare aggregator and travel metasearch engine operated by Booking Holdings
API Feature: Allows developers to integrate kayak.com searches and results into their web app and mobile apps
Ease of Use: kayak provides comprehensive documentation and other resources to make it easier implementing the API into your web or mobile application.
Price: Free
Created in 1974, British Airways is is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom and the largest airline in the United Kingdom
API Features: This API allows developers to access flight data and other relevant flight and travel information and integrate these features into their own application. It employs an API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports JSON, XML response format and URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: This API is well documented with a growing developer community so developers can be sure to have all their questions in their developer community forums
Price: Paid; developers should contact British Airways for price options
Founded in 1985, Emirates airline is the flagship carrier of the United Arab Emirates and the world’s fourth-largest airline
API Features: Emirate Airline API allows emirate distribution partners to directly connect to Emirates’ host reservation system; providing access to availability, pricing, shopping and ticketing plus facilitating ancillary sales of excess baggage, visas, Chauffeur Service and more. The Online B2B API uses industry-standard XML messaging.
Ease of Use: There is no open-source documentation available to use this API
Price: Distribution partners should contact Emirates for full price options
Founded in 1953, Lufthansa is the flagship carrier of Germany and one of the largest airlines in the world.
API Features: Lufthansa API offers developers access to several data sets including country, city, and airport codes; flight schedules. It employs an API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports JSON, XML response format and JSONP, URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: Lufthansa has ensured that this API is completely open-source, providing a very easy to understand documentation with lots of sample codes.
Price: Free
TravelTime is a platform that helps users find locations by travel time, rather than distance. It can filter points of interest by travel time and show more than one travel shape at a time.
API Features: The TravelTime API helps users find locations by journey time rather than using ‘as the crow flies’ distance. Time-based searching gives users more opportunities for personalisation and delivers a more relevant search. It employs HTTP Basic API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports XML, JSON response formats and URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: Offers easy-to-follow documentation that allows you to implement the API seamlessly and within minutes.
Price: The API is offered for free.
Based in New York city, Fareportal is a travel technology company that operates and manage a number of travel websites.
API Features: Fareportal API allows developers to work with the backend of new and existing travel programs that include search and booking for flights, hotels, and rental cars. It employs HTTP Basic API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports JSON response formats and URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: Fareportal provides very detailed documentation that is easy to read with lots of sample codes.
Price: The API is offered for free.
That’s Rakuten RapidAPI’s list of Top 10 Best Flight APIs. We hope you’ll find an API that you can use to add a lot more functionalities to your application
About Rakuten RapidAPI
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Check out some of the world’s best APIs including Microsoft, Sendgrid, Crunchbase and Skyscanner.
