Travelport GDS API Integration Guide: Registration to Live Booking

If you are building an online travel agency (OTA), B2B booking portal, or corporate travel system, integrating a GDS like Travelport is essential. With access to 400+ airlines, 650,000+ hotels, 36 rental car brands, and rich NDC content, Travelport GDS is one of the most powerful distribution systems in the travel industry.

What is Travelport GDS? 

Travelport  is a global distribution system containing three major systems:

• Travelport Galileo
• Travelport Apollo
• Travelport Worldspan
  
  

Their Universal API provides a consolidated interface for flights, hotels, cars, ancillaries, and ticketing through SOAP/XML and newer REST APIs.

Step 1: Register for Travelport API Access

To start integrating Travelport, you must request access through a Travelport representative.

1. Contact Travelport Sales

Provide:

• Company name
• Website
• Business model
• Expected booking volume
• Regions you plan to sell in
• Required APIs (Flight, Hotel, Car)
  
  

2. Sign the Technical Agreement

Travelport will ask you to sign:

• API usage agreement
• Data protection policy
• Commercial contract
  
  

3. Get Test Credentials

You will receive:

• PCC / Pseudo City Code
• Universal API username & password
• TargetBranch
  
  

These will be used in every API request.

Step 2: Access Travelport API Documentation

Travelport provides:

• WSDL files
• Schema definitions
• Sample SOAP requests & responses
• Universal API Reference Manual
• Postman collection for REST API (if enabled)
  
  

Important URLs will be provided in your onboarding email.

Step 3: Understanding Travelport API Components

1. AirSearch (Flights Searching)

Retrieves flight availability with cabins, airline preferences, and date ranges.

2. AirPrice

Returns final fare rules, pricing details, and tax breakdown.

3. AirCreateReservation (PNR Creation)

Books the selected itinerary and creates PNR.

4. Ticketing (ETicket Issue)

Auto-ticket or manual ticket using queue.

5. UniversalRecordRetrieve

Retrieve booking, queues, history, and ticket status.

6. Hotel & Car APIs (Optional)

If your portal supports multi-product bookings.

Step 4: Travelport API Authentication 

• SOAP Header Example
  
  

<soapenv:Header>

  <com:Credentials Username=”UniversalAPI/uAPI12345″ Password=”abcXYZ123″/>

</soapenv:Header>

• Target Branch
  
  

<univ:BillingPointOfSaleInfo OriginApplication=”UAPI”/>

<univ:TargetBranch>YOUR_TARGET_BRANCH</univ:TargetBranch>

Step 5: Flight Search Example (AirSearchReq)

A basic sample for Availability Search:

<air:LowFareSearchReq 

   TargetBranch=”PCC_CODE” 

   MaxSolutions=”50″ 

   TraceId=”12345″>

  <com:BillingPointOfSaleInfo OriginApplication=”UAPI”/>

  <air:SearchAirLeg>

    <air:SearchOrigin Destination=”DEL”/>

    <air:SearchDestination Destination=”DXB”/>

    <air:SearchDepTime PreferredTime=”2025-06-25″/>

  </air:SearchAirLeg>

  <air:AirSearchModifiers>

    <air:PreferredCabins Cabin=”Economy”/>

  </air:AirSearchModifiers>

</air:LowFareSearchReq>

This returns flights filtered by cabin, dates, and airline preferences.

Step 6: Price the Selected Flight (AirPriceReq)

Once you have a selected segment, send an AirPriceReq:

<air:AirPriceReq TargetBranch=”PCC_CODE”>

  <air:AirItinerary>

    <!– Flight segments returned from search –>

  </air:AirItinerary>

</air:AirPriceReq>

This returns:

• Base fare
• Taxes
• Baggage
• Fare rules
• Refundability
  
  

Step 7: Create Booking (AirCreateReservationReq)

Provide traveler details, phone, email, and selected air pricing:

<air:AirCreateReservationReq TargetBranch=”PCC_CODE”>

  <com:BillingPointOfSaleInfo OriginApplication=”UAPI”/>

  <univ:BookingTraveler Key=”1″>

    <com:BookingTravelerName First=”John” Last=”Doe”/>

    <com:PhoneNumber Number=”+11234567890″/>

  </univ:BookingTraveler>

  <air:AirPricingSolution>

    <!– Pricing solution from Step 6 –>

  </air:AirPricingSolution>

</air:AirCreateReservationReq>

This creates the PNR / Universal Record.

Step 8: Ticketing

Depending on your agreement, you can:

• Auto-ticket through API
• Queue for manual ticketing
• Issue via BSP/ARC
  
  

<air:AirTicketingReq>

  <com:BillingPointOfSaleInfo OriginApplication=”UAPI”/>

  <air:AirReservationLocatorCode>ABC123</air:AirReservationLocatorCode>

</air:AirTicketingReq>

Step 9: Move to Live Production

To go live, Travelport requires:

✔ Minimum 3–5 successful test bookings

✔ Error handling proof

✔ API usage compliance review

✔ PCI-DSS compliance for payment gateways

✔ Production credentials request form

Once approved, you will receive:

• Live PCC
• Live TargetBranch
• Production API URLs
  
  

You can now accept real bookings.

Best Practices for Travelport Integration

1. Enable Caching

Avoid excessive API calls by caching availability for 5–10 minutes.

2. Use Error Handling

Travelport returns XML errors with detailed codes.

3. Display Baggage & Fare Rules Properly

Mandatory for user compliance.

4. Use Markup Rules

Markup engine should work on:

• Base fare
• Taxes
• Supplier fee
• Airline fee
  
  

5. Enable Logging

Store every request and response for audit.

Common Errors & Fixes

Integrating the Travelport GDS API is a major step toward building a professional, revenue-ready OTA platform. From API registration to live production, each step requires technical accuracy, correct workflow implementation, and compliance with Travelport’s standards.

With this tutorial, your team now has a complete roadmap to build:

• Flight Search
• Fare Pricing
• Booking
• Ticketing
• Live deployment
  
  

If you want a full Travelport integration, custom OTA system, or AI-powered booking engine, feel free to reach out. This is exactly what we help companies build every day. 

Read More: Travelport API Integration: Step-by-Step Process for Online Travel Agency

FAQ’S

1. How long does Travelport integration take?

Travelport API integration typically takes between 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the scope of features, booking workflows, and post-booking requirements. Basic flight search and booking integrations can be completed faster, while advanced features such as ticketing automation, fare rules, refunds, multi-city itineraries, and back-office reporting may extend the timeline. The availability of a ready technical team, clear requirements, and pre-approved commercial access also plays a major role in speeding up the integration.

2. Does Travelport support NDC content?

Yes, Travelport fully supports NDC (New Distribution Capability) through its Travelport+ platform, enabling access to richer airline content, branded fares, ancillaries, and dynamic pricing from major airlines. NDC allows travel platforms to display more personalized offers such as seat upgrades, baggage options, and fare bundles directly from airlines, helping agencies increase conversion rates and offer modern airline retail experiences.

3. Which programming languages work with the Travelport API?

Travelport APIs are technology-agnostic and can be integrated using Java, PHP, .NET, Python, Node.js, or any other language that supports SOAP/XML or REST APIs. This flexibility allows startups, OTAs, and enterprise platforms to use their preferred tech stack without rebuilding systems. Travelport also provides extensive developer documentation and sample requests, making integration easier for both modern and legacy systems.

4. Is Travelport better than Amadeus or Sabre?

Travelport performs exceptionally well in regions such as the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, and is particularly strong in low-cost carrier (LCC) content. While Amadeus is dominant in Europe and Sabre has a strong footprint in North America, Travelport is often preferred for markets where mixed airline inventory, regional carriers, and competitive pricing are critical. The choice depends on geography, airline coverage, pricing agreements, and business goals rather than one platform being universally better.

5. What travel businesses should use Travelport API?

Travelport API is ideal for online travel agencies (OTAs), B2B travel portals, corporate travel platforms, consolidators, and meta-search engines that need fast access to global airline content with strong LCC coverage. It is especially useful for businesses targeting emerging markets or multi-region operations where airline diversity and flexible pricing are essential for competitiveness.

6. What features are available through Travelport API integration?

Travelport APIs support real-time flight search, fare comparison, PNR creation, ticketing, seat maps, ancillaries, refunds, reissues, hotel and car rental bookings, and reporting tools. With Travelport+, agencies can also access enriched content, branded fares, and NDC offers, making it possible to build a complete, scalable travel booking platform with modern user experiences.