Begin with the booking journey
Decide whether customers will search on your site and book elsewhere, or complete a reservation inside your product. This decision affects the integration, commercial agreement and the operational work your team takes on. It also changes what you should test.
| Provider | Documented starting point | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Duffel | Offer search, selection and order creation | Production activation, airline coverage, payment and servicing |
| Skyscanner | Live and indicative flight pricing APIs | Partner eligibility, approved use case and commercial requirements |
Duffel’s flight integration guide demonstrates a search-to-order flow. Skyscanner’s API documentation distinguishes live prices from indicative prices. These are different starting points; neither a documentation page nor a test key guarantees production access.
What to check in a technical trial
Use representative routes and passenger combinations. Check baggage, fare conditions, currencies and how expired offers are handled. Compare the returned details with what your checkout needs to display. Test timeouts and retries before connecting real payments.
Plan for what happens after purchase
Booking is not the end of the integration. Your product may need changes, cancellation, refunds and customer support. Establish which actions the provider supports, which need manual handling and who communicates with the traveller. Get commercial answers in writing before committing to a build.
Where AI belongs
An AI itinerary can organise a proposed trip around flights. It cannot establish a fare or seat availability. Keep the generated plan separate from the live offer, and revalidate supplier information before a purchase. Evaluate itinerary tools separately from the supplier integration that confirms a booking.
Also read: Skyscanner API alternatives and hotel API requirements.