"The AirXML API allows airlines to implement end-to-end business relationships in the Internet e-commerce environment, and measure the results." (Please click on the image for larger picture.)

Connecting Professional Travel Buyers.  Really.

To see the Internet fares demanded by corporate accounts, travel agency powerhouses like Thomas Cook have had to "screen scrape" airline websites...with unreliable results and no ability to directly book.

Why? Because increasingly airlines offer special fares not available through traditional (expensive) GDS channels. And low-fare airlines in particular had few ways to serve corporate travel sites. Until now.

AirXML API, developed by Sutra, is the modern way for airlines to directly connect corporate and consumer travel web portals for online booking. Available to AirKiosk system airlines and their business partners, the AirXML API offers a full suite of reservations functions, including BSI, AV, EOT, PAY and PNR retrieval, directly connected to airline inventory. All transactions are in realtime and fares displayed are availability driven.

Thomas Cook's first AirKiosk system connection is to leading UK low-fare airline Jet2.com, the result of an AirXML API implementation by travel switch provider Multicom. Through AirKiosk system point-of-sales control, Jet2.com ensure Thomas Cook see and book negotiated fares, and can track daily sales results. The AirXML API includes the option of downloading XML-format sales data stored in the AirKiosk system TSR (Ticket Sales Report), facilitating airline-agency agreements with sales incentives based on actual booking statistics.

Prior to AirXML API implementation, Thomas Cook relied on Multicom's gathering of Jet2.com flight information through screen scraping, with decreasing rates of successful booking. The number of screen scraping companies today is at least 50 times that of one year ago, and many airlines now deploy techniques to protect their websites from the damaging effects of resource jamming (DoS attacks) by electronic "people emulators," which gather fares information but create no bookings.

The AirXML API allows airlines to implement end-to-end business relationships in the Internet e-commerce environment, and measure the results.

Source: Sutra, Inc.