GDS API vs Aggregator vs NDC: Which Should a Startup Use?
A GDS (Global Distribution System) API from Sabre, Travelport or Amadeus gives you broad full-service airline content and mature after-sales, but it needs a commercial contract, certification and, to issue tickets yourself, IATA (International Air Transport Association) accreditation. An aggregator API puts several GDSs, NDC (New Distribution Capability) and low-cost content behind one contract and usually issues the tickets for you. Airline NDC APIs give richer offers but are agreed, built and certified one airline at a time. A startup without IATA accreditation usually finds an aggregator the simplest start, adding direct GDS or NDC connections once volume justifies the cost.
Key points
- GDS APIs are sales-led: production access follows a contract, and Travelport, for example, gives production credentials only after certification.
- Free self-service flight APIs are rarer than older guides suggest. Amadeus closed its self-service developer portal on 17 July 2026, trade press reported, and Kiwi.com has taken new Tequila partners by invitation only since May 2024.
- NDC gives airline-built offers with bundles and extras, but every airline is a separate agreement and integration, and support for changes and refunds varies.
- An aggregator trades some control and margin for one integration, one contract, and ticketing under its accreditation.
- On Bangladesh routes, coverage of Biman, the domestic airlines and the low-cost carriers your customers fly matters as much as the global names.
What are GDS, aggregator and NDC APIs?
They are three ways to get airline content into your own software.
- GDS API. A GDS is a shared reservation network that most full-service airlines sell through; the big three are Sabre, Travelport and Amadeus. Its API offers the same functions as an agent's terminal: availability, pricing, the PNR (Passenger Name Record), ticketing and changes.
- Aggregator API. An aggregator connects to several sources (GDSs, NDC airlines, low-cost and domestic airline systems) and offers them through one API of its own. When it also issues the tickets, it is often called a consolidator or host agency.
- NDC API. NDC is IATA's standard for airlines to send offers to sellers and receive orders back. An airline NDC API is one airline's version of that standard: you shop, price and order with the airline directly.
Low-cost and domestic airlines are the fourth piece. Not all of them are available, or fully available, through every GDS, so you may need to reach some one by one or through an aggregator that has already connected them.
This article is the founder's and developer's view. For how these fares look to an agent at the booking desk, read NDC vs GDS: what travel agents in Bangladesh need to know.
What do you need to get access to each?
GDS and airline NDC access is negotiated, not bought online. Aggregator access is a commercial agreement, usually with a prepaid wallet.
| Requirement | GDS API | Aggregator API | Airline NDC API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract | With the GDS or its local office | With the aggregator | With each airline |
| Office ID | A PCC (pseudo city code) or office ID | Not usually; the aggregator uses its own | Seller credentials from the airline |
| IATA accreditation | Needed to issue BSP (Billing and Settlement Plan) tickets yourself | Not needed if the aggregator issues under its own IATA code | Depends on the airline; BSP settlement needs IATA |
| Deposit | Ask; terms can include a deposit or bank guarantee | A prepaid wallet or agreed credit | The airline's payment terms |
| Certification | Yes, before production | Usually a go-live test on the aggregator's side | Yes, airline by airline |
| Who issues the ticket | You | Usually the aggregator | You or the airline |
What the GDSs say:
- Travelport: production credentials come "at the end of certification", access is "based on contracted APIs", and Travelport asks for at least 15 days' notice before you move to production (Travelport).
- Sabre: its Sabre APIs page offers a sandbox for testing and a contact for its sales team. Ask Sabre what your company needs for an office ID and production credentials.
- Amadeus: see the next section.
In Bangladesh, ask each GDS's local office for its current terms, documents and any deposit. IATA accreditation itself is covered in our IATA vs non-IATA guide.
Is there still a free self-service flight API?
Fewer than older tutorials suggest. Amadeus closed its self-service developer portal on 17 July 2026 and moved developers to request-based Enterprise APIs, Skift reported, and Amadeus's own developer code libraries on GitHub were archived the same day. Kiwi.com said in May 2024 that any new partnerships on its Tequila platform would be by invitation only (Kiwi.com). Test environments still exist, but plan on a commercial conversation before you sell a real ticket.
How hard is each to build and certify?
An aggregator is one integration. A GDS is one deep integration. NDC is one integration per airline.
- GDS. Mature but large. You handle availability, fare quotes, PNRs, ticketing, EMDs (Electronic Miscellaneous Documents) for paid extras, queues and schedule changes. Fare rules often arrive as coded text that you must turn into plain language for customers. Each GDS has its own APIs, so adding a second GDS is a second project.
- NDC. Built around offers and orders, with messages such as AirShopping, OfferPrice and OrderCreate. The standard is shared, but airlines implement different versions and parts of it, so each airline needs its own mapping, testing and often certification. Changes and refunds are the least uniform part.
- Aggregator. One schema that normalises many sources. You lose some airline-specific detail and depend on how much servicing the aggregator automates, but you certify once.
- Low-cost and domestic airline APIs. Each is different. Holds are often short or not offered, so your payment flow must be fast.
Whichever route you take, your team still builds the customer side: search pages, passenger data, payments, e-tickets and after-sales screens. Our guide on how to choose a flight booking API has a checklist for comparing providers.
How do the costs compare?
No route is free. Each puts the cost in a different place.
| Cost | GDS API | Aggregator API | Airline NDC API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront | Contract, certification, any deposit; the heaviest build | A setup fee with some providers; one integration | Build and certification for each airline |
| Per booking | Set by your GDS contract | A per-order fee, a percentage, or a margin in the net fare | The airline's terms |
| Easy to miss | Search volume, a second GDS, staff who read coded fare rules | Search-to-book limits; currency costs if billed in US dollars | Keeping many airline versions working |
| Working capital | BSP payments on fixed dates if you are IATA | A prepaid wallet | The airline's payment terms |
Airlines promote NDC partly to control their offers and partly to lower distribution costs. Some add a charge to bookings made through older GDS connections; our NDC vs GDS guide gives an example.
What content and servicing does each give you?
The right route depends on the airlines your customers fly and on how much after-sales work you can handle.
| GDS API | Aggregator API | Airline NDC API | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content on Bangladesh routes | Biman and most full-service airlines | Whatever it connects, often GDS, NDC, low-cost and domestic in one search | One airline per connection |
| Fare presentation | Booking classes and fare-basis codes; brands where filed | The aggregator's normalised view | Fare families and bundles, sometimes NDC-only fares |
| Extras | Often an EMD; varies by airline | Whatever the aggregator passes through | Seats, bags and meals inside the offer |
| Void, refund, reissue | Mature, through the GDS | Through the aggregator; ask which steps are automated | Airline by airline; not every order change is supported |
| Schedule changes | GDS queues | Depends on the aggregator | The airline's order notifications, where offered |
Check every airline you sell: a single GDS may not carry all the fares Bangladeshi travellers buy, especially on domestic and low-cost airlines.
Which should a travel startup use?
Match the route to your licence, volume and team.
| If you are | Start with |
|---|---|
| A new online travel agency (OTA) or travel app without IATA accreditation | An aggregator that issues under its own IATA code |
| An IATA agency with steady volume and developers | A GDS API, plus an aggregator for low-cost and domestic airlines |
| Selling mostly one or two airlines in volume | That airline's NDC or direct API, plus a broad source for everything else |
| A B2B (business-to-business) network serving sub-agents | An aggregator API or a white-label B2B portal |
| Not ready to build a booking site | A white-label portal (see B2B vs B2C white label) |
A common path is to start on an aggregator, measure where your bookings go, then add direct connections for the airlines that justify the extra work. Whichever API you choose, selling tickets in Bangladesh generally needs a travel agency registration: confirm your own registration needs with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, and see how to start a travel agency in Bangladesh.
Where does Ticket Lagbe's Flights API fit?
Ticket Lagbe's Flights API is a multi-source API with ticketing included.
- Sources: 1050+ airlines through Sabre, Travelport (Galileo), Amadeus, airline NDC and direct airline connections, including US-Bangla Airlines, Novo Air and Air Astra. Biman Bangladesh comes through the GDSs.
- Operations: search, fare rules, price check, hold, issue and cancel/void, plus refund and reissue requests.
- Ticketing and payment: tickets are issued under Ticket Lagbe's IATA accreditation (code 42343755), so partners do not need their own; bookings are paid from your Ticket Lagbe wallet.
- Access: a test (sandbox) environment; API keys and documentation after approval. Pricing is quoted per partner; contact the team.
Prefer not to build? Ticket Lagbe's white-label travel portal runs on your own domain with your brand and markup.
Apply for the Ticket Lagbe Flights API.
Frequently asked questions
What is a GDS API?
A GDS API is a programming interface to a Global Distribution System such as Sabre, Travelport or Amadeus. Under a contract with the GDS, it lets your software search, price, book and ticket flights on the airlines that sell through that system.
Is NDC better than a GDS API for a travel startup?
Not on its own. NDC can give richer offers and extras, but each airline is a separate agreement and integration, so many startups reach NDC content through an aggregator or a GDS's NDC channel first.
Can I get Sabre or Travelport API access without IATA accreditation?
Production access follows a commercial agreement with the GDS, and issuing tickets yourself on BSP airlines needs IATA accreditation. Without IATA, use a provider that issues tickets under its own accreditation.
Is the Amadeus self-service API still available?
No. Amadeus closed its self-service developer portal on 17 July 2026, trade press reported, and pointed developers to its request-based Enterprise APIs.
What is a flight API aggregator?
A company that connects to several content sources, such as GDSs, NDC airlines and low-cost airline systems, and offers them through one API. Many also issue the tickets under their own IATA accreditation and take payment from a prepaid wallet.
How long does GDS API certification take?
It depends on the GDS and on your build, and no fixed time is published. Travelport, for example, issues production credentials only at the end of certification and asks for at least 15 days' notice before you go live.