Amadeus is one of the largest sources of flight and hotel content in the world. This guide explains the API options, what you need to get access, how the booking flow works and how long integration takes.
What Is Amadeus?
Amadeus is a global distribution system (GDS) that connects travel sellers to airlines, hotels, car rental companies and rail operators. Through its APIs, a travel business can search fares, create bookings (PNRs), issue tickets and manage changes from its own website or app.
Self-Service APIs vs Enterprise APIs
| Self-Service APIs | Enterprise APIs | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Start-ups, developers, prototypes | Agencies, OTAs and consolidators with real booking volume |
| Access | Online sign-up | Commercial agreement with your local Amadeus office |
| Ticketing | Limited; usually through a consolidator | Full ticketing with your own office ID / IATA number |
| Content | Core flight and hotel search | Full content, including private fares, ancillaries and servicing |
| Technology | REST / JSON | SOAP / XML and newer REST services |
What You Need Before You Start
- A commercial agreement and office ID from Amadeus (for Enterprise APIs)
- A ticketing arrangement: your own IATA accreditation or a consolidator
- Test (certification) and production credentials
- A clear list of the products you will sell: air only, or air plus hotel and car
The Typical Booking Flow
- Search: request availability and fares for the route and dates.
- Price: re-price the selected itinerary and get the fare rules.
- Book: add passenger details and create the PNR.
- Ticket: issue the ticket once payment is confirmed.
- Service: handle voids, refunds, exchanges and schedule changes.
Certification and Timeline
Amadeus reviews your integration before it gives you production access. A focused flight integration usually takes 6 to 10 weeks, including certification. Adding hotels, cars or advanced servicing adds time. Using a partner with existing Amadeus experience shortens this, because the session handling, error mapping and test scenarios are already built.
Common Pitfalls
- Not managing sessions correctly, which leads to errors and extra costs
- Showing a price without re-pricing it, so the fare changes at checkout
- Ignoring look-to-book ratios and running up search costs
- Leaving servicing (refunds and exchanges) until after launch
- Treating NDC and GDS content as one format without normalising it
Get Help With Amadeus Integration
Marstech Solution integrates Amadeus into flight booking engines, B2B portals and agency tools. Read more on our Amadeus API integration page, or talk to us about your timeline.
