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Route Configuration

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David Wang
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We will set up and check your route coverage to send you the most relevant quote requests. There are several ways to configure your route settings:

  • Default
  • Automated Updates
  • Manual Configuration

In most cases, we would prefer to use the default options - which is open to all routes available. However, you may choose not to open all routes because of the following reasons:

  • Technical Capability - Your servers are not able to handle all traffic from Skyscanner
  • Commercial Reason - You have certain business requirements to follow. 

If your Quote API imposes rate limits, please keep this in mind when choosing a route configuration.

We are not currently able to regulate the number of requests to an API directly, but we can make changes around the integration that will directly impact the number of requests. This includes the amount of configured routes and available markets.

 

Default

Official Airline Guide

For our airline partners, it is recommended that we consume routes and timetable data from OAG. It requires no specific action from you; leave the rest to us and OAG.

No Limitations

For our Online Travel Agent (OTA) partners, you can elect to open all valid routes for search. This means that your server will get all search requests. No route list(also a list of unsupported airports) has to be provided in this case, but if required, we will limit the display to only specific user markets (points of sale).

Skyscanner systems include a comprehensive set of routes and timetables from around the world. We will only query our partners' systems for a particular departure-arrival pair (route) if we know that the route is actively operated. When applied to airlines, we will check if your carrier has active flights on this route, and for Online Travel Agents, we will check your individual configuration. All requests will be sent to you if no particular settings are found.

 

Automated Updates

As a default, our automated updates run once a day. Updates can be configured to run more or less frequently, based on the requirements. For example, once a week or multiple times a day.

FTP

For routes update via FTP, please provide us with:

  1. Credentials to access FTP server
    • Endpoint / IP address
    • Account 
    • Password
  2. A file (preferably in CSV format) stored in the server which is constantly updated with latest routes data.

For airline partners, we generally expect the following fields to be included in the routes file:

Field Description Example
Origin Origin Airport in IATA code LHR
Destination Destination Airport in IATA code EDI
Days of Week with operation Specify if the route has daily service. Example 1 = Monday and 7= Sunday 123_5_7
Schedule Starts The date we should apply the route 2017-11-03
Schedule Ends The date we should remove the route 2018-03-31

With this information, the output file may look like this:

origin, destination, days_of_week, date_start, date_end
LHR, EDI, 123_5_7, 2017-11-03, 2018-03-31
LHR, TPE, 1234567, 2017-10-28, 2018-03-31

For OTA partners, route data is usually configured via general route restrictions. As business requirements don't change frequently, automated updates may not be the most cost-efficient way of implementing this.

API Endpoint

Some partners may prefer to offer an API endpoint rather than an FTP download, we can also support that. It is recommended to provide a RESTful API with responses in JSON but if JSON is not supported we also can receive in XML format.

An example API response could look like this:

    {
        "origin": "TPE",
        "days_of_week": "1______",
        "destination": "SIN",
        "effective_start": "2018-07-26",
        "effective_end": "2018-09-01"
    },
    {
        "origin": "CFU",
        "days_of_week": "12345_7",
        "destination": "LGW",
        "effective_start": "2018-07-20",
        "effective_end": "2018-12-28"
    },
    {
        "origin": "IST",
        "destination": "BHX",
        "days_of_week": "_2_4_6_",
        "effective_start": "2018-08-08",
        "effective_end": "2018-08-15"
    },

The origin and destination (OnD) information are mandatory for the basic level or route configuration, while all the others further enrich the context of your actual offering. 

Manual Configuration

We will only consider manual route configurations if you cannot use the preferred options listed above. Static files require a lot of upkeep and not enough autonomy for you to make changes quickly when needed. If you need to limit your routes and can use one of our automatic route options (API or FTP), you'll have much more control over your offerings.

Manual routes can be set to either include or exclude O&D pairs. 

If you want to specify the routes you operate, here are the two templates you can refer to configure your routes and also a general guideline as per the attachment below. 

 

CSV input file


AMS,MOW
AMS,airport,BER,city
iata,MOW,BER,city
MOW,iata,AMS,city

  • Each route should be on a separate line (1st half -> origin, 2nd half -> destination)
  • Types [ iata/icao/skyscanner ] will be automatically detected
  • Preferences of [ city/airport ] can be overridden for an individual route node

JSON file

[
    {
        "from_place": {
            "code": "LHR",
            "preference": "airport"
        },
        "to_place": {
            "code": "AMS",
            "preference": "city"
        },
        "days_of_week": ["Tue", "Fri"],
        "direct": true,     
        "date_from": "2020-05-16",
        "date_to": "2020-10-10",
    }, {
        "from_place": {
            "code": "AMS",
            "preference": "city"
        },
        "to_place": {
            "code": "LON",
            "preference": "city"
        },
        "days_of_week": ["Sat",],
        "direct": false,     
        "date_from": "2020-05-16",
        "date_to": "2020-10-10",
        "month_of_year": "1, 2, 12"
    }
 
]

Required: 

>> from_place: (the departure place). 

> "code": IAIA code by default. Please let us know if you return a different geo-place system. 

> "preference": One of "airport" or "city"; Please bear in mind Skyscanner only supports flight business at this moment.

 

>>from_place: (the departure place). 

>"code": IAIA code by default. Please let us know if you return a different geo-place system. 

>"preference": One of "airport" or "city"; Please bear in mind Skyscanner only supports flight business at this moment.

 

Optional:

> days_of_week(3 digit value. "Mon", "Tues", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat", "Sun") to avoid confusion. This specifies the flight pattern of this route. (by depart date)

> date_from (in "yyyy-MM-dd" format)

> date_to (in "yyyy-MM-dd" format)

> days_of_week (can be space separated string or list)

> month_of_year (Using 1-12 to indicate Jan to Dec)

> direct

 

* Important: 

1. We don't support duplicate route entries. e.g. There's only 1 JFK-LHR route in each version of the file.

2. Providing the optional information can make us consume your pricing endpoint more accurately. This can reduce the overall network cost for both sides. 

  • date_from (maps to → date_from_utc_epoch_days)
  • date_to (maps to → date_to_utc_epoch_days)
  • days_of_week (can be space separated string or list)
  • month_of_year (can be space separated string or list)
  • include
  • direct

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