British Airways is to allow web and mobile developers access to its seating availability as part of its ongoing New Distribution Capability (NDC) pilot programme.
The move will allow independent developers the ability to choose seats when making bookings with BA.
The airline announced earlier this month that it was opening up three of its APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to allow developers access to some flight information, as part of the aviation industry’s attempts through IATA to improve the way sales are made through trade channels.
BA has now added a fourth API for seat availability which will allow developers to search and select seats, in the same way as direct customers can do on the airline’s consumer website.
Distribution strategy manager Ian Luck said: “Seat availability will enable developers to view the availability and price of a customers’ preferred seat, as well as providing information on the layout of the cabin, such as where the toilets, aisles and galleys are, so customers can make informed decisions about their choice of seats.
“This latest API is being released because we are very pleased with how the trial is progressing and this is an important next step.”
The three original APIs included in the pilot programme are: Air Shopping for availability and pricing, Flight Price to validate quotes and provide payment options, and Order Create to complete the booking, accept payment and issue the ticket.
BA said that the next API that may be added to the pilot programme could be the ability to arrange for extra baggage.