Sabre vs Travelport: Which Has Better API Support?

The travel industry today relies heavily on Global Distribution Systems (GDS) to connect airlines, hotels, rail providers, and travel agencies on a single platform. As customer expectations grow and digital booking becomes the norm, the quality of API support offered by a GDS plays a decisive role.

APIs act as the bridge that allows online travel agencies (OTAs), tour operators, and travel tech companies to seamlessly integrate booking engines, manage inventory, and provide personalized services to end customers. Among the leading GDS providers, Sabre and Travelport stand out for their global presence and powerful API offerings. But the big question remains: Which one provides better API support for businesses? Let’s explore in detail.

What Is Sabre GDS?

Sabre, headquartered in Southlake, Texas, is one of the largest and most established Global Distribution Systems in the world. Founded in the 1960s, Sabre revolutionized the airline reservation industry by digitizing the booking process. Today, Sabre powers thousands of airlines, travel agencies, hotels, and corporate travel companies worldwide.

Industries Supported

Sabre serves a wide spectrum of travel businesses, including:

• Airlines: Flight scheduling, seat management, ancillary services, and ticketing.
• Hotels: Room availability, pricing, and booking management.

• Car Rentals: Global fleet availability and booking services.
• Travel Agencies & OTAs: Access to consolidated inventory across multiple suppliers.

What Is Travelport GDS?

Travelport, headquartered in the UK, is another major GDS player with a strong global footprint. Established in 2001 through the consolidation of Galileo, Worldspan, and Apollo, Travelport has positioned itself as a modern, technology-driven platform that connects travel providers with agencies and digital booking channels.

Industries Supported

Travelport caters to a broad range of industries:

• Airlines: Fare shopping, branded fares, and ancillaries.
• Rail: Timetable search and booking capabilities in key global markets.
• Hotels: Room availability, pricing, and booking services.
• Car Rentals: Fleet booking and management features for travel agencies and OTAs.

Sabre API Support: Key Features

Ease of Integration

Sabre’s APIs are robust and widely documented, making integration easier for developers with prior GDS experience. However, the system can be complex for newcomers due to its legacy structure in certain areas.

Coverage of Travel Inventory

Sabre offers comprehensive inventory coverage, with access to thousands of airlines, hotels, and car rental providers worldwide. Its strength lies particularly in airline partnerships, offering deep content and ancillary services.

Developer Tools, Documentation, and SDKs

Sabre Dev Studio provides a well-organized developer hub, with test environments, API documentation, and sample codes. This support ensures that developers can build and test applications without relying heavily on Sabre’s technical team.

Reliability and Scalability

As one of the oldest GDS systems, Sabre has proven reliability and is capable of handling high transaction volumes, making it suitable for large-scale OTAs and enterprise-level travel platforms.

Travelport API Support: Key Features

Ease of Integration

Travelport’s APIs are designed with developer-friendliness in mind. With its Universal API and Travelport+, integration is relatively straightforward, especially for modern applications that prioritize REST APIs.

Coverage of Travel Inventory

Travelport provides broad coverage across air, rail, hotels, and car rentals, with a strong presence in regional markets like Europe and Asia. Its rail integration is a unique advantage over Sabre.

Developer Tools, Documentation, and SDKs

Travelport maintains a modern developer portal with comprehensive documentation, sample codes, and sandbox environments. Its focus on user-friendly tools reduces integration time and complexity.

Reliability and Scalability

Travelport’s cloud-first architecture with Travelport+ ensures high availability, speed, and scalability. It is particularly attractive for startups and mid-sized OTAs seeking quick go-to-market solutions.

Sabre vs Travelport: Head-to-Head API Comparison

Technology Stack and Modern Standards (REST, SOAP, NDC)

Sabre: Offers both REST and SOAP, with ongoing efforts to support NDC. Some legacy APIs may feel outdated but remain widely used.

Travelport: Primarily REST-based with strong NDC adoption, making it more aligned with modern retailing.

Content Availability (Fares, Ancillaries, Personalization)

Sabre: Deep airline fare and ancillary coverage, especially in the Americas. Personalization is improving with NDC.

Travelport: Strong in multi-sector coverage (air, rail, hotels) and flexible bundling options.

Flexibility for Custom Applications

Sabre: Better suited for large enterprises that need robust airline content and scalability.

Travelport: Favored by startups and regional players due to its modern APIs and flexibility.

Developer Experience and Community Support

Sabre: Comprehensive but slightly complex developer tools. Strong enterprise-level support.

Travelport: More intuitive developer experience, with a growing community and faster onboarding.

Pricing and Licensing Structure

Sabre: Traditional pricing model with transaction-based fees; may be costly for small businesses.

Travelport: Offers competitive pricing with flexibility, particularly beneficial for mid-sized agencies.

Conclusion

Both Sabre and Travelport are powerful GDS platforms with extensive API support, but the best choice depends on your business goals. If you’re a large enterprise or airline-focused OTA that requires deep airline content and proven reliability, Sabre may be the better option.

On the other hand, if you’re a modern OTA or travel tech startup looking for flexibility, user-friendly integration, and broader sector coverage (including rail), Travelport could be the smarter choice. The travel industry has long compared leading systems whether it’s Amadeus vs Sabre or Sabre vs Travelport and the decision always comes down to evaluating your business scale, target markets, and development capabilities to determine which GDS API delivers the most value.