Sabre GDS
Sabre API integration: the APIs behind every flight booking
A Sabre API integration is not one API. A single online flight booking calls a chain of Sabre services: shop, price, book, ticket and, later, void, refund or exchange. Here is that chain, service by service, and what PHPTRAVELS does with each step.
- Sabre API catalogue
- Booking state machine
- REST and SOAP
- Self-hosted, source included
The catalogue
The Sabre APIs an online flight booking needs
Each row is one job in the booking. The service names and protocols are as Sabre lists them on developer.sabre.com. The last column is what PHPTRAVELS does with the response.
| Stage | Sabre API | Protocol | What PHPTRAVELS does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01Authenticate | OAuth Token Create · Create SessionPOST /v3/auth/token · SessionCreateRQ | RESTSOAP | Requests and caches the access token per environment, renews it before expiry and never shows credentials in the browser. |
| 02Shop | Bargain Finder MaxBFM v5 · grouped itinerary response | RESTSOAP | Turns the grouped itineraries into result cards with filters, branded fares and your markups already applied. |
| 03Price | Flight Check APIRevalidate Itinerary successor | REST | Re-checks the chosen fare and seats before checkout, so the traveller pays the price Sabre will honour. |
| 04Book | Create Passenger Name RecordCreatePassengerNameRecordRQ | RESTSOAP | Sends traveller names, contacts and special requests, then stores the PNR locator on the booking record. |
| 05Retrieve | Booking Management APIGet Booking | REST | Reads the live reservation for the admin and the customer account, so status is never copied by hand. |
| 06Ticket | Enhanced Air TicketAirTicketRQ | SOAP | Issues the ticket after payment clears, saves the ticket numbers and sends the e-ticket and invoice emails. |
| 07Void and refund | Booking Management APICheck · Void · Refund Flight Tickets | REST | Checks which option is open for the ticket, then voids or refunds it and posts the credit to the customer or agent wallet. |
| 08Exchange | Exchange BookingExchangeBookingRQ | RESTSOAP | Rebooks the new flights, shows the fare difference and collects it before the reissued ticket goes out. |
| 09Cancel | Booking Management APICancel Booking | REST | Cancels an unticketed reservation, or chosen segments, and releases the hold on the booking record. |
Sabre activates services per account and changes versions over time. Your Sabre account representative confirms which services and versions your PCC can call.
Booking states
Shop, price, book, ticket, then void, refund or exchange
Every Sabre booking in PHPTRAVELS sits in exactly one state. Each move between states is one Sabre call, and the admin shows the state on the booking record. Select a state to see what happens.
Main path
After booking
Shopped
The traveller has seen live fares. Nothing is held yet, so prices can still change.
Sabre call
Bargain Finder Max
In the admin
Search logged, no booking yet
Priced
The chosen itinerary is checked again for price and availability, without holding seats.
Sabre call
Flight Check API
In the admin
Fare confirmed, checkout open
Booked
A PNR exists with the travellers on it. Payment is taken or the booking waits on hold.
Sabre call
Create Passenger Name Record
In the admin
PNR locator, awaiting ticket
Ticketed
Payment cleared and the ticket is issued. The traveller gets the e-ticket and invoice.
Sabre call
Enhanced Air Ticket (AirTicketRQ)
In the admin
Ticket numbers, invoice sent
Cancelled
The reservation is cancelled before any ticket is issued. No ticket, no refund to process.
Sabre call
Booking Management · Cancel Booking
In the admin
Hold released, closed
Voided
The ticket is voided inside the void window the airline and your settlement plan allow.
Sabre call
Booking Management · Void Flight Tickets
In the admin
Void logged, full credit
Refunded
The ticket is refunded under its fare rules, with any penalty deducted.
Sabre call
Booking Management · Refund Flight Tickets
In the admin
Refund amount, credit note
Exchanged
New flights replace the old ones and a reissued ticket follows. The booking returns to ticketed.
Sabre call
Exchange Booking
In the admin
Fare difference, new ticket
Sample states. Which moves are allowed depends on the fare rules and the airline.
REST and SOAP
REST or SOAP: you will call both
Sabre publishes REST and SOAP services side by side. A complete booking flow usually mixes them, so the connector has to speak both.
REST / JSON
- Authentication
- OAuth token from the token create service, sent as a bearer token
- Message style
- JSON requests and responses, stateless calls
- Typical use here
- Shopping, price checks, booking management, void and refund
- In practice
- Simple to log, cache and test with modern tools
SOAP / XML
- Authentication
- Session from Create Session, with a security token in every header
- Message style
- XML envelopes, with session or sessionless tokens by service
- Typical use here
- Ticketing with Enhanced Air Ticket and other long-standing services
- In practice
- Mature and widely used, with more setup per call
PHPTRAVELS keeps both behind one connector. The booking flow, the admin and the reports see a single booking, whichever protocol fed it.
Before you start
Your Sabre access checklist
PHPTRAVELS can configure the connector once these are in hand. Tick what you already have.
0of 8 ready
Missing something? Sabre provides the access items. We help with the rest.
Talk to us about your Sabre scopeWhere the data lands
One booking, five Sabre responses
Every part of a booking screen in PHPTRAVELS is fed by a specific Sabre response. Numbers on the sample match the list.
176-2401558932
Sample screen with sample data
Schedule, fare and brand
From the Bargain Finder Max response, with your markup added.
Confirmed total
From the price check just before payment.
Record locator
Returned by Create Passenger Name Record.
Ticket numbers
Returned by Enhanced Air Ticket after payment.
Servicing options
Read from the Booking Management ticket check, so staff only see what is allowed.
At a glance
How Sabre API integration works in PHPTRAVELS
Sabre is one of the global distribution systems that airlines and travel agencies use to sell flights. Its APIs let your own website or agent portal search Sabre content, create bookings and issue tickets without staff working in a separate Sabre screen.
PHPTRAVELS is self-hosted travel booking software. The Sabre connector feeds the flights module, so Sabre fares sit beside your other flight suppliers in one search, one checkout and one back office. Agents pay from a wallet, customers pay by card, and every booking keeps its Sabre state.
This page covers the API side. If you want to see how your agents work with Sabre bookings day to day, read the agent desk guide.
Read nextSabre agent softwareFlightsNDC flights booking systemAbacus GDSAgent walletsGDS system for travel agents
- Supplier
- Sabre, a global distribution system for air, hotel and car content
- Documentation
- developer.sabre.com
- Access
- OAuth token for REST, Create Session for SOAP
- Content
- Bargain Finder Max can return NDC offers with classic fares in one response, as Sabre states
- Abacus
- Abacus is now part of Sabre
- In PHPTRAVELS
- Sabre fares in the flights module, B2C site and B2B agent portal
Flight suppliers you can run beside Sabre
Seeru
Amadeus
Duffel
Google Flights
Kayak
Kiwi
Mystifly
PKfare
Sabre
TBO Holidays
Travelport
Costs
What a Sabre API integration costs
There are two separate bills: what you agree with Sabre, and what you pay for the software that sells the content.
Paid to Sabre
Access fees, booking terms and any incentives are agreed with Sabre. They depend on your market, volume and setup, so we do not quote them.
Paid to PHPTRAVELS
A one-time licence for the booking platform, with source code. Sabre connector setup and certification support are quoted once we see your Sabre scope.
- Startup licence
- $2,499one-time
- Agency licence
- $4,999one-time
- Enterprise licence
- $9,999one-time
FAQ
Sabre API integration questions
What agencies and OTAs ask before they connect Sabre.
Talk to salesIt is the work of connecting your booking platform to Sabre's web services, so your website or agent portal can search Sabre fares, price them, create a PNR, issue tickets and handle voids, refunds and exchanges without anyone working in a separate Sabre screen.
At minimum: an authentication service, a shopping service such as Bargain Finder Max, a price check, Create Passenger Name Record for the booking and Enhanced Air Ticket for ticketing. For after-sales you add the Booking Management API for retrieve, cancel, void and refund, and Exchange Booking for changes.
Usually both. Sabre offers many services in REST and SOAP, and some long-standing services such as Enhanced Air Ticket are SOAP. PHPTRAVELS handles both inside the connector, so the rest of the platform does not depend on the protocol.
Credentials come from Sabre, not from PHPTRAVELS. You agree access with Sabre, receive a PCC, an EPR user and API client credentials, and ask your account representative to activate the services you need. Then we configure and test the connector.
As Sabre states, Bargain Finder Max can return offers from NDC carriers alongside classic fares in one response. Whether you see NDC offers depends on what Sabre has activated for your account and the airlines you work with.
Every state on this page: shop, price, book, ticket, cancel, void, refund and exchange, plus payments, wallet credits, emails, invoices and logs. Run them in Sabre's test environment first, then check real bookings carefully in the first days of production.
Yes. The same Sabre credentials can serve your public booking site, your agent portal and corporate accounts, each with its own markups, payment methods, wallet rules and reports.
Sabre's own fees are agreed with Sabre. PHPTRAVELS licences are one-time, starting from $2,499, and the Sabre connector setup is quoted for your scope. The pricing page lists every licence.
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