Bag Transfer Service API

Bag Transfer Service Documentation

1. Introduction

Overview When a passenger purchases a virtual interline ticket across multiple airlines that do not have an interline agreement, the passenger typically must collect their bags at the transfer airport and re-check them for their onward flight. This extra step can be both inconvenient and time-consuming.

Solution The Airsiders Check-Thru bag transfer service solves this issue by allowing OTAs and other third-party platforms to offer travelers a seamless bag-transfer add-on. If the passenger opts in to this service, Airsiders will handle the transferring of their bags from the first airline to the second airline at the transfer airport, eliminating the need for the traveller to manually pick up and re-check their baggage.

Key Highlights

• Only certain airports and airline combinations are supported.
• Two main operations are available:
  1. Search: Validate if the bag transfer is available for a specific route.
  2. Booking: Reserve/confirm the bag transfer service.

2. Product Details

2.1 Use Case Workflow

1. Customer Books a “VI Ticket” The traveler buys a virtual interline ticket itinerary on an OTA website or app.
2. Upsell Bag Transfer During or after the booking process, the OTA offers the traveler the option to purchase a bag transfer for their itinerary.
3. Check Service Availability The OTA’s system calls the /search endpoint with details of the flight segments, transfer airport, and bag(s).
   • The service returns an available service ID and price if the route is supported.
   • If the route is unsupported, the OTA should not offer the bag-transfer add-on.
4. Book the Service If the traveler decides to purchase the bag-transfer service, the OTA’s system calls the /booking endpoint with the service ID (from the /search response), flight details, and passenger information.
5. Confirmation
   • The endpoint returns a booking reference which confirms that the bags will be handled at the transfer airport.
   • The OTA then shows this confirmation to the traveler or embeds it in their trip itinerary.

2.2 Limitations

• Supported Airports: Only certain transfer airports are eligible for the service.
• Supported Airlines: Only specific airline combinations are allowed for seamless bag transfer.
• Bag Types: Only checked bags are supported.
• Bag Size and Weight: There may be size and weight restrictions depending on local handling limitations.

3. API Overview

The service provides two main endpoints:

1. POST /search Checks if the bag transfer is supported for the given itinerary and if yes, return the price.
2. POST /booking Books the bag-transfer service once it is determined to be available.

Below is a high-level summary of the request and response formats.

POTS /search

{
  "departure_airport_iata": "TFS",
  "arrival_airport_iata": "RIX",
  "transfer_aiport_iata": "DUS",
  "origin_flight_arrival_time": "2025-04-16T18:00:01Z",
  "destination_flight_departure_time": "2025-04-16T22:00:01Z",
  "bag_details": [
    {
      "count": 1,
      "weight": 23,
      "dimensions": [45, 35, 15],
      "type": "CHECKED_BAG"
    }
  ],
  "arrival_airport_airline_iata": "EW",
  "arrival_airport_airline_flight_number": "123",
  "destination_airport_airline_iata": "BT",
  "destination_airport_flight_number": "456"
}

POTS /booking

{
  "flight_details": {
    "departure_airport_iata": "TFS",
    "arrival_airport_iata": "RIX",
    "transfer_aiport_iata": "DUS",
    "origin_flight_arrival_time": "2025-04-16T18:00:01Z",
    "destination_flight_departure_time": "2025-04-16T22:00:01Z",
    "bag_details": [
      {
	 "passenger_id": "1",
        "count": 1,
        "weight": 23,
        "dimensions": [45, 35, 15],
        "type": "CHECKED_BAG"
      }
    ],
    "arrival_airport_airline_iata": "EW",
    "arrival_airport_airline_flight_number": "123",
    "destination_airport_airline_iata": "BT",
    "destination_airport_flight_number": "456"
  },
  "passengers": [
    {
      "passenger_id": "1",
      "first_name": "Sam",
      "last_name": "Smith",
      "phone": "+123456789",
      "email": "test@test.com"
    }
  ],
  "service_id": "SERVICE123"
}