Industry Direction for Open APIsA Discussion
October 2017
Table of Contents
1 Foreword...................................................................................................................................................... 3
2 Executive Summary................................................................................................................................. 4
3 The Need to Share Data......................................................................................................................... 5
3.1 WhyOpenAPIsfortheAirlineIndustry?.................................................................................... 5
3.2 WhatisanAPI?................................................................................................................................. 6
3.3 Whatdoes'OPEN'meanintheterm'OpenAPI'?.................................................................... 7
3.4 TheDigitalTransformationImperative.......................................................................................... 8
3.5 Whyexistingconnectivityapproachesareatrisk...................................................................... 9
4 Current State across the Industry..................................................................................................... 10
4.1 AirlinesImplementingAPIsandOpenAPIs.............................................................................. 10
4.2 WhatContentisProvidedbytheCarriersofferingOpenAPIs?......................................... 11
4.3 WhataretheFuturePlansforOpenAPIDeployment?......................................................... 12
4.4 ExpectedBenefits........................................................................................................................... 13
4.5 WhatisRequiredfromtheAirlineIndustryPerspective?..................................................... 13
5 What we can learn from Other Industries...................................................................................... 14
5.1 Whatarethebenefits?.................................................................................................................. 14
5.2 WhatmakesagreatAPI–SomeBestPractices................................................................... 16
6 Proposed Industry Direction............................................................................................................... 19
6.1 SelecttheRightUseCases–AProposalforanIndustryApproach................................. 19
7 Role of IATA............................................................................................................................................... 21
7.1 Education.......................................................................................................................................... 21
7.2 StandardsSetting,BestPractices,ImplementationGuidesandTools............................. 21
7.3 AirlineIndustryDataModel(AIDM)-Interoperabilityandre-use........................................ 21
7.4 OpenAPIimplementationguidance........................................................................................... 22
7.5 StandardsSettingWorkspace(SSW)...................................................................................... 22
7.6 CoordinationofIndustryWideDeploymentandImplementationSupport........................ 23
7.7 Otherconsiderations...................................................................................................................... 23
7.8 IATAReferencedata....................................................................................................................... 24
8 Build it and they will come! Won't they? Open API Resources............................................... 25
9 In Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 26
3
1 ForewordIndustry Direction for Open APIs
Iamexcitedbythepossibilityofinnovativedatasharingtoenhancethecustomerexperienceintheaviationindustryandtobringittomarketmuchquickerthanwecouldhaveeverthoughtinthepast.
OpenAPIsareakeybuildingblockforthecurrentandfutureneedstosharedatabetweencompaniesinvolvedinthetransportationvaluechainandpromoteessentialinnovationforairlines.
Weareattheearlystagesofthisjourney,withonly26%ofairlinesandairportssofarofferingaccesstotheirAPIsaccordingtotheIATAsurvey,itisimportantthatweactnowtoensurethatwehavean“industrystandard”approachintheformofbestpractices,asweexpect71%oftheindustrytohavesomeformofOpenAPIinplaceby2020.
Tye RadcliffeDirectorDistributionUnitedAirlinesandChairmanoftheIATAPassengerServicesConference
Thepurposeofthisdocumentistocontinuetoraiseawarenessandpromotediscussiontoensurethatwecanmakethebestrecommendationspossible.In2018,thisinitiativewillmoveintothePassenger ServiceConferencewherewecanputinplacetheindustryframeworkforOpenAPIsinordertopromotesharingofdataacrosstheindustry.
4
2 Executive SummaryIndustry Direction for Open APIs
OpenAPIsareawaytosharedatabetweenentitiesinatrusted,timelyandyetopenmanner.Asexample,theneedforairlinesandairportstosharedataisgettinggreaterev-eryyear.InitiativessuchasArtificialIntelligence,CustomerPersonalization,andrealtimeoperationsneedrelevant,trusted,andtimelydatatooperate.
OpenAPIconnectivityenablesinnovationtothrivebyopen-inguptravelcompaniesdatatotheexternalworld.Thisopenconsumptionenablesmanydeveloperstobuildcreativesolu-tionswhichwouldnotbepossibletobuildalone.
WewillseeasignificantincreaseinusageinOpenAPIsinthenext3years.By2020,over65%ofairlinesandairportssurveyedwillpublishsomeopenAPIs,upfrom26%today1.
ThisdocumentaimstopromotediscussionwithintheaviationindustryregardingOpenAPIsandhowwecanadoptthisapproachtosharingdatatobenefittheindustryasawhole.
1IATAindustryreadinesssurvey,SeeChapter4.
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3 The Need to Share DataIndustry Direction for Open APIs
Theairlineindustryiswellawareoftheneedtosharedatainatrusted,timelyandefficientmanner.Theneedtosharedataisnotgoingtoreduce,especiallywiththeincreasingdatasharingneedsfromnewtechnologiessuchasArtificialIntelligence,InternetofThingsandincreasedsafetyandsecurityrequirements.
Inparticular,areportcommissionedbyIATA,found,"A more open approach to data and interoperability at a global and industry level may be more positive for the industry and for consumers."1
1Source:Recommendation13"FutureoftheAirlineIndustry2035"publishedin2017
3.1 Why Open APIs for the Airline Industry?
Figure 1: Example of a possible architecture: data is made available from internal sources and exposed via an API capable of being consumed in both a B2B and B2C environment.
ApplicationProgrammingInterfaceprovidesawayfordevel-operstointeractwithandconsumeaservice.
Itisawayforanexternalpartytouse(consume)datafromanentityinacontrolledmanner.Thefundamentaldifferencebe-tweenanOpenAPIsolutionandaregularinterfaceisthattheunknownentitiescanconsumethisdatabyjustregistering.
Thiswillopenupthepossibilityfordatausageacrossmanychannelsandwillenablebothbusiness(B2B)andconsumer(B2C)usage.
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3 The Need to Share DataIndustry Direction for Open APIs
3.2 What is an API?
LetusstartbyfirstunderstandingwhatisanAPIbeforeweaddressthe'OpenAPI'issue.
Ananalogyisusefulinillustratingwhatthisreallymeans.Con-sideraservicethateveryoneconsumeseveryday-electricity.Electricityisdeliveredtoconsumersbyautilitycompany.Theutilitycompanyprovidesaservice(electricity)toconsumersthatisaccessiblethroughelectricalsockets.Thesesocketsvaryfromonecountrytoanother,limitingaccesstoonlythoseconsumerswiththecorrectplugsforthatsocket.
Inthiscase,theplugsareessentiallyconsumersthataregainingaccesstotheelectricityandareonlyabletomakeuseoftheserviceiftheyhavetheappropriateauthorization,inotherwordsthecorrectsizedplugtofitthesocket.Inthiscase,theAPIisthesocketitself.Actinglikethegatewaybetweentheservices(inthiscaseelectricity)andthecon-sumers(inthiscasetheplugs)providingconsumersaccesstoservicesthroughvariousinterfacesdependingontheircredentials.Inaddition,consumerscanutilizetheservicestheyreceiveandimplementthemintheirownway.
Withintheairlineindustrywearetryingtomakesureeveryairlinehastheequivalentof“anelectricalsocket”andthatthiselectricalsocketisthesamegloballyforthedatadefini-tionandconnectionapproach.
Simplyput,theAPIisnothingmorethanthegatewayfortheconsumerofaservicetotheproviderofthatservice.
Figure 2: Think of the electricity plug sockets like the API. That is the gateway connecting the plug to the service provider (the electricity utility).
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3 The Need to Share DataIndustry Direction for Open APIs
3.3 What does 'OPEN' mean in the term 'Open API'?
Thelabel'OpenAPI',isatechnologyindustrystandardphrase,howeveritcreatesconfusionbyusingtheword“open”.HencewewilltrytoeliminatethatconfusionbydescribingwhatwemeanbyanOpenAPIsolution.
Open vs Open OpenAPIdoesnotnecessarilymeanitisopenforeveryonetoaccess.Therearethreedifferentmethodsofopeningupthedataforconsumption:
• Public:anyonecansubscribetothedataservice,andonceyouapprovethatsubscription,theyhaveaccess.
• Private:invitationonlyiswhereyouonlyallowinvitedpartiestosubscribe.
• Internal:thedataserviceisnotexposedoutsideofyourenterprise,butratheramethodforoneinternalsystemtoconsumedatafromanotherinternalsystem.
Open versus FreeOpenreferstotheaccessmethodology,inparticularitisopeningupthedataforanexternalpartywhomwedon'tknow.Therevenuemodelforadataserviceisanindependentcomponenttotheconnectiontype.Opendoesnotneces-sarilymeanfreetoeveryone.AnentitybehindtheexposureoftheAPImayadditionallyhaveacommercialmodelbehindit.Itdependsontheirowncommercialpolicies.
Open versus No ControlJustbecausetheconnectionispotentiallyavailabletoexter-nalparties,doesnotmeanthatthereisnocontroloveryourdata.Onthecontrary,amodernAPIplatformwillprovidethecontrolmechanismstoensurethereisadequatecontrolovertheconsumptionofthedata.SpecificallytheOpenAPIplatformcanenablecontrolover:
• usage,• volume,• whohasit,• whentheyhaveaccess,and• security.
Open versus What DataOpendoesnotmeanthatcarriersshouldallowaccesstoalloftheirdata.Onthecontraryairlinesshouldconsidermeasuresthatsupporttheirownershipofdatatosafeguardprivacyandensurecommondataprotectionprocedures.Whilstsomedatamaybeconsideredtobegenericinnature,carriersshouldensurethatpersonaldataisnotarbitrarilysharedwithunknownentities.
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3 The Need to Share DataIndustry Direction for Open APIs
3.4 The Digital Transformation Imperative
Manyindustriesareinthemidstofanunprecedentedphaseofdigitaltransformation.Hospitalsareextendingcarebe-yondthehospitalward;non-bankplayersaredrivinginnova-tioninthepaymentsspace;mediacompaniesaredistribut-ingcontentacrossmultiplechannelsandpartners.Thesechangesareirreversiblyreshapingindustryboundariesandbusinessmodelsand,intheprocess,changingthewinnersandlosersacrossverticals.
Theaviationsectortooisalsounderpressuretohavebetteraccesstotrustedandtimelydata.
Technologyisthecriticalenablerofdigitaltransformation.Mobileandcloudtechnologies,foryearsviewedastrendsonthehorizon,arenowprovendriversforI.T.–enabledbusinessdisruption,bothinsideandoutsidetheenterprise.APIs,onceseenonlyasatoolforprogrammers,isalsoprovidingnewroutestothemarketaswell.BusinessandI.T.leadersmustactnowinordertoensuretheirbusinessesstayrelevantandcompetitive.Customershavethemeanstoquicklyidentifyandswitchtocompaniesthatcanbettermeettheirneeds,andbusinesseswhodonotactnowwillbeleftbehindHowever,digitaltransformationisnoteasilyrealized.Itiscertainlynottheresultofimplementingasingleapplicationorasingletechnology.Rather,digitaltransforma-tioncanonlybeachievedwhenorganizationsareabletobringmultipletechnologiestogethertocreatetrulydistinc-tiveanddifferentiatedofferings.Inordertodoso,theymustbringdatafromdisparatesourcestomultipleaudiences,suchastocustomers,suppliersandemployees.
Ultimately,connectivityisnotonlyacriticalenablerofdigitaltransformation,itisarguablythebiggestdifferentiatorofsuccess.Despiteitsimportance,fartoomanyorganizationsarenotapproachingconnectivitywiththisstrategicmindset.Either,itisnotaconsiderationatall—thinklinesofbusi-nessheadsdrivingcreditcardpurchasesofSoftwareasaService(SaaS)applications,withoutreflectingonhowtheywillconnectthoseapplicationstotheirunderlyingEnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)systems—ortoooftenitisonlyconsideredwithashort-termapproach,choosingtovaluethesuccessofanindividualprojectratherthanfocusingonthebroaderstrategiesfortheenterpriseasawhole.
Traditionalmethodsforintegrationapplicationsdonotworkfordigitaltransformation.Theseapproaches,designedatatimewithfewerendpointsandslowerdeliveryexpectations,oftencannotmoveatthepacetoday'sbusinessrequires.Justasdigitaltransformationrequirescompaniestoembraceanewsetoftechnologies,sotheymustembraceanewlevelofconnectivity.
“We see that APIs are a core capability for us to achieve our digital transformation efforts”
Glenn MorganHeadofDigitalBusinessTransformation
InternationalAirlinesGroup(IAG)
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3 The Need to Share DataIndustry Direction for Open APIs
3.5 Why existing connectivity approaches are at risk
Thetechnologiesunderlyingdigitaltransformationhaveen-abledcompaniestoengagewiththeirstakeholdersinnewandinnovativeways.Thesetechnologies,notablySaaS,mobileandIoT,havedramaticallyincreasedthenumberofendpointstoconnectto.Whereonceanorganizationmayonlyhavehadtoconsideritsinternalsystems,itmustnowconsideranexponen-tiallylargersetofendpointsbothinsideandoutsidetheenter-prise.Forexample,financialpaymenttransactionspreviouslycarriedoutbythephysicalpresentationandhandlingofbankchecks,arenowtransactedbyanexpandedsetofchannels—includingtelephone,onlineandmobilebankingandotheremergingformsofpayment.
Moreover,thefrequencywithwhichthesenewsystemschangehasalsoincreased.Forexample,whereasthedata-baseschemaofanairportoperationssystemmaychangeonlyonanannualbasis,therequirementsoftheonlineandmobileconsumerapplicationsconnectingtothosesystemsmaychangeweekly,dailyorevenhourly.Itisthisspeedofinnova-tionthatisadefiningcharacteristicofdigitaltransformationandI.T.muststrivetoenableratherthanhindersuchchange.
I.T.leadersmustmeettwoseeminglycontradictorygoals:theymustensurestabilityandcontrolovercoresystemsofrecord,whileenablinginnovationandrapiditerationoftheapplicationsthataccessthosesystemsofrecord.Thisisthechallengenowvariouslyreferredtoasbimodalortwo-speedI.T.
Existingconnectivityapproachesmaystruggletomeettheneeds.Anewapproachisrequired,onethatleveragesex-istinginvestments,andenablesI.T.toseizethemomenttodrivetransformationalchange;onethatenablesagility,yetalsoallowsI.T.tomaintainvisibilityandcontrol.ThischangeisajourneythatrequiresshiftingI.T.'smindsetawayfromprojectdeliveryandpositioningittodeliveringassetsasservices,enablingtheI.T.supportingthelinesofbusinesstoself-serveandbuildtheirownconnections,processesandapplications,whileCentralI.T.governsaccess,servicelevelagreementsanddataquality.Inshort,I.T.hastobe-comeaplatformforthebusiness.
“APIs are critical to enable agility and innovation, provide us with a
competitive advantage, enable us to extend our reach in a digital indirect
channel and deliver a seamless personalized passenger experience”
Stuart BirrellCIO
HeathrowAirport
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4 Current State across the IndustryIndustry Direction for Open APIs
4.1 Airlines Implementing APIs and Open APIs
IATAconductedbothdeskresearchandperformedanindustrysurvey1toidentifythenumberofairlineshavingOpenAPIs.Deskresearchwasdonebyreviewingtheweb-sitesofallofthe275IATAMemberairlinestodeterminewhethertheyhadalinktoOpenAPIcontent.
Basedonthisdeskresearch,wefoundthattenairlinesarecurrentlyprovidingOpenAPIs,whichtranslatestolessthan4%ofallIATAMembers.Interestinglythough,thetotalmarketshareofthesesameairlinesis16%measuredby
RPKs2showingthatitissomeofthelargerairlineswhicharecurrentlyprovidingOpenAPIs.
Basedontheindustrysurvey,39outofthe64respon-dentsrepresenting60%ofairlineresponseshavealsobuiltAPIsbuthavenotexposedthemyettothepublic(theyarecurrentlyclosedAPIs).Inthesecasestherefore,itmaynotnecessarilybethetechnologyinvestmentwhichisrestrict-ingairlinesdeploymentofOpenAPIs.
Number of airlines By airline revenue
API: 4% API: 16%
NO OPEN API: 96% NO OPEN API: 84%
Figure 3: IATA's desk research shows less than 4% of Members equivalent to 16% of total market revenue by KPIs offer Open APIs.
1InadditiontoIATA'sdeskresearch,IATAperformedasurveyduringtheperiodJune–August2017byphone,andinperson.Resultsfrom64airlinesand35airportswerecollated.
2Source:IATAEconomics
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4 Current State across the IndustryIndustry Direction for Open APIs
4.2 What Content is Provided by the Carriers offering Open APIs?
Fromthedeskresearchwehaveclassifiedthecontentprovidedbythe10airlinesinto5categories,
• Referencedata,• OfferManagement,• OrderManagement,• JourneyManagement,• Customerrelateddata.
ReferencedataandOfferManagementarethemostpopulardatasetscurrentlyonofferwith9outof10oftheairlinesofferingthiscontent.TheleastpopularcategorywithtwoairlinesisCustomerRelatedData.
base
Reference d 9Offer 9Order 3Journey 5Customer 2
4495
0.463157895
Now 10By 2020 46
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Reference data Offer Order Journey Customer
Data exposed via Open APIData exposed via Open API
Figure 4: Reference Data and Offer Management Data is the most popular.
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4 Current State across the IndustryIndustry Direction for Open APIs
4.3 What are the Future Plans for Open API Deployment?
Fromthesurveyresultsthisquestionprovidedaverypositiveresult.Over70%ofrespondentsbothairlineandairportssaidthattheyplantoprovideOpenAPIsby2020.Thisimpliesthattherewillbesomesignificantinvestmentintothisareaoverthenext3years.46airlinerespondentsstatedtheywillprovideOpenAPIsby2020.
Themostpopularcontentwhichairlinesplantoofferby2020,includesflightschedules,baggagetracing,flightstatusandflightoffers/prices.TheseitemsareconsistentwithourproposedfirstusecasesdiscussedinSection5.2
item numberWeather in 8Hotel and c 9Waiting tim 9Maps and n 10Wayfinding 10Visa or pass 16Inflight ent 16Reference d 19Seatmaps 26Order man 27Flight offer 30Flight statu 31Baggage tra31Flight sched34
item numberReduction i 9Knowledge 18Knowledge 18Reduction i 25Enable shar 32Minimized 35
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Now By 2020
Number of Airlinesproviding Open APIs
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Weather informationHotel and car offers
Waiting times at security/borderMaps and navigation data
Wayfinding and indoor positionVisa or passport requirements
Inflight entertainmentReference data
SeatmapsOrder management
Flight offers, flight pricesFlight status, arrivals, departures, flight notifications
Baggage tracingFlight schedules
Content proposed to offer
Number of Airlines providing Open APIs
Content proposed to offer
Figure 5: Forty six airlines are planning to deploy Open APIs by 2020 compared to 10 today.
Figure 6: From our survey airlines proposed to offer a variety of content via Open APIs.
item numberWeather in 8Hotel and c 9Waiting tim 9Maps and n 10Wayfinding 10Visa or pass 16Inflight ent 16Reference d 19Seatmaps 26Order man 27Flight offer 30Flight statu 31Baggage tra31Flight sched34
item numberReduction i 9Knowledge 18Knowledge 18Reduction i 25Enable shar 32Minimized 35
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Now By 2020
Number of Airlinesproviding Open APIs
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Weather informationHotel and car offers
Waiting times at security/borderMaps and navigation data
Wayfinding and indoor positionVisa or passport requirements
Inflight entertainmentReference data
SeatmapsOrder management
Flight offers, flight pricesFlight status, arrivals, departures, flight notifications
Baggage tracingFlight schedules
Content proposed to offer
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4 Current State across the IndustryIndustry Direction for Open APIs
4.4 Expected Benefits
4.5 What is Required from the Airline Industry Perspective ?
Oneofthequestionsaskedinthesurvey,wastoidentifywhatthefuturebenefitsanairlineorairporthopestoachievefromtheOpenAPIinitiative.Thefirstandthirdhighestfuturebenefitswasassociatedwithcostandtimetomarket,whilstthesecondhighestwasrelatedtotheabilitytosharedatainatrustedway.
Thetwomostimportantitemsrequiredfromtheindustryperspectivearethestandardizationofthedataformatsforthedatabeingpublishedandthestandardizationofthedatadefinitions.IATAalreadyprovidestheAirlineIndustyDataModel(AIDM)forthedatadefinition.ThisisfurtherdiscussedinSection5.5'The Role of IATA'.
Perceived Benefits
Industry Requirements
item numberIndustry-wi 12Shared plat 13Data charte 18Connection 24Implement 24Industry dir 28Data defini 36Data forma 41
0 10 20 30 40
Reduction in IT maintenance cost
Knowledge of who is consuming the data
Knowledge of who is providing that data
Reduction in business operations cost
Enable sharing of data in a trusted way
Minimized cost and time to market of implementinginter-operations with business partners
Perceived Benefits
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Industry-wide identity management solution
Shared platform to process data
Data charters
Connection methods
Implementation guidance
Industry directory service
Data definition for each type of data published
Data format for data published
Industry Requirements
Figure 7: Benefits realization of Open APIs.
Figure 8: Industry requirements needed to promote Open APIs.
Theindustrydirectoryservicewasthethirdmostimportantrequirement,andisdiscussedfurtherinSection5.7.
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5 What we can learn from Other IndustriesIndustry Direction for Open APIs
5.1 What are the benefits?
LookingatwhathasbeenrealizedinotherindustriesandthetypeofapplicationsthathavebeenmadepossiblebyusingOpenAPIs,anumberofclearopportunitiesbegintoemergebothintheB2BaswellastheB2Cenvironment.
Enable self-serviceSelf-serviceallowsmultipleanddiverseorganizationstouseyourdatainacontrolledandmanagedway.Therecanbesomesignificantopportunitiesforinnovationandinterestingmodels.Thisisbecause,manymoreinnovativeentitieswillsubscribetoyourservicethanyoumayhavethoughtpossible.
Figure 9: Transport for London (TfL) use case.
Transport for London has had over 8,200 developers use their data
from Open APIs and produced over 500 mobile apps. If one assumes an
average cost of $30,000 per app, then the value of these develop-
ments alone is $30 million.
15
5 What we can learn from Other IndustriesIndustry Direction for Open APIs
Encourage innovation “at the edge”Byallowinganyonetosubscribetothedata,youareopen-inguptopossibilitieswhichyouwerenotinitiallyawareof.
Promote quality and timeliness of the dataAirlinesexposingtheirdataviaanOpenAPIplatformcanbeconfidentthatthisdataisofhighqualityandisthelatestversionofthedata.
Trusted dataWhenusersofdatacansubscribetoatrustedsourceofdata,thentheyareabletotrustthatthisdataisbothaccu-rateandthelatestversionofthedata.Thisovercomestheproblemwhereusersoftengotoalternativesourcessuchas“screen-scrapes”togetdatawhichmaybeincorrect.
Retain visibility and controlOnceanairlinecreatesanOpenAPIplatform,userscanthensubscribe.Theairlinehasfullvisibilityandcontroloverwhoisusingtheirdata,whentheyareusingitandwhatvolumeofdatarequeststheyareperforming.
MeteredOnekeyfeatureofmodernAPIplatformsisthatthevolumeofdata/callstoaconsumingentityisrecorded.Therefore,anairlinewillknowtheamountofdatatheentityisconsum-ingandareabletotaketheirowndecisionsonwhethertheywishtocapthevolume,reducethespeedoveracertainvolumeorusethisvolumeasabasisforarevenuemodelaccordingtotheirowncommercialcriteria.
Managed for performance ModernAPIplatformsareabletoscalecapacitytoman-ageperformancewhenexperiencingheavydemand.Thisensurestheneedsofthedataconsumerscanbemanaged.
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5 What we can learn from Other IndustriesIndustry Direction for Open APIs
5.2 What makes a great API – Some Best Practices
ThebestpracticesreferencedherearerecommendedbytheI.T.industryandmaywellhaverelevancetoindividualairlineswish-ingtoimplementtheirownAPIs.Wemaywishtoconsiderthesewhendevelopingthebestpracticesfortheaviationsector.Inparticular,moredetailwillbeneededaswellasreferenceddatapoints.TheobjectivewillbetoultimatelyhaveadedicatedanddetailedsetofindustryspecificbestpracticestosupportairlinestoimplementAPIsinastandardwaythatcanbeusedbyanyairlineandtheirtechnologyproviders.Foranindustry-widedeploymentofOpenAPIs,itisclearthatmoreworkwillneedtobedoneandmoreindustrycoordinationwillbeneededtoensurethattheuserscantreattheentireindustryasonevirtualstore-frontofanOpenAPI.Forconsiderationarethefollowingkeytechnologypoints:
Build for today while preparing for tomorrowToday,newUserInterfaces(UI)andadditionalproductcapa-bilitiesarerequestedwhileexistingproductfeaturesseere-peatedchange,andproductstrategiesshiftatanunrelentingpace.Productsshouldbeadynamiccompositionofservicesratherthananinflexiblestructure.Amulti-tieredarchitectureallowsthesecuritytobeembeddedyetcreatesthespeedofinnovationattheconsumptionsideoftheplatform.Thelayerscanbecategorizedasfollows:
• System Layer:SystemAPIsprovideameansofaccessingunderlyingsystemsofrecordandexposingthatdata.TheseAPIswillalsochangemoreinfre-quentlyandwillbegovernedbyCentralI.T.giventheimportanceoftheunderlyingsystems.
Each API-led connectivity layer provides context regarding function and ownership
Layer OwnershipFrequency of
Changes
System Layer CentralIT 6-12months
Process LayerCentralITandLine
ofBusinessIT3-6months
Experience LayerLineofBusiness
ITandApplicationDevelopers
4-8weeks;morefrequentlyformorematurecompagnies
Figure 10: The API Layer Architecture and the frequency of changes.
• Process Layer: Theunderlyingbusinessprocessesthatinteractandshapethisdatashouldbestrictlyencapsulatedindependentofthesourcesystemsfromwhichthatdataoriginates,aswellasthetargetchannelsthroughwhichthatdataistobedelivered.TheseAPIsperformspecificfunctionsandprovideaccesstonon-centraldataandmaybebuiltbyeitherCentralI.T.orLineofBusinessI.T.
• Experience Layer: Dataisnowconsumedacrossabroadsetofchannels,eachofwhichwantaccesstothesamedatabutinavarietyofdifferentforms.ExperienceAPIsarethemeansbywhichdatacanbereconfiguredsothatitismosteasilyconsumedbyitsintendedaudience,allfromacommondatasource,ratherthansettingupseparatepoint-to-pointintegra-tionsforeachchannel.
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5 What we can learn from Other IndustriesIndustry Direction for Open APIs
Treat your API like a productToday,aproduct'suserinterfaceisthemaintouchpoint,however,APIinterfacesaresettobecomethenewnormal.Rapidlypiecingtogethercomponents,viaAPIs,intoanewproduct,orsub-product,requireseachpiecetobeunder-stoodandvalidatedthroughafeedbackcycle.Investingindeveloperon-ramp-upandAPIuserexperience(APXistoAPIwhatUIistoUX)isthereforeessentialforproductadop-tion.APIstorefrontsshouldattract,andmakeadoptioneasyfordevelopers.InusingthetermstorefrontinthiscontextwemeantheplacewheredeveloperscangotoaccessdeveloperresourcesandnotthetooltodevelopthestorefrontUXtotheendcustomer.
Be agile in the right wayAgilitytorespondtocustomerfeedbackiskey.Teamsmustquicklyprototypebetareleases,gatherfeedback,pivotandcoursecorrectwithoutcausingmayheminternally.Agileproductorganizationsthinkintermsofbuildingblockswithmodulesofsub-productsandfunctionalitythatcanbequicklycomposed,disassembled,changed,andrecomposed.Forthistobepossible,APIsforallfoundational,productandeco-systemservicesmustbediscoverableandwell-documented.
Use tools fit for modern deliveryThehealthiestproductorganizationsincorporatedevelopmentandoperations(DevOps)bestpracticesforleanrequire-ments,continuousdeployment,testingautomationandappli-cationdelivery.Theabilitytoreducemeantime-to-productionbyremovinglatenthand-offandback-and-forthbetweende-velopersandoperatorsiskey.Inaddition,theculturalaspectsofcollaboration,processandpeoplemanagementshouldnotbeoverlookedasdeliveryisoperationalized.
Have a connectivity strategyAnAPI-ledconnectivityapproachhasbecomethenewstandard.Itenablesstrategicuseandre-useofconnectiv-ityinfrastructure.Incontrast,whencodeiswrittentoquickly“hard-wire”APIstotheback-endortoorchestratemultipleAPIs,itgenerallycannotbeadaptedforusebymultipleteamssoadditionalconnectionsaremadeandhiddendependen-ciesdevelopwhichcanthreatenproductquality,reliabilityandsupportability.
Thebestwaytocombatthedesireto“hard-wire”istomakeiteasiertoconnecttobackendinfrastructure,APIsandser-vicestherightway.Publishconnectivitytemplatesthatcanbeeasilydiscoveredandleveragedduringproductdevelopment.EmpowerproductteamstoutilizeexistingAPIinterfacesandprovenarchitecturepatterns.Don'twastetimerebuildingthesameconnectivitycomponentsforeverynewproductrelease.
S-API
WATS
PAX
S-API S-API S-API S-APIS-API
DATA RULES
Capacity API
Charges API
Planner API
Experience (LEX) APIExperience (Mobile) API
Experience (Web App) API
Figure 11: Example Landscape of System, Process and Experience APIs.
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5 What we can learn from Other IndustriesIndustry Direction for Open APIs
Collaborate to reduce technical debtEncouragecollaborationthroughoutthedevelopmentlifecycleofeverycomponentoftheAPI-ledconnectivityfabric-fromAPIdesigntobusinesslogicorchestration,allthewaydowntothelastdatabasequery.Enableproductdeveloperstoexperiment,mock,testandgetfeedbackincrementallyandregularly.Involvingdownstreamusersearlydrivesproductusability,andcollaboratingwithotherdevelopershelpsensurebest-practicesaresharedandadopted.Practicingcollabora-tionatscalewillgoalongwaytowardsbuildinghighquality,reliable,andwellarchitectedproducts.
Create product architecture transparencyProductspoweredbyanAPI-connectedfabriccanhavecomplexinterdependenciesacrosshundredsofmovingparts.Architecturevisibilityisthekeytounderstandingcriti-calbreakpointswithintheproduct,andforplanningmanage-mentstrategiessuchashowandwhentoapplyratelimitsindifferentareasofthearchitecture.KeepapulseonindividualAPIsandmicroservices.Usepredictiveanalyticsandpreven-tivemaintenancetoavoiddisasters.Ifsomethingdoesbreak,knowhowtoquicklytroubleshootandrespondtoissues.
Provide defense in depthIntoday'sdigitalworld,gettinghackedisjustamatteroftime.Unfortunately,developersoftendon'tprioritizeandincorporatesecuritybestpractices.Instead,downstreamteamsarecalledupontoaddresssecurityaftertheproductisfullydeveloped,resultinginineffectiveimplementations.Ensuredevelopersdesignsecurityinfromthebeginningbyprovidingthemwithsecuritybestpracticesintheformofarchitecturaldesignpatternsandruntimepolicies.Employcontrolledgovernanceattheedge,throughinternalmicro-gatewaysandwithglobal,federatedpolicies.
“In our work with leading aviation companies, we're seeing airlines
increasingly think of themselves as digital platforms that enable core
capabilities (such as ticketing, flight tracking etc.) to be accessed through
any channel, at any time. APIs are the foundational building blocks on
which these digital platforms are built. Initiatives such as IATA's Open API will be critical in helping to set
standards and accelerate adoption”
David ChaoHeadofIndustrySolutions,
MuleSoft
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6 Proposed Industry Direction Industry Direction for Open APIs
6.1 Select the Right Use Cases – A Proposal for an Industry Approach
Asanindustry,itisimportantthatweapproachtheOpenAPIinitiativeinacommonway.Thekeytothiscommonapproachisthateveryonecanstartatthesamepointandexposethesamedatasetsfirst.Thiswillprovidethegreatestbenefittotheusers.ThebuildingofAPIsisrepresentedbelowinphases.Toarriveattheseproposedphases,multiplefactorshavebeentakenintoconsiderationinordertoproposethebestplacetostart.
Webeganbyfocusingonthecustomer.Firstly,theAPImustprovidevaluetoyourcustomers.Inthefirstinstance,yourcustomerisyourpassenger,therefore,howcanexposingdatadirectlyorindirectlyaddvaluetothecustomersjour-ney,whetherisprovidingthem,asexample,realtimetravelinformationoreasyaccesstothetaxiservicesavailable.Ourdefinitionofcustomerinthiscontextisanyonewhomayusethisdata.Thiscouldincludebutnotbelimitedto:
• Airlines• Airports• AirTrafficControl• GovernmentandBorderEntities• Passengersand• Othermodesoftransportoperators(e.g.rail,buses,
taxis)
Thesecondfactorconsideredisthestrategicimportanceofthisdataforanairlinetoachievetheirstrategicgoals.Forexample,doesthispositivelyinfluencethecustomer'sexperi-ence,ordoesitbetterassistthemanagementofirregularoperations.
Finallywelookedathowpracticalitwouldbetoimplement.Ifitweretechnicallytoodifficulttoexposethedata,thentheremaywellbelittleappetiteforthebusinesstoexposethesedatasets.Forexampletherecouldbelegalissuesaboutdataprivacy,aswellaspolicyorbusinessmodelissues.
Strategic Importance• How important is it to expose these data sets to achieve
your strategic objectives• How much does it impact your customer's experience
Passengers
ATC
Government Airports
Airlines
BorderControle
Other model transport
• What is your ability to technically expose this data, • What is the appetite of the business to expose this
data, are there any additional complications in regard to data privacy, ownership of data, common data charters
Stakeholders
Ability to Execute
Figure 12: Summary of decision making proposal for the use case.
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6 Proposed Industry Direction Industry Direction for Open APIs
Low
Low
Str
ateg
ic Im
port
ance
High
Hig
h
Ability to execute
Release 1
TransferOptions
FlightWaitlist
Trafficto/fromAirport
Parking&
Charges
In AirportRoute
Planning
SecurityReq
SmokingArea
LoungeInformationImmigration
Documen-tation
Self ServiceImmigration
Guide
BaggageTracking(R753)
ImmigrationQueues
FlightInformation Check-in
BoardingTokens
SecurityQueues
TransmitInformation
Figure 13: Proposed initial focus for Open APIs as discussed with members of the Simplifying the Business Steering Group.
Basedonouraboveanalysis,usingthesecriteria,anum-berofvariedusecaseswereconsideredforapotentialfirstphaseproposal.Figure13showstheeaseofthecapabilitytoexecuteagainstthepotentialstrategicimpor-tanceforanairline.Asaresultofthisanalysis,thedatasetsofreleaseoneoftheOpenAPImodel(wherethereisahighprobabilitytoexecuteandahighprobabilitythatitisstrategicallyimportantforcarriers)shouldbeFlightInformation(Flightstatus,gatechangeandDeparturetime),Checkinand,BoardingInformationandBaggageTracking(asaresultoftheforthcomingimplementationofResolution753–BaggageTrackingeffectivefrom1June2018).
“Flight information is a key one to benefit from an API standard as it is probably the one with most of
misinformation that our customers see in the various touchpoints by all stakeholders, especially when there
are disruptions.”
Rob BroereVicePresidentPSSTransition
EmiratesAirlines
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7 Role of IATA Industry Direction for Open APIs
IATAhasanumberofrolestoassisttheindustryinimplementingOpenAPIs.
7.1 Education
7.2 Standards Setting, Best Practices, Implementation Guides and Tools
7.3 Airline Industry Data Model (AIDM) – Interoperability and re-use
IATAcreatesdiscussionpapers,whitepapers,conductsseminarsandeventsaswellashasapresenceatanumberofexter-naleventsthroughouttheyearwhichcreatesopportunitiestodiscussthewideradoptionanddeploymentofOpenAPIs.
Itisimportantthatthebusinessexpertizedrivesthedevelop-mentofbusinessstandards.Oncekeyusecaseshavebeenidentified,theownership,andmostimportantlythedriveforthedevelopmentanddeploymentofassociatedstandards,transitionstothePassengerServicesConferencestandardsgroupswithintimateknowledgeofagivenbusinessareaandtheendusers'needs.Forexample,thedevelopmentofbusinessrequirementsforOpenAPIssupportingboardingprocessesshownintheabovesectionwouldbedrivenbythePassengerExperienceManagementGroupwhichhasampleexperiencewithpassengerfacilitation,check-inandboardingprocesses.
Seamlessflowofdatabecomeschallengingwhenthesametermhasdifferentmeaningindifferentsystemsorwhilemultipletermsareusedindifferentindustrystandardstodescribethesameconcept.
TheAirlineIndustryDataModel(AIDM),asthecornerstoneofanewindustrymethodologyfordevelopmentofdataex-changestandards,isasinglepointofaccesstostore:
• Industry-agreedvocabulary,• Datadefinitionsandtheirrelationships,• Messagemodels,and• Underlyingbusinessrequirements.
Thisdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatstandardsworkneedstostartfromscratch.Indeed,anumberofexistingindustrystandardseasilylendthemselvesforimplementationasOpenAPIs.TaketheNewDistributionCapability(NDC)pro-gramasanexample.ThegoalofNDCistofacilitatedistribu-tionofairlineofferstothemarketandindeed,severalairlinestodayalreadydistributetheiroffersviaOpenAPIsbasedontheexistingindustrymessagingstandardandviaanyentitywhichagreestotheairlinestandardOpenAPIcontract.
“We need a standard way to expose our data so that everyone can get maximum value from this data”
Rosalie Hallenbeck Director,EmployeeCustomerSolutions
AlaskaAirlines
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7 Role of IATA Industry Direction for Open APIs
World Passenger Symposium 2015World Financial Symposium 2014
World Financial Symposium 2014Airline Industry
Data Model (AIDM)
Industry-agreedvocabulary
Data Requirements
Business ProcessesMessage Schemas
Business Glossary
Data Dictionary
Web Service Definitions
Object Library
Business Requirements
Messaging Standards & Documentation
Business ProcessDiagrams
Use cases
Free text, drawings, workshop results
Structured & re-usable data
Airline Industry Data Model
Figure 14: Airline Industry Data Model Process.
AsofOctober2016,allnewprojectswithadataexchangecomponentandaimingtodevelopstandardsunderthegovernanceofthePassengerServicesConference,usetheAIDMandassociatedmethodologytodocumentandmodelbusinessrequirementsandgenerateresultingmessagespecificationssuchasXMLschemas.TheplatformspecificlayeroftheAIDMcanalsobeusedtomaintainmodelsandgeneratespecificationsforothertechnologiessuchasJSON.
UsingthecommondefinitionsfromanintegratedindustrydatamodelisthefirststepallowingtheindustrytoexposeitsdatainaconsistentmannerandcreateavirtualdistributedOpenAPI“store”thatmakestheindustrydataavailableinacontrolledandcoordinatedmannertoanyonewhohastheneedandtherighttoreceivethedata.
7.4 Open API implementation guidance
7.5 Standards Setting Workspace (SSW)
Astheindustryclearlyindicatedinthesurvey,standarddatadefinitionsaloneisnotenough.Moreindustrybestpracticesmaybeneededtofacilitatedeployment.ThePassengerandAirportDataInterchangeStandard(PADIS)Board,whichis
ThestandardssettinggovernanceunderthePassengerServicesConferenceitselfiscurrentlyundergoingamajortransformationandisupgradingitscapabilitiestotakeintoaccounttheneedtobemoreagile,bringstandardstotheindustrymuchfasterandcreateinnovativewaystohelpsetthosestandards.
alsoresponsiblefortheAIDM,isexpectedtoprovidearchi-tecturalsupportanddrivethedevelopmentofassociatedbestpractices.
InadditiontotheAIDMreferencedaboveIATAisdeployinganindustryStandardsSettingWorkspace(SSW)toen-ableamuchbroaderlevelofparticipationandtoprovideanonlinecollaborationpresencethatwillensurecomplextopicscanbediscussedanddocumentedmorefrequentlythanispossiblewithface-tofacemeetings.
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7 Role of IATA Industry Direction for Open APIs
7.6 Coordination of Industry Wide Deployment and Implementation Support
7.7 Other considerations
IATAhasalongstandingexperienceandknowhowsupport-ingindustrywidedeploymentofnewinitiatives.DeploymentofindustrywideOpenAPIsislikelytoconsistofmultiplebusinessdrivenprojects,eachofthemrequiringcommu-nicationsofbenefitsandbuildingindustrytheawareness,coordinationwithotherindustryinitiatives,projectmanage-ment,facilitationofanindustrywidedebatetoestablishindustryprioritiesanddisseminationofresultingstandards,implementationguidanceandsharinglessonslearnt.
Lastbutnotleast,IATAitselfprovidesanumberofcoreindustrydataservicessuchastheassignmentofindustrycodesandmaintenanceofmanyindustryreferencedatasets.Thistechnologycreatesanopportunitytoalsoreviewhowindustryreferencedataisdistributedtodayandwhataretheneedsfortheirdistributiongoingforward.
SomeofthetoolsthatIATAexpectstodeployinsupportoftheOpenAPIinitiativeincludetherunningofhackathons(seehttp://ndc.developer.iata.org/hackathon/)andoperatingadeveloperportal(developer.iata.org)tobelauncheddur-ing2018.ThissitecouldalsofeatureadirectorylistingthatanyonecanuseasareferencepointtofindacomprehensivelistofAPIsbaseonindustrystandards.
Open API Ecosystem Implementation & Adoption
Business-driven use cases
Supporting infrastructure
Data and connectivity standards
Business projects drive the development of standards- Travel communications (PEMG)- Baggage (ASC)- NDC (PDMG)- Standards Setting Workspace
(SSW) is the online collaborative environment that can be leveraged to support the development of requirements
Implementation support incl. project management, hackathons, developer portal etc.
PADIS* provides the best practices and tools - Airline Industry Data Model (AIDM)- JSON&REST best practices- Methodology
*Passenger and Airport Data Interchange Standards Board
Figure 15: How IATA can help the implementation and adoption.
Open API Ecosystem Implementation & Adoption
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7 Role of IATA Industry Direction for Open APIs
7.8 IATA Reference data
IATAmaintains,onbehalfoftheindustry,alargeamountofreferencedata.Wearealsorecognizedasthesinglesourceforprovidingawholerangeofindustrycodes.
Thetypeofreferencedatawemanageincludes:
• Airline2characterdesignatorcodes,• City,airportandsurfacetransportation3letterlocationidentifiers,• Taxcodesandtheirrelatedapplication,• Cargoandpassengeragencycodes,• Airlineaccountingcodesandprefixes,• Baggagetagissuercodes,• Multilateralandsomebilateralinterlineagreements,• Standardservicereferencesforreservationsprocesses(specialservicerequests),• Avarietyofcodesetstofacilitatedataexchange,• Aircrafttypes,• Terminalcodes.
Thisreferencedataisavailablethroughournumerousprod-ucts,servicesandpublicationswhichhasgraduallymovedfrompaperbasedpublicationstoelectronicpublicationsandsolutionsofferingaddedfeatures.OurfirstSMARTservicewillbethedevelopmentoftheIATATicketTaxBoxService(TTBS)intoanewonlineplatformofferingatleast10newaddedvaluefeaturesthatiscurrentlynotpossibletoday.
ThenextstageofthedevelopmentwillbetoassesshowIATAcanmakeitsownreferencedatamanagedonbehalfoftheindustryavailablethroughOpenAPIs.WewillbeassessingwhatwillbetheappropriatebusinessmodelneededtodeployIATA'sownOpenAPIstoexposethisreferencedataduring2018.
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8 Build it and they will come! Won’t they? Open API Resources Industry Direction for Open APIs
WebelievethatitisimportanttopromotealltheavailableOpenAPIsacrossmultiplelocations,toensurewehavemaximumlevelofexposuretodrivethegreatestlevelofinnovation.HereisalistofwebresourcestohelpthebroaderimplementationofOpenAPIs.
IATA's own developer portalFocusingcurrentlyontheNewDistributionCapabilityourplanistoextendthereachtobecomearepositoryofallkeydocumentsandprogramswhichrelatetoOpenAPI.ThissitewouldalsohaveadirectoryofallknownOpenAPIsandthespecificcontenttheyexpose.Weplantohavethisadditionalcontentlivein2018
TheroleofthissitewouldbeasadirectorylistingwhichanyonecanuseasareferencepointtofindacomprehensivelistofrelevantAPIsbasedonindustrystandards.NDC–TheNextDisruptiveChange
SITASITAalsohasalistofAPIswhicharespecificallytargetedtotheaviationsector.Oncelive,yourOpenAPIshouldalsobelistedhere.
Programmable WebSinceitwasfoundedin2005,ProgrammableWebhasbeenchroniclingthedailyevolutionoftheglobalAPIeconomywhileamassingTheWeb'smostrelied-ondirectorywhenitcomestodiscoveringandsearchingforAPIstouseinWebandmobileapplications.
OnceanairlinehasbuiltanOpenAPI,theyshouldthenaddtheirAPIintothelistingwithinprogrammableweb.comunderthecategory“AirTravel”
Promote via HackathonsHackathonsareagreatwaytopromoteyourAPIsviaastructuredevent.Ahackathonisaneventwhereteamscom-petetodevelopthebestsolution(app,website,etc)basedonapredeterminedproblem.Theorganisersprovideapre-determinedsetofAPIstoexpose.ByusingtheseAPIs,programmerscanthenresolvethepre-determinedbusinessproblem.
IATArunsaseriesofaviationrelatedHackathonsInformationontheHackathonsisavailableontheNDCdevelopportal
“Hackathons are great for innovators to use and test APIs in new and innovative ways.”
Ravindra Simhambhatla VicePresident,
CommercialTechnology&CorporateSystemsUnitedAirlines
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9 In Conclusion Industry Direction for Open APIs
OpenAPIswillgrowinimportanceforthetransportationsectoringeneralandtheaviationsectorinparticularandissettobecomeanintegralwayinwhichdatabetweenenti-tiesinatrusted,timelyandyetopenmannerisshared.
Thecaseforchangeisbeyonddoubt.Innovationwithspeedandagilitytodeployquicklywillbekey.OurresearchandsurveyhasdemonstratedthattheindustryispreparingtolaunchintoamajordeploymentofOpenAPIs.
Theindustryneedsacoordinatedapproachandacollab-orativeenvironmenttodeterminethemostappropriateusecasestostartthisjourneyanddevelopthestandardstosupportthebroaderandeasierimplementationofawideanddiverseOpenAPIecosystemwhichwillbenefittransporta-tionprovidersenablingthemtoofferaddedvalueproductsandservices.
IATAlooksforwardtosupportingtheindustryonthisjourney!
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