Industry Direction For Open APIs A Discussion - IATA
Industry Direction for Open APIsA DiscussionOctober 2017
Table of Contents1Foreword . 32Executive Summary . 43The Need to Share Data . 53.1 Why Open APIs for the Airline Industry? . 53.2 What is an API? . 63.3 What does 'OPEN' mean in the term 'Open API'? . 73.4 The Digital Transformation Imperative . 83.5 Why existing connectivity approaches are at risk . 94Current State across the Industry . . 104.1 Airlines Implementing APIs and Open APIs . 104.2 What Content is Provided by the Carriers offering Open APIs? . 114.3 What are the Future Plans for Open API Deployment? . 124.4 Expected Benefits . . 134.5 What is Required from the Airline Industry Perspective ? . 135What we can learn from Other Industries . 145.1 What are the benefits? . 145.2 What makes a great API – Some Best Practices . 166Proposed Industry Direction . 196.1 Select the Right Use Cases – A Proposal for an Industry Approach . 197Role of IATA . . 217.1 Education . 217.2 Standards Setting, Best Practices, Implementation Guides and Tools . 217.3 Airline Industry Data Model (AIDM) - Interoperability and re-use . 217.4 Open API implementation guidance . . 227.5 Standards Setting Workspace (SSW) . 227.6 Coordination of Industry Wide Deployment and Implementation Support . 237.7 Other considerations . 237.8 IATA Reference data . 248Build it and they will come! Won't they? Open API Resources . 259In Conclusion . 26
Industry Direction for Open APIs1 ForewordTye RadcliffeDirector Distribution United Airlinesand Chairman of the IATA Passenger Services ConferenceI am excited by the possibility of innovative datasharing to enhance the customer experience inthe aviation industry and to bring it to market muchquicker than we could have ever thought in the past.Open APIs are a key building block for the currentand future needs to share data between companiesinvolved in the transportation value chain and promoteessential innovation for airlines.The purpose of this document is to continue to raiseawareness and promote discussion to ensure thatwe can make the best recommendations possible.In 2018, this initiative will move into the PassengerService Conference where we can put in placethe industry framework for Open APIs in order topromote sharing of data across the industry.We are at the early stages of this journey, with only26% of airlines and airports so far offering accessto their APIs according to the IATA survey, it isimportant that we act now to ensure that we havean “industry standard” approach in the form of bestpractices, as we expect 71% of the industry to havesome form of Open API in place by 2020.3
Industry Direction for Open APIs2 Executive SummaryOpen APIs are a way to share data between entities in atrusted, timely and yet open manner. As example, the needfor airlines and airports to share data is getting greater every year. Initiatives such as Artificial Intelligence, CustomerPersonalization, and real time operations need relevant,trusted, and timely data to operate.We will see a significant increase in usage in Open APIs inthe next 3 years. By 2020, over 65% of airlines and airportssurveyed will publish some open APIs, up from 26% today1.This document aims to promote discussion within the aviationindustry regarding Open APIs and how we can adopt thisapproach to sharing data to benefit the industry as a whole.Open API connectivity enables innovation to thrive by opening up travel companies data to the external world. This openconsumption enables many developers to build creative solutions which would not be possible to build alone.1IATA industry readiness survey, See Chapter 4.4
Industry Direction for Open APIs3 The Need to Share DataThe airline industry is well aware of the need to share data in a trusted, timely and efficient manner. The need to share data isnot going to reduce, especially with the increasing data sharing needs from new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence,Internet of Things and increased safety and security requirements.In particular, a report commissioned by IATA, found, "A more open approach to data and interoperability at a global andindustry level may be more positive for the industry and for consumers." 13.1 Why Open APIs for the Airline Industry?Application Programming Interface provides a way for developers to interact with and consume a service.This will open up the possibility for data usage across manychannels and will enable both business (B2B) and consumer(B2C) usage.It is a way for an external party to use (consume) data from anentity in a controlled manner. The fundamental difference between an Open API solution and a regular interface is that theunknown entities can consume this data by just registering.Figure 1: E xample of a possible architecture: data is made available from internal sourcesand exposed via an API capable of being consumed in both a B2B and B2C environment.1Source: Recommendation 13 "Future of the Airline Industry 2035" published in 20175
Industry Direction for Open APIs3 The Need to Share Data3.2What is an API?Let us start by first understanding what is an API before weaddress the 'Open API' issue.An analogy is useful in illustrating what this really means. Consider a service that everyone consumes every day - electricity.Electricity is delivered to consumers by a utility company. Theutility company provides a service (electricity) to consumersthat is accessible through electrical sockets. These socketsvary from one country to another, limiting access to only thoseconsumers with the correct plugs for that socket.In this case, the plugs are essentially consumers that aregaining access to the electricity and are only able to makeuse of the service if they have the appropriate authorization,in other words the correct sized plug to fit the socket. In thiscase, the API is the socket itself. Acting like the gatewaybetween the services (in this case electricity) and the consumers (in this case the plugs) providing consumers accessto services through various interfaces depending on theircredentials. In addition, consumers can utilize the servicesthey receive and implement them in their own way.Figure 2: T hink of the electricity plug sockets like the API. That is the gatewayconnecting the plug to the service provider (the electricity utility).Within the airline industry we are trying to make sure everyairline has the equivalent of “an electrical socket” and thatthis electrical socket is the same globally for the data definition and connection approach.Simply put, the API is nothing more than the gateway for theconsumer of a service to the provider of that service.6
Industry Direction for Open APIs3 The Need to Share Data3.3What does 'OPEN' mean in the term 'Open API'?The label 'Open API', is a technology industry standard phrase, however it creates confusion by using the word “open”.Hence we will try to eliminate that confusion by describing what we mean by an Open API solution.Open vs OpenOpen API does not necessarily mean it is open for everyoneto access. There are three different methods of opening upthe data for consumption: Public: anyone can subscribe to the data service, andonce you approve that subscription, they have access. Private: invitation only is where you only allow invitedparties to subscribe. Internal: the data service is not exposed outside of yourenterprise, but rather a method for one internal systemto consume data from another internal system.Open versus FreeOpen refers to the access methodology, in particular it isopening up the data for an external party whom we don't know.The revenue model for a data service is an independentcomponent to the connection type. Open does not necessarily mean free to everyone. An entity behind the exposureof the API may additionally have a commercial model behindit. It depends on their own commercial policies.Open versus No ControlJust because the connection is potentially available to external parties, does not mean that there is no control over yourdata. On the contrary, a modern API platform will providethe control mechanisms to ensure there is adequate controlover the consumption of the data. Specifically the Open APIplatform can enable control over: usage,volume,who has it,when they have access, andsecurity.Open versus What DataOpen does not mean that carriers should allow access toall of their data. On the contrary airlines should considermeasures that support their ownership of data to safeguardprivacy and ensure common data protection procedures.Whilst some data may be considered to be generic in nature,carriers should ensure that personal data is not arbitrarilyshared with unknown entities.7
Industry Direction for Open APIs3 The Need to Share Data3.4The Digital Transformation ImperativeMany industries are in the midst of an unprecedented phaseof digital transformation. Hospitals are extending care beyond the hospital ward; non-bank players are driving innovation in the payments space; media companies are distributing content across multiple channels and partners. Thesechanges are irreversibly reshaping industry boundaries andbusiness models and, in the process, changing the winnersand losers across verticals.The aviation sector too is also under pressure to have betteraccess to trusted and timely data.Technology is the critical enabler of digital transformation.Mobile and cloud technologies, for years viewed as trendson the horizon, are now proven drivers for I.T. – enabledbusiness disruption, both inside and outside the enterprise.APIs, once seen only as a tool for programmers, is alsoproviding new routes to the market as well. Business andI.T. leaders must act now in order to ensure their businessesstay relevant and competitive. Customers have the meansto quickly identify and switch to companies that can bettermeet their needs, and businesses who do not act now willbe left behind However, digital transformation is not easilyrealized. It is certainly not the result of implementing a singleapplication or a single technology. Rather, digital transformation can only be achieved when organizations are able tobring multiple technologies together to create truly distinctive and differentiated offerings. In order to do so, they mustbring data from disparate sources to multiple audiences,such as to customers, suppliers and employees.Ultimately, connectivity is not only a critical enabler of digitaltransformation, it is arguably the biggest differentiator ofsuccess. Despite its importance, far too many organizationsare not approaching connectivity with this strategic mindset.Either, it is not a consideration at all — think lines of business heads driving credit card purchases of Software as aService (SaaS) applications, without reflecting on how theywill connect those applications to their underlying EnterpriseResource Planning (ERP) systems — or too often it is onlyconsidered with a short-term approach, choosing to valuethe success of an individual project rather than focusing onthe broader strategies for the enterprise as a whole.Traditional methods for integration applications do not workfor digital transformation. These approaches, designed at atime with fewer endpoints and slower delivery expectations,often cannot move at the pace today's business requires.Just as digital transformation requires companies to embracea new set of technologies, so they must embrace a new levelof connectivity.“We see that APIs are a corecapability for us to achieve ourdigital transformation efforts”Glenn MorganHead of Digital Business TransformationInternational Airlines Group (IAG)8
Industry Direction for Open APIs3 The Need to Share Data3.5Why existing connectivity approaches are at riskThe technologies underlying digital transformation have enabled companies to engage with their stakeholders in new andinnovative ways. These technologies, notably SaaS, mobile andIoT, have dramatically increased the number of endpoints toconnect to. Where once an organization may only have had toconsider its internal systems, it must now consider an exponentially larger set of endpoints both inside and outside the enterprise. For example, financial payment transactions previouslycarried out by the physical presentation and handling of bankchecks, are now transacted by an expanded set of channels— including telephone, online and mobile banking and otheremerging forms of payment.Moreover, the frequency with which these new systemschange has also increased. For example, whereas the database schema of an airport operations system may change onlyon an annual basis, the requirements of the online and mobileconsumer applications connecting to those systems maychange weekly, daily or even hourly. It is this speed of innovation that is a defining characteristic of digital transformationand I.T. must strive to enable rather than hinder such change.I.T. leaders must meet two seemingly contradictory goals:they must ensure stability and control over core systems ofrecord, while enabling innovation and rapid iteration of theapplications that access those systems of record. This isthe challenge now variously referred to as bimodal or twospeed I.T.Existing connectivity approaches may struggle to meet theneeds. A new approach is required, one that leverages existing investments, and enables I.T. to seize the moment todrive transformational change; one that enables agility, yetalso allows I.T. to maintain visibility and control. This changeis a journey that requires shifting I.T.'s mindset away fromproject delivery and positioning it to delivering assets asservices, enabling the I.T. supporting the lines of businessto self-serve and build their own connections, processesand applications, while Central I.T. governs access, servicelevel agreements and data quality. In short, I.T. has to become a platform for the business.“APIs are critical to enable agilityand innovation, provide us with acompetitive advantage, enable us toextend our reach in a digital indirectchannel and deliver a seamlesspersonalized passenger experience”Stuart BirrellCIOHeathrow Airport9
Industry Direction for Open APIs4 Current State across the Industry4.1Airlines Implementing APIs and Open APIsIATA conducted both desk research and performed anindustry survey1 to identify the number of airlines havingOpen APIs. Desk research was done by reviewing the websites of all of the 275 IATA Member airlines to determinewhether they had a link to Open API content.Based on this desk research, we found that ten airlinesare currently providing Open APIs, which translates to lessthan 4% of all IATA Members. Interestingly though, the totalmarket share of these same airlines is 16% measured byNumber of airlinesRPKs2 showing that it is some of the larger airlines whichare currently providing Open APIs.Based on the industry survey, 39 out of the 64 respondents representing 60% of airline responses have also builtAPIs but have not exposed them yet to the public (they arecurrently closed APIs). In these cases therefore, it may notnecessarily be the technology investment which is restricting airlines deployment of Open APIs.By airline revenueAPI: 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. In addition to IATA's desk research, IATA performed a survey during the period June – August 2017 by phone, and in person.Results from 64 airlines and 35 airports were collated.2 Source: IATA Economics110
Industry Direction for Open APIs4 Current State across the Industry4.2From the desk research we have classified the contentprovided by the 10 airlines into 5 categories, Reference data,Offer Management,Order Management,Journey Management,Customer related data.Reference data and Offer Management are the mostpopular data sets currently on offer with 9 out of 10 of theairlines offering this content. The least popular categorywith two airlines is Customer Related Data.Dataexposedexposed viavia OpenOpen APIDataAPI10987654basece derWhat Content is Provided by the Carriers offering Open APIs?399352210Reference dataOfferOrderJourneyCustomerFigure 4: Reference Data and Offer Management Data is the most popular.44950.463157895104611
Industry Direction for Open APIs4 Current State across the Industry4.3What are the Future Plans for Open API Deployment?From the survey results this question provided a very positive result. Over 70% of respondents both airline and airportssaid that they plan to provide Open APIs by 2020. This implies that there will be some significant investment into this areaover the next 3 years. 46 airline respondents stated they will provide Open APIs by 2020.Number of AirlinesNumber ofprovidingAirlines providingOpen APIsOpen APIs5045numberin 8d c9im9d n10ng 10ass16nt 16e d19s 26n 27er 30tu 31tra31ed344035Numberof Airlines30providingOpen APIs25502045154010355300Now2520By 2020Figure 5: Forty six airlines are planning to deploy Open APIs by 2020 compared to 10 today.Content proposed to offer1510Flight schedules5BaggagetracingThe most popular content which airlines plan to offerby 2020,includes flight schedules, baggage tracing, flight status flight offers/prices.0 Theseconsistentwithournotificationsproposed first use cases discussed in Section 5.2numbern i9ge 18ge 18n i 25ar32d 35Now2020Flight offers, flightBypricesOrder ight entertainmentFlightVisaschedulesor passport requirementsBaggagetracingand indoor positionWayfindingMaps and navigation dataFlight status, arrivals, departures, flight notificationsWaitingtimes at security/borderFlight offers, flight pricesOrder managementHotel and car offersWeather informationSeatmapsContent proposed toto offerofferReference dataInflight entertainmentVisa or passport requirementsWayfinding and indoor positionMaps and navigation dataWaiting times at security/borderHotel and car offersWeather information00510510151520202525303035354040Figure 6: From our survey airlines proposed to offer a variety of content via Open APIs.12
Industry Direction for Open APIs4 Current State across the Industry4.4Expected BenefitsOne of the questions asked in the survey, was to identify what the future benefits an airline or airport hopes to achieve fromthe Open API initiative. The first and third highest future benefits was associated with cost and time to market, whilst thesecond highest was related to the ability to share data in a trusted way.PerceivedPerceivedBenefitsBenefitsMinimized cost and time to market of implementinginter-operations with business partnersEnable sharing of data in a trusted wayReduction in business operations costKnowledge of who is providing that dataKnowledge of who is consuming the dataReduction in IT maintenance cost010203040Figure 7: Benefits realization of Open APIs.4.5What is Required from the Airline Industry Perspective ?The two most important items required from the industry perspective are the standardization of the data formats for the databeing published and the standardization of the data definitions. IATA already provides the Airline Industy Data Model (AIDM)for the data definition. This is further discussed in Section 5.5 'The Role of IATA'.The industry directory service was the third most important requirement, and is discussed further in Section 5.7.IndustryRequirementsIndustry RequirementsData format for data publishedData definition for each type of data publishedIndustry directory serviceImplementation guidanceConnection methodsData chartersShared platform to process dataIndustry-wide identity management solution051015202530354045Figure 8: Industry requirements needed to promote Open APIs.13
Industry Direction for Open APIs5 What we can learn from Other Industries5.1What are the benefits?Looking at what has been realized in other industries andthe type of applications that have been made possible byusing Open APIs, a number of clear opportunities begin toemerge both in the B2B as well as the B2C environment.Enable self-serviceSelf-service allows multiple and diverse organizations to useyour data in a controlled and managed way. There can besome significant opportunities for innovation and interestingmodels. This is because, many more innovative entities willsubscribe to your service than you may have thought possible.Transport for London has had over8,200 developers use their datafrom Open APIs and produced over500 mobile apps. If one assumes anaverage cost of 30,000 per app,then the value of these developments alone is 30 million.Figure 9: Transport for London (TfL) use case.14
Industry Direction for Open APIs5 What we can learn from Other IndustriesEncourage innovation “at the edge”By allowing anyone to subscribe to the data, you are opening up to possibilities which you were not initially aware of.Promote quality and timeliness of the dataAirlines exposing their data via an Open API platform canbe confident that this data is of high quality and is the latestversion of the data.Trusted dataWhen users of data can subscribe to a trusted source ofdata, then they are able to trust that this data is both accurate and the latest version of the data. This overcomes theproblem where users often go to alternative sources suchas “screen-scrapes” to get data which may be incorrect.MeteredOne key feature of modern API platforms is that the volumeof data / calls to a consuming entity is recorded. Therefore,an airline will know the amount of data the entity is consuming and are able to take their own decisions on whetherthey wish to cap the volume, reduce the speed over acertain volume or use this volume as a basis for a revenuemodel according to their own commercial criteria.Managed for performanceModern API platforms are able to scale capacity to manage performance when experiencing heavy demand. Thisensures the needs of the data consumers can be managed.Retain visibility and controlOnce an airline creates an Open API platform, users canthen subscribe. The airline has full visibility and control overwho is using their data, when they are using it and whatvolume of data requests they are performing.15
Industry Direction for Open APIs5 What we can learn from Other Industries5.2What makes a great API – Some Best PracticesThe best practices referenced here are recommended by the I.T. industry and may well have relevance to individual airlines wishing to implement their own APIs. We may wish to consider these when developing the best practices for the aviation sector. Inparticular, more detail will be needed as well as referenced data points. The objective will be to ultimately have a dedicated anddetailed set of industry specific best practices to support airlines to implement APIs in a standard way that can be used by anyairline and their technology providers. For an industry-wide deployment of Open APIs, it is clear that more work will need to bedone and more industry coordination will be needed to ensure that the users can treat the entire industry as one virtual storefront of an Open API. For consideration are the following key technology points:Build for today while preparing for tomorrowToday, new User Interfaces (UI) and additional product capabilities are requested while existing product features see repeated change, and product strategies shift at an unrelentingpace. Products should be a dynamic composition of servicesrather than an inflexible structure. A multi-tiered architectureallows the security to be embedded yet creates the speed ofinnovation at the consumption side of the platform. The layerscan be categorized as follows: System Layer: System APIs provide a means ofaccessing underlying systems of record and exposingthat data. These APIs will also change more infrequently and will be governed by Central I.T. given theimportance of the underlying systems. Process Layer: The underlying business processesthat interact and shape this data should be strictlyencapsulated independent of the source systemsfrom which that data originates, as well as the targetchannels through which that data is to be delivered.These APIs perform specific functions and provideaccess to non-central data and may be built by eitherCentral I.T. or Line of Business I.T. Experience Layer: Data is now consumed across abroad set of channels, each of which want access tothe same data but in a variety of different forms.Experience APIs are the means by which data can bereconfigured so that it is most easily consumed by itsintended audience, all from a common data source,rather than setting up separate point-to-point integrations for each channel.Each API-led connectivity layer provides context regarding function and ownershipLayerOwnershipFrequency ofChangesSystem LayerCentral IT6-12 monthsProcess LayerCentral IT and Lineof Business IT3-6 monthsExperience LayerLine of BusinessIT and ApplicationDevelopers4-8 weeks; morefrequently for moremature compagniesFigure 10: The API Layer Architecture and the frequency of changes.16
Industry Direction for Open APIs5 What we can learn from Other IndustriesTreat your API like a productToday, a product's user interface is the main touchpoint,however, API interfaces are set to become the new normal.Rapidly piecing together components, via APIs, into a newproduct, or sub-product, requires each piece to be understood and validated through a feedback cycle. Investing indeveloper on-ramp-up and API user experience (APX is toAPI what UI is to UX) is therefore essential for product adoption. API storefronts should attract, and make adoption easyfor developers. In using the term storefront in this context wemean the place where developers can go to access developerresources and not the tool to develop the storefront UX to theend customer.Experience (LEX) APIBe agile in the right wayAgility to respond to customer feedback is key. Teams mustquickly prototype beta releases, gather feedback, pivot andcourse correct without causing mayhem internally. Agileproduct organizations think in terms of building blocks withmodules of sub-products and functionality that can be quicklycomposed, disassembled, changed, and recomposed. Forthis to be possible, APIs for all foundational, product and ecosystem services must be discoverable and well-documented.Experience (Mobile) APIExperience (Web App) APIPlanner APICapacity APICharges igure 11: Example Landscape of System, Process and Experience APIs.Have a connectivity strategyAn API-led connectivity approach has become the newstandard. It enables strategic use and re-use of connectivity infrastructure. In contrast, when code is written to quickly“hard-wire” APIs to the back-end or to orchestrate multipleAPIs, it generally cannot be adapted for use by multiple teamsso additional connections are made and hidden dependencies develop which can threaten product quality, reliability andsupportability.Use tools fit for modern deliveryThe healthiest product organizations incorporate developmentand operations (DevOps) best practices for lean requirements, continuous deployment, testing automation and application delivery. The ability to reduce mean time-to-productionby removing latent hand-off and b
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