Aviasales / Travelpayouts API: Data vs Live Search

If you're looking for the Travelpayouts flight API, you'll find two Aviasales products: a Data API with cached prices and a Search API for live flight searches. A token for the first does not give you access to the second. Start by deciding which one your app actually needs.

Data API or Search API?

The Data API documentation describes a cache built from Aviasales users' searches. Coverage depends on what people searched and the selected market. An empty response does not mean no flights exist, and a cached price is not a fresh quote. Use it to show an idea of what a trip might cost, with a link for the reader to search again.

How do you get access?

For the Data API, use the API token in your Travelpayouts profile. Live Search access is reviewed separately. The published Search API requirements say your project must already have at least 50,000 monthly active users, with evidence of that traffic. Expected future traffic does not qualify, and the page says there are no exceptions to the minimum. Projects below it are directed to the Data API.

The current Flight Search API documentation covers the version available from November 1, 2025. Retired endpoints from the older API do not mean this replacement is closed. Follow the current access requirements and integration guide.

Can you run scheduled fare checks?

The live Search API's usage rules require each search to start with a user action and the results to be displayed in full. They prohibit automated collection of search-result data and combining Search API with other flight metasearch APIs. Generate an agency link only after a user clicks Book; preloading those links is prohibited too.

That does not fit a background job that checks routes all day and saves the prices. The cached Data API is a separate product with separate limits, but it cannot turn a scheduled request into a fresh live search.

Do booking links earn affiliate commissions?

Aviasales supports affiliate tracking through a Travelpayouts partner marker. Qualifying sales can earn rewards under the program's terms, but not every result earns a commission: the Search API docs explicitly note that some airlines and agencies do not support the marker. The API sends the traveler to an agency or airline to buy; it does not issue a ticket inside your app.

Ignav's booking links do not include an Ignav commission program. If affiliate revenue is the reason you're building the site, Aviasales' affiliate tools are worth considering. If you need to take payment and create bookings in your app, look at Duffel or discuss booking and ticketing access with Amadeus.

Where Ignav fits

Ignav fits apps that need fare searches, scheduled price checks, and links out to book. Create an account, verify your email, and use your API key. You get 1,000 one-time free requests, then pay $2.00 per 1,000 successful requests, with no monthly minimum.

Search with POST /api/fares/one-way or POST /api/fares/round-trip. When a traveler selects a result, pass its ignav_id to POST /api/fares/booking-links. For a working scheduled example, use the Python price tracker. Repeated searches can reuse results from Ignav's 30-minute cache; check observed_at and cache_hit before treating a price as a new observation. Neither field guarantees the price at checkout.

Test your routes and markets before switching. Results can be empty, booking links can be unavailable, and some links require the traveler to select the flight again. A fare does not reserve a seat or guarantee the checkout price. Ignav does not pay affiliate commissions, issue tickets, or manage bookings.