Ask HN: Should I build an airline booking system? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Should I build an airline booking system?

6 pointsespitia11 comments

Hello, I turn to this community for advice.

My close family owns a small airline that used to be for personal concierge services (6 planes). They are trying to move into another space which is air travel for remote place within the country (LATAM), where other airlines don't usually go. They have asked me to build an app as a booking system for travelers.

I am thinking that before going for an app (iOS/Android) it would be best to build the website system that works well on mobile and then if needed, go native (iOS/Android). Either way, my question is the following:

Is it best to hire a team and build the system or buy software for this? What would you do? Any guidance would be appreciated!

Please keep in mind the following that this is at a very small scale compared to a regular airline you find on KAYAK.com. Total fleet can't carry over 150 passengers.

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As a first step, I would try to understand the customers and how they book their flights. Do they use apps, websites or even any technology at all?

Sometimes your target market may not be all that tech-savvy to begin with and would prefer booking over the phone. It is something you'll have to validate with your customers. Once you know them, then you will know what to build. And once you know what to build, you will know if what's out on the market can support their needs.

I don't have any specific experience in the field but I'd imagine that there is probably not a huge amount of software that is targeted at such a small niche - most commercial software is likely very large systems integrated into large commercial airlines where they have 1000s of routes to cater for, and is thus likely very expensive compared to the needs/budget of a small service like you've described.

If simple searching for something applicable doesn't turn up a suitable option, consider this:

Build the system, and keep in mind (without letting it massively delay delivery of a working product) that if it's built well, it can probably be licensed to other small operators as well. Not necessarily as a means of making profit, but simply as a way to recoup costs.

Good luck!

That explains why I've only found solutions for big systems - such a small niche. Tank you for the input!

There will probably be some 'off the shelf' software out there that fits your requirements & budget.

Some quick ideas: http://www.navitaire.com, http://www.airkiosk.com/, https://tflite.com/

Another approach that might turn up some useful leads: try googling for flight & fleet management software that integrates with Avinode. You could also try looking through the past exhibitors at EBACE (some of which I'm sure will offer booking/scheduling software for small airlines).

Good luck!

As a first step, I would suggest trying to use an existing service to sell the tickets. The lowest-tech solution that will work for you is probably the best. Making bookings is a really common problem -- do you have special needs that would require you to have a highly-customized booking system?

On an unrelated note: an interesting niche on Airbnb are people who charter boats. You book the boat just like a regular place, but then they include a sailing trip, food, a guided tour, etc.

That might be something for your family to consider. Just a thought, no idea if it makes sense for you at all.

Had to read it twice to get it. I like your first idea, a simple booking system, one that doesn't even cater to airlines might work to begin with.

As for the Airbnb, it is something to think about. Why not try it as a channel? Will keep in mind. Thank you!

The bigger question is the business question: Is the new "product" viable?

This means that the focus of the "software" should be toward answering that question. In other words, the "app" could connect to a manual booking system behind the scenes [aka, "something that won't scale"]. The keys at the early stage are reliability and flexibility. The choice of technology should be driven by data and the data should come from the actual business process not a priori assumptions.

Good luck.

Many years ago I worked for a guy (ex TWA) who ran an "airline" by doing a sort of arbitrage between chartering whole biz class jets and selling individual seats. Believe it or not he did it all by sticking cards on a wall and marking the map with coloured pins.

With 6 planes and 150 pax, you could probably do the same. If not, at least think in terms of keeping it simple.

The far bigger question is "How do potential customers find you?" Are the flights scheduled? or run based on demand?

I'm a web developer, contact me through aladin.bensassi@gmail.com and i'll be more than glad to give You some advice, and walk You through it

I'd look into ITA: http://www.itasoftware.com

It's kind of depressing to me that for so many people these days, the first "solution" they think of for something thats basically core business (or a dependency for their core business) is, "quick, how can I find a way to simultaneously hand over all my business data to; and make my business reliant on, Google/Amazon/Facebook.

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