How Indian travel agents book IndiGo, Akasa and SpiceJet without a GDS — direct API and B2B portal options explained
By Kabir Malhotra (Kabir Malhotra writes about how Indian travel buyers actually pay — UPI vs credit card vs forex card surcharges, reward-point math on the top travel credit cards, RBI tokenisation, EMI-on-flights and the small fees that compound across a year of bookings.) · Published · 12 min read
IndiGo, Akasa Air and SpiceJet have minimal GDS presence for Indian domestic sectors. Agents who rely only on Amadeus or Sabre for domestic content are leaving fares — and often the cheapest seats — on the table. Here is how direct B2B portal access and aggregator APIs fill that gap.
TL;DR — why LCCs skip GDS and what to do about it
India's low-cost carriers — IndiGo, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet — distribute most of their domestic inventory outside the traditional GDS (Global Distribution System) platforms like Amadeus, Sabre and Galileo. This is a deliberate business model choice: GDS participation involves per-segment fees that erode the thin margins LCCs operate on. Instead, they offer direct B2B booking portals and, for larger agencies or aggregators, direct API connections. For a travel agent, this means a GDS-only workflow produces an incomplete domestic inventory view. The solution is to layer direct LCC portal access on top of your GDS setup — which is operationally annoying but not technically difficult.
Why do LCCs avoid GDS participation?
The economics are straightforward. Every time a GDS-connected agent makes a booking, the airline pays a GDS distribution fee — typically somewhere in the range of a few US dollars per segment for domestic routes, more for international. For a full-service carrier like Air India selling high-margin business class tickets, that fee is a manageable cost of distribution. For IndiGo selling domestic economy tickets at thin margins, it is significant.
Beyond the per-segment cost, GDS participation requires the airline to maintain pricing and inventory feeds through the GDS infrastructure, which has its own overhead. LCCs globally have largely concluded that the cost of GDS distribution exceeds the incremental revenue from agent-sourced GDS bookings on routes where the airline already has strong direct-booking traffic. IndiGo and AirAsia India (now fully merged into Air India Express) pioneered this model in India; Akasa adopted it from launch.
The practical result for agents: if you open Amadeus and search IndiGo's Mumbai–Delhi inventory, you either see nothing, or you see a subset of IndiGo's fares at a higher effective price than the airline's own portal shows — because the GDS display is often powered by an intermediary that adds its own margin. SpiceJet has slightly more GDS presence than IndiGo or Akasa, but it is still incomplete compared to SpiceJet's own B2B portal.
How IndiGo's agent portal works
IndiGo's B2B agent booking platform is called IndiGo Agent — accessed through the IndiGo website's agent section. To get access, an agency registers with IndiGo's trade sales team, typically by submitting their IATA or TAAI credentials, PAN, GST registration, and bank details. Approval is usually granted within a few business days.
Once on the IndiGo Agent portal, you can:
- Search and book IndiGo domestic and international fares at the same prices as IndiGo's consumer website — no markup or hidden surcharge visible from the agent side
- Access 6E promo fares and sale inventory that may not always be available through aggregators
- Apply Add-Ons (seat selection, meals, baggage) at agent-facing prices
- Manage refunds and changes through the portal (for change-permitted fares)
- Download GST invoices for each booking
The commercial model is different from GDS: IndiGo does not pay agents a commission on portal bookings — the agent earns by charging a service fee to the client or by marking up the fare slightly. IndiGo's terms of service typically prohibit agents from charging more than a reasonable service fee over the base fare, so read the fine print.
One practical irritation: IndiGo's agent portal session management is stricter than a GDS terminal. Auto-logout happens faster, and the PNR lookup can be slower than GDS for retrospective booking management. Build that into your workflow.
Akasa Air's B2B access model
Akasa Air — which started operations in 2022 and has been expanding steadily — launched without any significant GDS presence. Their agent access is through the Akasa Air travel partner portal, which operates on a similar model to IndiGo Agent: direct fare access, agent service fee model, no GDS commission.
Akasa has been relatively generous with agent access compared to IndiGo in its early years — their trade team is accessible and the onboarding process for accredited agencies is relatively quick. The portal covers their full domestic network (which is still smaller than IndiGo's but growing) and gives access to their ancillary products.
One notable aspect of Akasa's B2B approach: they have worked with some aggregator APIs earlier in their existence than IndiGo did at a comparable stage. If you use an aggregator platform — there are several India-specific ones — Akasa content availability is worth checking.
What about SpiceJet?
SpiceJet's situation in 2025–2026 has been complicated. The airline has faced significant operational and financial difficulties, including periods of reduced operations, aircraft groundings, and restructuring. Its GDS presence has been variable — at points more fares have appeared in Amadeus than IndiGo's, but at other times SpiceJet inventory has been pulled or unreliable.
SpiceJet does have a SpiceProAgent portal for travel agents. Access is similar to IndiGo's model. However, given the airline's ongoing financial situation, I would strongly recommend: (a) checking the SpiceJet trade page and news before committing to group or advance bookings with them, (b) not collecting client money for SpiceJet bookings that are far in advance without a clear refund plan, and (c) verifying operational status on specific routes before selling.
This is not a permanent comment on SpiceJet — airlines recover — but as of mid-2026, due diligence is warranted. Verify the current operational status on the DGCA's airline operational data or on dgca.gov.in before booking.
Aggregator APIs — the middle path
A third option beyond individual airline portals is an aggregator API or platform that combines LCC inventory into a single feed. Several B2B aggregator platforms in India (names in this space include providers like Travelfusion, some domestic-focused tech aggregators, and OTA-infrastructure providers) offer consolidated domestic content — including IndiGo, Akasa and Air India Express — through a single API or agent portal interface.
The trade-offs with aggregators:
- Convenience: One search covers multiple LCCs. Huge win for agencies handling volume.
- Fare completeness: Aggregators may not have every promotional or flash-sale fare from each LCC. Airlines sometimes release sale inventory direct-only or prioritise their own portals. If the aggregator's contract with IndiGo was signed at a certain content level, the agent may not see IndiGo's cheapest flash fares through the aggregator.
- Latency: Aggregator APIs add a hop. For real-time inventory (especially on full-flight situations), there can be a delay between the aggregator's cached inventory and the airline's live seat count. Booking something that shows 'available' on the aggregator and getting an availability error at ticketing is the classic LCC-via-aggregator headache.
- Cost: Aggregator platforms charge a per-booking fee or a subscription. Factor this into your per-booking economics.
For agencies handling both domestic LCC and international full-service content, the pragmatic answer is usually: GDS for international, a mix of direct portals and an aggregator for domestic. FlightGPT Partner is built around this multi-source model — it pulls live domestic content and gives agents a booking + wallet layer on top.
What do agents give up by not having LCC content in GDS?
The real cost of GDS-only domestic booking is not just missing the occasional cheap fare — it is the operational friction and completeness issues:
- Fare comparison: Without LCC content in the same interface, agents compare fares across multiple tabs and portals, which is slow and error-prone. A client asking for the 'cheapest Delhi–Bangalore fare' requires checking IndiGo portal, Akasa portal, Air India in GDS, and Air India Express — all separately.
- PNR management: LCC PNRs are not in the GDS. Changes, cancellations and upgrades must go through the airline's own system or portal. If your agency uses a mid-office system for PNR management, LCC bookings create a separate silo that does not auto-sync.
- Itinerary integrity: Multi-carrier itineraries where one leg is an LCC domestic connection and another is an international full-service sector are harder to manage when the LCC PNR is in a separate system.
None of these are dealbreakers — Indian agents manage this complexity every day — but understanding the trade-offs helps you decide where to invest: building direct portal relationships with each LCC, subscribing to an aggregator, or looking at agent-tech platforms that have solved this multi-source aggregation problem. If you are searching for flight options to show clients, FlightGPT's metasearch shows multi-source fare comparisons in one place.
Bottom line
GDS-only domestic booking in India leaves real inventory gaps. The pragmatic fix is to add IndiGo Agent and Akasa's partner portal to your toolkit alongside your GDS — it takes an afternoon to register and the ongoing operational cost is minimal. For aggregated domestic content, evaluate the B2B aggregator options in the market on fare completeness (ask specifically about IndiGo promotional inventory) before committing. SpiceJet is worth monitoring rather than defaulting to right now. Related reads: how BSP settlement works, what Air India NDC means for agents. For client-facing fare search, use FlightGPT.
Frequently asked questions
Does IndiGo have any GDS presence for domestic India bookings?
IndiGo's domestic inventory has minimal GDS presence. What appears in GDS for IndiGo domestic is often incomplete or priced through an intermediary, meaning agents may not see IndiGo's cheapest fares. The correct channel for agent access to full IndiGo domestic inventory is the IndiGo Agent B2B portal, accessed through IndiGo's trade-partner registration.
How does an agent register for IndiGo's B2B portal?
Register through IndiGo's agent portal page on their website. You will need your IATA or TAAI code, GST registration number, PAN, and bank account details. Approval is typically within a few business days. Contact IndiGo's trade sales team if the online registration does not progress — they have a designated trade helpdesk.
Do IndiGo and Akasa pay agents a commission?
Generally, no — LCC B2B portals in India do not pay per-booking airline commission in the traditional sense. Agents earn through a service fee charged to the client or a marginal markup on the base fare. The airline portals' terms of service typically cap how much can be charged over the base fare, so read the specific terms carefully when registering.
Is there an API for booking IndiGo programmatically?
IndiGo has direct API integrations with select aggregator partners and large-volume agents, but these are not open — they require a commercial agreement with IndiGo's distribution or B2B team. Smaller agencies typically access IndiGo through the agent portal rather than a direct API. Some third-party aggregators have IndiGo content through their own API agreements and offer that as a service.
What is the best way for a small agency to handle domestic LCC bookings alongside GDS?
Practically: register directly with IndiGo Agent and Akasa's partner portal (takes a day each), and use Air India's GDS or agent portal for Air India/Air India Express. For high-volume agencies or those wanting a single interface, evaluate an India-focused B2B aggregator that consolidates LCC content. Platforms like FlightGPT Partner (agent.flightgpt.in) are designed for this multi-source workflow.
Can agents book SpiceJet through GDS?
SpiceJet has had some GDS presence historically, more so than IndiGo, but the coverage has been incomplete and variable — particularly during the airline's recent operational difficulties. The SpiceProAgent portal is the more reliable channel for SpiceJet bookings. Given SpiceJet's current situation (mid-2026), verify operational status on specific routes before selling advance bookings.