Virtual interlining: selling the itineraries the network can't

Most booking channels show the itineraries that airlines have agreed to sell together. That leaves out a large space of journeys that combine low-cost and full-service carriers with no agreement between them. For travellers who put price first, that space is where the value is.

The network as a graph

The approach in our delivered work treats every airport as a node and every flight as an edge carrying fare, times, carrier type, baggage rules and connection constraints. Content from GDS, NDC and direct LCC APIs plugs into the same graph, so adding a carrier means adding edges rather than redesigning the system¹.

Feasibility before optimisation

A cheap route that misses its connection is not cheap. The engine checks minimum connection times per airport and carrier, terminal changes, immigration time for international transfers, self-connect baggage requirements and transit-visa eligibility by passport, and drops infeasible edges before any ranking happens¹. Only then does a multi-criteria optimisation rank the fastest, cheapest and best-value journeys.

For OTAs, the prize is a traveller segment that traditional channels underserve. For airlines, the same graph is a planning tool: it shows which partners and connections would open demand the network cannot capture today.