TPConnects Launches Iris Express API to Cut NDC Complexity

TPConnects launched Iris Express API to help travel sellers connect to airline content more easily.

The new tool is part of Iris, the company’s platform for agencies, online travel sellers, and travel management companies.

The company says the API is built to reduce integration work and improve response speed. This matters because travel sellers need to show flight options, prices, seats, and extra services quickly across websites, mobile apps, and booking tools.

Why airline booking is becoming more complex

Airlines are changing how they sell flights. They no longer want to offer only a basic ticket through third-party sellers. They also want to sell seats, baggage, fare bundles, priority services, and other add-ons.

Much of this richer content is shared through NDC, an IATA-backed standard that helps airlines distribute more detailed offers to travel agencies and booking platforms. NDC gives sellers better access to airline products, but it can also make integrations more difficult because the data can be large and technically complex.

How Iris Express API helps

Iris Express API is designed to make this process simpler. TPConnects says it uses smaller data responses than traditional NDC connections, which can help booking systems load results faster and reduce the work needed from developers.

The API supports the main booking steps: search, price, and book. Travel sellers can also add seat and service selection when they need it. This gives companies a more practical way to offer airline extras without building every connection separately.

The launch also follows another recent TPConnects update. The company added a Model Context Protocol layer to its Astra NDC platform, giving travel sellers a single integration point for different airline NDC versions and schema formats.

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