Product Scope, Supply & Monetization Approval Register – v1.0
Document type: Commercial scope-freeze approval register (NOT a PRD)
Product: Flight Booking Meta-Search Platform
Baseline sources: SOW (Feb 2026 v1.0), Parity Checklist (Flight Meta-Search), Supply Strategy (Aggregated), Stress Test (Evidence-based), Wego evidence (commercial + product mechanics reference)
Scope change policy: Any deviation requires written approval (Client + Delivery)
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1️⃣ Executive Scope Freeze Summary (1 Page)
1.1 Decision Summary Table (Approval Required)
| Decision Area | Selected Option | Approval Checkbox | Short Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply Model | Model B — GDS / Aggregator Integration (plus OTA APIs where available) | ☐ | SOW includes GDS/NDC integrations (Amadeus/Sabre/Travelport) and OTA APIs as supply inputs. |
| Monetization Model | Hybrid revenue: CPC (click-out) + CPA/affiliate (where supported) + Ads inventory | ☐ | SOW requires affiliate monetization + advertising. Stress test flags commission compression / shift toward CPC (risk acknowledged). |
| Launch Market | English-only (single locale) for initial launch | ☐ | SOW excludes multilingual beyond English, freezing initial localization scope. |
| MVP Timeline | SOW Phases 1–5 as MVP delivery sequence (Foundation → Launch & Support) | ☐ | SOW defines phased delivery and acceptance criteria (performance/security). |
| Checkout Model | Redirect-only meta-search (no direct booking/payment processing) | ☐ | SOW defines redirect booking flow and explicitly excludes direct booking/payment processing. |
2️⃣ Master Feature & Supply Approval Matrix
Rule application:
- Features are sourced from SOW scope and Flight Meta-Search parity checklist.
- Any feature explicitly excluded by SOW remains “Included = No” (Future scope), unless required for system integrity.
- “Phase” mapping uses: MVP / P2 / Future (scope buckets), while MVP delivery aligns with SOW Phase plan.
2.1 Approval Table
| Category | Feature | Included (Yes/No) | Phase (MVP / P2 / Future) | Supply Dependency (OTA / GDS / Hybrid / None) | Monetization Impact (CPC / CPA / Ads / Retention) | Risk Level | Client Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Search | One-way search | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Core Search | Round-trip search | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Core Search | Multi-city search | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | Retention | Medium (complexity) | ☐ |
| Core Search | Passenger selection (Adult/Child/Infant) + Cabin class | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Core Search | Airport autocomplete (IATA + city) + nearby airports | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Core Search | Flexible dates (±3 day grid) | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Core Search | Real-time fare aggregation (fan-out to multiple sources) | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | CPC/CPA | High (API cost sensitivity) | ☐ |
| Core Search | Currency localization | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Results | Price range filter | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Results | Stops filter | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Results | Airline filter | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Results | Departure time filter | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Results | Arrival time filter | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Results | Duration filter | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Results | Layover airport filter | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Results | Sort by price/duration/departure/arrival | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Results | “Best value” ranking | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Medium (ranking bias risk) | ☐ |
| Transparency | Fare breakdown (base + tax + fees) | Yes | MVP | Supplier-dependent | CPC/Retention | High (regulatory/trust) | ☐ |
| Transparency | Baggage info per fare | Yes | MVP | Supplier-dependent | CPC/Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Transparency | Refund/change rules visibility | Yes | MVP | Supplier-dependent | CPC/Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Transparency | Price verification before redirect | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | CPC/CPA | High (mismatch disputes) | ☐ |
| Booking Flow | Deep-link redirect to OTA/Airline | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Booking Flow | Affiliate tracking & attribution | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | CPC/CPA | High (fraud/IVT) | ☐ |
| Booking Flow | Click ID tracking | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | High (fraud/IVT) | ☐ |
| Booking Flow | UTM/tracking parameter preservation | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Booking Flow | Booking confirmation email | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Medium (data dependency) | ☐ |
| Alerts | Price drop alerts (email/push) | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Medium (deliverability) | ☐ |
| Alerts | Deal notifications | Yes | MVP | None | Retention/Ads | Medium | ☐ |
| UX / Accounts | Email login | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| UX / Accounts | OAuth login (Google/Facebook) | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Medium (provider compliance) | ☐ |
| UX / Accounts | User profile management | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| UX / Accounts | Search history | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| UX / Accounts | Saved trips / wishlist | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| UX / Accounts | Route tracking | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| UX / Accounts | Upcoming trips dashboard | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Engagement | Personalized recommendations | Yes | P2 | None | Retention/Ads | Medium | ☐ |
| Engagement | Recently viewed flights | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| SEO | Dynamic route pages | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | High (SEO volatility) | ☐ |
| SEO | Dynamic city pages | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | High (SEO volatility) | ☐ |
| SEO | Automated XML sitemap generation | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| SEO | JSON-LD schema markup (flights/FAQ/breadcrumbs) | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| SEO | Dynamic meta tags (OG/Twitter) | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| SEO | Blog/content hub | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| SEO | Breadcrumb structured data | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Low | ☐ |
| Admin / Partner Mgmt | Add/edit OTA partners | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Admin / Partner Mgmt | Commission rate configuration | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | CPA | High (commercial disputes) | ☐ |
| Admin / Partner Mgmt | API credential management | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | None | High (security) | ☐ |
| Admin / Partner Mgmt | Partner performance tracking | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Admin / Analytics | Revenue dashboard | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA/Ads | Medium | ☐ |
| Admin / Analytics | Search volume tracking | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Admin / Analytics | Conversion funnel analysis | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Admin / Analytics | Traffic analytics | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Admin / Analytics | Partner performance report | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Admin / Analytics | Click-to-book ratio | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Admin / Pricing Rules | Markup/markdown configuration | Yes | MVP | None | CPA | High (trust/regulatory) | ☐ |
| Admin / Pricing Rules | Promotional pricing rules | Yes | MVP | None | CPA/Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Admin / Monetization | Sponsored listing configuration | Yes | P2 | None | Ads | Medium (labeling/trust) | ☐ |
| Tech / Architecture | CDN enabled | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Tech / Architecture | Load balancer | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Low | ☐ |
| Tech / Architecture | Horizontal scaling | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Tech / Architecture | Redis caching layer | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | High (unit economics) | ☐ |
| Tech / Architecture | Elasticsearch for autocomplete | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Tech / Architecture | Async fare aggregation engine | Yes | MVP | Hybrid | CPC/CPA | High (latency/cost) | ☐ |
| Tech / Architecture | API gateway | Yes | MVP | None | Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Tech / Performance | Page load < 3s | Yes | MVP | None | Retention/CPC | Medium | ☐ |
| Tech / Performance | API response < 500ms | Yes | MVP | None | Retention/CPC | High | ☐ |
| Tech / Performance | 99.9% uptime | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Tech / Observability | Centralized logging | Yes | MVP | None | None | Medium | ☐ |
| Tech / Observability | Error tracking (Sentry or equivalent) | Yes | MVP | None | None | Low | ☐ |
| Tech / Observability | Metrics monitoring | Yes | MVP | None | None | Medium | ☐ |
| Tech / Observability | Distributed tracing | Yes | MVP | None | None | Medium | ☐ |
| Security & Compliance | HTTPS enforced | Yes | MVP | None | None | Low | ☐ |
| Security & Compliance | OWASP Top 10 mitigation | Yes | MVP | None | None | Medium | ☐ |
| Security & Compliance | Rate limiting | Yes | MVP | None | None | Medium | ☐ |
| Security & Compliance | Bot detection | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/Ads | High (IVT risk) | ☐ |
| Security & Compliance | GDPR/DPDP compliance | Yes | MVP | None | None | High (legal) | ☐ |
| Security & Compliance | Secure affiliate link handling | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | High | ☐ |
| Security & Compliance | Data encryption at rest & transit | Yes | MVP | None | None | Medium | ☐ |
| Differentiators (Optional) | AI fare prediction | Yes | Future | None | Retention/CPC | Medium | ☐ |
| Differentiators (Optional) | Flexible destination search (“Anywhere”) | Yes | Future | None | Retention/CPC | Medium | ☐ |
| Differentiators (Optional) | Multi-language support | No | Future | None | Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Differentiators (Optional) | White-label API for partners | Yes | Future | Hybrid | CPC/CPA | High (support burden) | ☐ |
| Excluded (SOW) | Direct booking / payment processing | No | Future | Hybrid | CPA/Upsell | High (refund/chargeback ops) | ☐ |
| Excluded (SOW) | Hotels / cars / other travel products | No | Future | N/A | Ads/Upsell | Medium | ☐ |
| Excluded (SOW) | Native mobile apps (iOS/Android) | No | Future | None | Retention | Medium | ☐ |
3️⃣ Supply Model Options Section
3.1 Comparative Model Table (Approval View)
| Factor | Model A — OTA Affiliate Only | Model B — GDS / Aggregator Integration | Model C — Hybrid (Meta + Direct Booking) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margin Potential | Medium (depends on affiliate terms; exposed to payout cuts) | Medium (coverage breadth; margins still compressing) | High upside (capture more value) but only if operations + support mature |
| API Cost Risk | Medium (multiple OTA calls; caching critical) | High (transaction-based costs + multi-call fan-out; strict budgeting required) | High (adds booking/servicing calls) |
| Refund Liability | Low (redirect model) | Low (redirect model) | High (refunds/chargebacks/support become your responsibility) |
| Engineering Complexity | Medium | High (GDS/NDC integrations + orchestration) | Very High (payments + order mgmt + refund + support tooling) |
| Operational Risk | Medium (partner dependency) | Medium–High (partner onboarding + reliability) | Very High (financial + regulatory + servicing) |
3.2 Recommended Default for MVP (Scope-Freeze Recommendation)
Default for MVP: Model B — GDS / Aggregator Integration (plus OTA APIs where available), with Redirect-only checkout.
Rationale: Matches SOW-defined integrations while keeping checkout and refund liability out of scope via redirect model.
4️⃣ Revenue Model Alignment
4.1 Feature → Revenue Stream Mapping
| Feature | Enables CPC | Enables CPA | Enables Ads | Enables Upsell | Required Supply Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search results + provider list + deeplinks | Yes | Yes | Yes (inventory surface) | No | A / B |
| Affiliate tracking + click IDs + attribution | Yes | Yes | No | No | A / B |
| Price verification before redirect | Indirect | Indirect | No | No | A / B |
| Fare breakdown + baggage + refund rules | Indirect (CTR lift) | Indirect | No | No | A / B |
| SEO route/city pages | Indirect (traffic to CTR) | Indirect | Indirect | No | Any |
| Admin partner performance tracking | Indirect (optimize yield) | Indirect | Indirect | No | A / B |
| Sponsored listings configuration | Yes | Indirect | Yes | No | A / B |
| Deal notifications / alerts | Indirect | Indirect | Indirect | No | Any |
| Direct booking + payment processing (excluded in SOW) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | C only |
5️⃣ Risk Acknowledgment & Dependency Declaration
5.1 Risk Register (Client Acknowledgment)
| Risk | Summary Impact | Inherent (Yes/No) | Client Acknowledgment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commission compression risk | Reduced CPA yields; increased reliance on CPC/ads | Yes | ☐ |
| Affiliate termination risk | Partner can terminate / reduce payouts with limited notice | Yes | ☐ |
| SEO volatility risk | Programmatic pages exposed to algorithm shifts | Yes | ☐ |
| API cost escalation risk | Higher per-call costs; margin can flip negative | Yes | ☐ |
| NDC / airline direct distribution risk | Airlines push direct; intermediaries squeezed | Yes | ☐ |
| Fraud / IVT risk | Click fraud drains spend; partner disputes | Yes | ☐ |
| Regulatory transparency risk | Requirements on fee transparency and disclosures | Yes | ☐ |
Client acknowledgment clause (approval-ready):
Client acknowledges the above risks are inherent to third-party flight meta-search business models and may materially affect unit economics, partner availability, traffic acquisition, and operating constraints.
Approval checkbox: ☐
6️⃣ Phase Definition (Clean Separation)
6.1 MVP Scope (Scope-Frozen)
MVP includes:
- Flight search (one-way/round-trip/multi-city), flexible dates, airport autocomplete, real-time aggregation
- Results comparison: filters, sorting, best value ranking, fare breakdown, baggage info
- Redirect booking model + price verification + partner attribution + confirmation emails
- Alerts: price drop alerts, route tracking, deal notifications
- User management: email + OAuth login, profiles, history, saved trips, trip dashboard
- Admin panel: partner management, content management, analytics/reports, pricing rules
- SEO: route pages, city pages, sitemap, schema markup, blog/content hub
- Integrations: GDS/NDC APIs + OTA APIs + airline direct integrations (as contracted/available)
6.2 Phase 2 Scope
P2 includes:
- Sponsored listing configuration + ad inventory governance (ads-only; still redirect checkout)
- Enhanced personalization/recommendations
6.3 Future Scope (Explicitly Out of Scope Unless Re-Contracted)
- Direct booking/payment processing
- Native mobile apps (iOS/Android)
- Multilingual support beyond English
- Hotels/cars/other travel products
Signature & Approval
Client CEO
Name: ___________________________ Signature: ___________________________ Date: ____________ ☐ Approved
Commercial Director
Name: ___________________________ Signature: ___________________________ Date: ____________ ☐ Approved
Technical Lead
Name: ___________________________ Signature: ___________________________ Date: ____________ ☐ Approved
Scope-Freeze Acknowledgment
☐ We approve the selected supply model, monetization model, launch scope (English-only), MVP timeline structure, and redirect-only checkout model as documented above.
☐ We acknowledge the inherent business risks listed in Section 5.
✅ v1.1 ENHANCEMENTS (Additive / No Deletions)
This section adds missing decision points, AI scope, and “available options” catalogs. It does not override or delete any of the v1.0 content above. Any conflicts must be resolved via a signed change request.
7️⃣ Terminology & Scope Crosswalk (Prevents Misinterpretation)
7.1 Supply Model Naming Crosswalk (Strategy vs Register)
The Supply Strategy – Aggregated document evaluates three options: A (OTA-only), B (NDC / Direct Airline Heavy), C (Hybrid Progressive).
This register uses Model A/B/C. Use the crosswalk below to avoid confusion:
| Supply Strategy (Aggregated) | What it means | Closest Register Model | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Option A — OTA-Only | Integrate multiple OTAs; redirect users to book | Model A — OTA Affiliate Only | Same concept; fastest time-to-market, lower margin ceiling. |
| Option B — NDC / Direct Airline Heavy | Direct airline retailing; higher margin & complexity | (Not selected in v1.0) | If chosen later, it becomes a major scope + ops shift (often requires higher capex + specialized team). |
| Option C — Hybrid Progressive | Start broad (OTA/GDS), then add selective NDC | Model B — GDS/Aggregator + OTAs (redirect-only) | This is what v1.0’s “Model B” effectively represents for MVP (hybrid supply, but NOT on-platform checkout). |
Scope reminder: Checkout remains redirect-only per v1.0 (no payments/refunds/chargebacks).
8️⃣ “System-Integrity” Capabilities (Backend / Platform) — Approval Matrix Add-On
These are not “nice-to-have features”; they are required mechanics of meta-search at scale (async fan-out, normalization, dedup, ranking, caching, retries).
| Category | Capability | Included (Yes/No) | Phase | Dependency | Monetization Impact | Risk Level | Client Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search Core | Search Session Service (create sessionId; store user inputs; polling state) | Yes | MVP | None | Indirect (CTR stability) | Medium | ☐ |
| Search Core | Polling Orchestrator (async fan-out; deadlines; progressive results) | Yes | MVP | Hybrid supply | CPC/CPA | High (latency/cost) | ☐ |
| Search Core | Offer Normalization (schema harmonization across suppliers) | Yes | MVP | Hybrid supply | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Search Core | Deduplication Engine (itinerary hashing + clustering) | Yes | MVP | Hybrid supply | CPC/CPA | Medium | ☐ |
| Search Core | Ranking Engine (multi-factor scoring; per-sort modes) | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA | High (trust/bias) | ☐ |
| Reliability | Supplier Circuit Breakers + Adaptive Throttling | Yes | MVP | Hybrid supply | CPC/CPA | High (supplier bans) | ☐ |
| Reliability | Degraded Mode Rules (e.g., if too many suppliers timeout) | Yes | MVP | Hybrid supply | Retention | Medium | ☐ |
| Cost Control | Per-route call budgets + caching policy (TTL, refresh strategy) | Yes | MVP | Hybrid supply | CPC/CPA | High (unit economics) | ☐ |
| Data Platform | Event taxonomy: search → impression → click → postback → issues | Yes | MVP | None | CPC/CPA/Ads | Medium | ☐ |
| Data Platform | Partner reconciliation pipeline (click/postback matching; dispute support) | Yes | P2 | Hybrid supply | CPC/CPA | High (revenue leakage) | ☐ |
| Experimentation | A/B testing framework (ranking, ads, UX modules) | Yes | P2 | None | CPC/Ads | Medium | ☐ |
9️⃣ AI / ML Feature Portfolio (OPTION CATALOG + Approval)
9.1 AI Principles (Must be accepted if any AI is approved)
- Deterministic core, probabilistic assist
- No hallucinations on transactional surfaces
- Traceability (model + inputs + outputs + impact)
- Privacy-first (PII minimization, redaction, retention controls)
- Trust > short-term revenue
9.2 AI Feature Approval Matrix (Add-On)
AI is not required for SOW MVP delivery, but is a major lever for: conversion, cost-per-search, ad yield, and fraud prevention.
| AI Capability | What it does | Phase | Included (Yes/No) | Monetization / KPI lever | Hard prerequisites | Risk level | Client Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Language Flight Search (NL→Query) | “Fly Abu Dhabi to Istanbul next Fri, cheapest” → structured query | P2 | No | CTR ↑ | NL parser + airport/entity mapping | Low | ☐ |
| Personalized “Best Value” Ranking (LTR) | Ranking tuned by prefs & behavior | P2 | No | CTR ↑ / Rev/search ↑ | event logs + feature store | Medium (bias) | ☐ |
| Offer Explanations (“Why this?”) | Explain baggage/refund/layover tradeoffs | P2 | No | CTR ↑ / Trust ↑ | strict grounding to supplier fields | Medium (hallucination) | ☐ |
| Price Prediction (“Book / Wait”) | Confidence-based price movement prediction | Future | No | Retention ↑ | price history store + model eval | Medium | ☐ |
| Smart Alerts (noise suppression) | Alerts that matter; suppression caps | P2 | No | Retention ↑ | notification events + preference store | Low | ☐ |
| Trip Assistant (pre click-out guidance) | Assistive policy/FAQ guidance | Future | No | Trust ↑ | curated policy KB + guardrails | Medium | ☐ |
| Supplier Call Optimization | Reduce wasted fan-out; choose best suppliers | P2 | No | Cost/search ↓ | supplier stats, latency + yield logs | Medium | ☐ |
| Provider Quality Scoring & Suppression | Down-rank suppliers by mismatch/latency | P2 | No | Trust ↑ / Disputes ↓ | mismatch signals + postbacks | High (partner disputes) | ☐ |
| Sponsored Placement Optimizer | Max yield with relevance floors | P2 | No | Ads RPM ↑ | CTR/CVR models + ad governance | High (trust) | ☐ |
| Fraud/IVT Detection | Detect bots/click spam; exclude from billing | P2 | No | Net revenue ↑ | device/IP signals + postbacks | High (false positives) | ☐ |
| Price Mismatch Prediction | “Price likely to change” labels | P2 | No | Trust ↑ | verify outcomes + volatility features | Medium | ☐ |
| Support Copilot (session-aware) | Faster support responses w/ correct facts | P2 | No | AHT ↓ | session timeline + RBAC | Medium | ☐ |
| Partner Onboarding Copilot | Faster mappings + test cases | P2 | No | Time-to-integrate ↓ | partner docs + schema | Low | ☐ |
| AI-Assisted SEO at Scale | Route/city FAQs with grounding | P2 | No | Organic sessions ↑ | templates + data grounding + review | High (SEO quality) | ☐ |
| Analytics Copilot in Admin | Ask-your-data insights + actions | P2 | No | Decision speed ↑ | semantic metrics layer + RBAC | Medium | ☐ |
9.3 AI Data Foundation — Mandatory if any AI is enabled
| Foundation Item | MVP Included (Yes/No) | Notes | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unified event schema (search/impression/click/postback/issues) | Yes | Required for attribution and later AI | ☐ |
| Feature store (logical or physical) | P2 | Enables ranking/prediction/fraud models | ☐ |
| Model governance (versioning, drift, audits) | P2 | Needed for trust & compliance | ☐ |
🔟 Supply Provider Options (Shortlist + Sequencing)
10.1 Supplier Landscape (Approved “available options” catalog)
The SOW explicitly calls out Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport (GDS/NDC) and “OTA APIs … where available”.
The supply strategy adds additional viable options (NDC aggregators and OTA APIs).
| Provider | Type | Integration Complexity | Best For | Contract baseline | MVP Included (Yes/No) | Client Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amadeus | GDS + NDC | Very High | Enterprise breadth | SOW | ☐ | ☐ |
| Sabre | GDS + NDC | Very High | Enterprise breadth | SOW | ☐ | ☐ |
| Travelport | GDS + NDC | Very High | Enterprise breadth | SOW | ☐ | ☐ |
| Duffel | Modern Airline API | Medium | Developer-first builds | Optional | ☐ | ☐ |
| Verteil | NDC Aggregator | Medium | Airline retail entry | Optional | ☐ | ☐ |
| TPConnects | NDC Aggregator | Medium | GCC focus | Optional | ☐ | ☐ |
| Travelfusion | Direct Connect + LCC | High | LCC heavy markets | Optional | ☐ | ☐ |
| Kiwi | OTA | Low–Medium | Fast OTA model | Optional | ☐ | ☐ |
Minimum decision required for MVP: pick (1) primary “breadth” supplier (typically one GDS/aggregator) + (1–2) OTA partners for redundancy.
10.2 MVP Integration Sequencing (recommended)
- Wave 1 (MVP): 1 GDS/aggregator + 1–2 OTA partners (prove coverage + stability)
- Wave 2 (P2): add NDC aggregator for high-volume routes; add more OTAs based on yield
- Wave 3 (Future): selective airline-direct if margin upside justifies complexity
11️⃣ Monetization Options Catalog (Ads + CPC/CPA) — What exactly is “Ads inventory”?
11.1 “Ads inventory surfaces” (where ads can appear)
| Surface | Description | Phase | Requires | Risk | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top banner on results | Sponsored airline/destination banner | P2 | Ad server + labeling | High (trust) | ☐ |
| In-feed sponsored card | Sponsored flight/provider card within results list | P2 | Ranking + ad rules | High (bias) | ☐ |
| Provider list “promoted” slot | Promoted provider in the fare-options list | P2 | Guardrails + audits | High (deception risk) | ☐ |
| Side-rail display (web) | Display modules (destination, car rental, etc.) | P2 | Inventory slots | Medium | ☐ |
11.2 Non-negotiable ad governance rules (if any ads are enabled)
- Clear “Sponsored” labeling and separation
- Relevance floor + provider quality floor
- Frequency caps per session/user
- Audit logs for ad decisions and overrides
12️⃣ Governance Add-Ons (aligning with strategy + documentation framework)
12.1 Supplier Governance (recommended baseline)
- Quarterly review: SLA, margin, latency, conversion, mismatch rate
- Contract termination rule: terminate a supplier after repeated SLA breaches
- Margin renegotiation triggers at volume thresholds
12.2 Documentation & Go/No-Go Gates (mandatory)
This approval register should be paired with the mandatory documentation framework:
- PRD/HLD/LLD approval
- Security review + threat model
- Testing strategy (unit/integration/e2e/perf/security)
- Observability readiness (logs/metrics/traces + alert thresholds)
- Release/rollback plan