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"You don't need to take any action. However, if you are actively using this product you may want to find an alternate solution before April 10, 2018." So, you

"You don't need to take any action. However, if you are actively using this product you may want to find an alternate solution before April 10, 2018." So, you do need to take action? That's a pretty terrible set of FAQs. They should at least provide a list of alternatives.

JoblessWonder 9y ago
I mean, you don't NEED to take any action... if you don't care that your data feed no longer exists.
- kbenson 9y ago
  Yes. I'm sure many, possibly even the majority, of clients subscribed to the API don't have it in active use. There's a bunch defunct side projects out there. This notice likely went out to every account with a subscription to this API.
saurik 9y ago
It is even better, as the question is "What steps should I take?", which is a very "just tell me what I need to do, step by step" way to ask this question, and yet the answer doesn't give you any concrete suggestions for what to do now other than "feel am impending sense of doom". (Though given that Google knows the only people who care are people they likely consider to be competitors--as the whole reason they bought ITA in the first place was to obtain the power that comes from vertical integration--that is likely exactly what was going through their minds when they wrote that: "let's be particularly unhelpful".)
- kbenson 9y ago
  This is one of those cases where "let the market sort it out" is likely the right answer. If someone has an alternative, you can bet they are going to capitalize on this, and Google telling you where to go may actually hurt more than help (who days their suggestion is best?), and if there isn't an alternative, there's not much to say.
Johnny555 9y ago
It seems clear to me -- you don't need to do anything to continue your use of the API (no website to visit, no contracts to sign, etc). But that doesn't change the fact that they are ending the service. If a developer doesn't know what "After April 10th, you will not be able to access the API" means, I don't now how they could be more clear.
- ajeet_dhaliwal 9y ago
  I think it's the wrong time to use the phrase 'you don't need to take any action'. You can say that when it's a new version being released without any breaking changes but not when you're shutting down a service! You must look for an alternative and implement a migration, that is action.
wbeckler 9y ago
For anybody looking for an alternative, there is Fareportal, which has a full featured API for flights with both search and booking ability. https://www.fareportallabs.com/Home/DownloadDocs#0 https://www.fareportallabs.com/Home/DownloadDocs#0 I'm happy to answer questions as I'm helping several companies switch over to Fareportal at the moment.
- tumblen 9y ago
  What is Fareportal's pricing? I can't find it.
  - wbeckler 9y ago
    Price for API calls? Those are free for affiliate partnerships. The flights pricing itself matches what you would find, for example, on CheapOair.com or OneTravel.com, which are driven by Fareportal's APIs.
- redindian75 9y ago
  Do u have Gate information for live flights? I am looking for Gate information & Flight schedules by airport. Ex: I want to be able to query incoming/outgoing flights to Gate-A-10 in ATL today. ------------- Query to: find where [Flight DL123] is going next. [ATL-LAX] -> Landing in 'Gate 10' in LAX going next to.... [LAX-MIA] -> Landing in 'Gate A1' in MIA going next to.... [MIA-JFK] -> Landing in 'Gate 1', Terminal 3 in JFK ------------ Gate 10 in Atlanta: [AA38] SEA-ATL arriving at 6:37A [AA38] ATL-LAX leaving at 7:45A (2 hours no flights at Gate 10) [AA99] JFK-ATL arriving at 9:45A [AA99] ATL-JFK leaving at 10:45A
  - wbeckler 9y ago
    Fareportal handles bookings in advance, not really live flight data.
- lucasverra 9y ago
  Hey there, need flight info for delayed flights in EU ? My 3 usd subscription to flight stats[1] give me just 3 days history and no room for more fine tunning [1](https://i.imgur.com/nOjjPjE.png https://i.imgur.com/nOjjPjE.png)

JoblessWonder 9y ago

I mean, you don't NEED to take any action... if you don't care that your data feed no longer exists.

kbenson 9y ago
Yes. I'm sure many, possibly even the majority, of clients subscribed to the API don't have it in active use. There's a bunch defunct side projects out there. This notice likely went out to every account with a subscription to this API.

saurik 9y ago

It is even better, as the question is "What steps should I take?", which is a very "just tell me what I need to do, step by step" way to ask this question, and yet the answer doesn't give you any concrete suggestions for what to do now other than "feel am impending sense of doom". (Though given that Google knows the only people who care are people they likely consider to be competitors--as the whole reason they bought ITA in the first place was to obtain the power that comes from vertical integration--that is likely exactly what was going through their minds when they wrote that: "let's be particularly unhelpful".)

kbenson 9y ago
This is one of those cases where "let the market sort it out" is likely the right answer. If someone has an alternative, you can bet they are going to capitalize on this, and Google telling you where to go may actually hurt more than help (who days their suggestion is best?), and if there isn't an alternative, there's not much to say.

Johnny555 9y ago

It seems clear to me -- you don't need to do anything to continue your use of the API (no website to visit, no contracts to sign, etc). But that doesn't change the fact that they are ending the service. If a developer doesn't know what "After April 10th, you will not be able to access the API" means, I don't now how they could be more clear.

ajeet_dhaliwal 9y ago
I think it's the wrong time to use the phrase 'you don't need to take any action'. You can say that when it's a new version being released without any breaking changes but not when you're shutting down a service! You must look for an alternative and implement a migration, that is action.

wbeckler 9y ago

For anybody looking for an alternative, there is Fareportal, which has a full featured API for flights with both search and booking ability. https://www.fareportallabs.com/Home/DownloadDocs#0 https://www.fareportallabs.com/Home/DownloadDocs#0 I'm happy to answer questions as I'm helping several companies switch over to Fareportal at the moment.

tumblen 9y ago
What is Fareportal's pricing? I can't find it.
- wbeckler 9y ago
  Price for API calls? Those are free for affiliate partnerships. The flights pricing itself matches what you would find, for example, on CheapOair.com or OneTravel.com, which are driven by Fareportal's APIs.
redindian75 9y ago
Do u have Gate information for live flights? I am looking for Gate information & Flight schedules by airport. Ex: I want to be able to query incoming/outgoing flights to Gate-A-10 in ATL today. ------------- Query to: find where [Flight DL123] is going next. [ATL-LAX] -> Landing in 'Gate 10' in LAX going next to.... [LAX-MIA] -> Landing in 'Gate A1' in MIA going next to.... [MIA-JFK] -> Landing in 'Gate 1', Terminal 3 in JFK ------------ Gate 10 in Atlanta: [AA38] SEA-ATL arriving at 6:37A [AA38] ATL-LAX leaving at 7:45A (2 hours no flights at Gate 10) [AA99] JFK-ATL arriving at 9:45A [AA99] ATL-JFK leaving at 10:45A
- wbeckler 9y ago
  Fareportal handles bookings in advance, not really live flight data.
lucasverra 9y ago
Hey there, need flight info for delayed flights in EU ? My 3 usd subscription to flight stats[1] give me just 3 days history and no room for more fine tunning [1](https://i.imgur.com/nOjjPjE.png https://i.imgur.com/nOjjPjE.png)