FlightAPI is an API for comparing flight prices and tracking flights.
In this tutorial, we’ll cover the steps necessary to import flight price and flight tracking data into Google Sheets using FlightAPI and the Apipheny API integrator for Google Sheets.
Apipheny is an API connector for Google Sheets. You can use Apipheny to connect your Google Sheets to unlimited API data sources, make unlimited API requests, and more. There is a 30 day free trial included.
1.) Install Apipheny by opening the following link on desktop and then clicking the Install button in the Google Marketplace: https://apipheny.io/install
2.) After you’ve installed Apipheny, open a Google Sheet and then click on the Extensions dropdown in the menu at the top.
In the dropdown list you should see Apipheny. Click Apipheny then click Import API to open the Apipheny sidebar in your Google Sheet.
Tip: you can open a new Google Sheet by entering this URL in your browser: sheet.new
After installing Apipheny, you need to sign up for a flight tracking or flight price comparison API. Click here for a list of Flight APIs you can try to use.
In this tutorial, we will be testing the FlightAPI, which allows us to track flights and compare flight prices from multiple vendors and companies like Expedia, Cheaptickets.com, Priceline, and more. I have no affiliation with FlightAPI, I’m just testing their API as an example.
FlightAPI includes a free trial and the paid plans start at $49/month. Click here to sign up for FlightAPI.
After you sign-up, you’ll see your API key in your account:
Copy and paste your API key somewhere safe because you will need it in the following steps.
Your next step is to create an API URL that will pull the flight data that you need from FlightAPI.
Click here to read the FlightAPI documentation.
Below I’ve pasted some example API URLs that may be possible to use to call the flight API from Google Sheets using Apipheny. I haven’t tested all of them myself, I only tested one of them which you will see in the following step.
Compare price for a one-way trip:
https://api.flightapi.io/onewaytrip/YOURAPIKEY/LOND/LAX/2019-10-11/2/0/1/Economy/USD
Compare price for a round-trip flight:
https://api.flightapi.io/roundtrip/YOURAPIKEY/LOND/LAX/2019-10-11/2019-10-15/2/0/1/Economy/USD
Track a flight:
https://api.flightapi.io/tracker/5e15ab8d2366c880ddc60dec/LAX/BOM/2020-1-11/12
Track an airplane using the flight number:
https://api.flightapi.io/airline/api_key?num=113&name=BA&date=20200407
IATA/city and airline codes:
https://api.flightapi.io/iata/api-key/new%20york/airport
Airport schedule data:
https://api.flightapi.io/schedule/api-key?day=Day&mode=Mode&iata=IataCode
You will need to customize the URL by replacing parameters like the API key, IATA code, date, and possibly other parameters within the URL, depending on the data you’re trying to pull. Click here to read the documentation.
After creating your API URL to get the exact data you need, your last step is to paste your FlightAPI request in the “API URL Path” field of the Apipheny add-on.
After entering your API request in the Apipheny add-on, just click the “Run” button at the bottom of the Apipheny sidebar and your flight price data will automatically import into your Google Sheets, if you made your URL right. If it takes longer than 30 seconds, your request is not right.
In this example, I create a request to get one-way flight price data from London to Los Angeles:
This is the API URL I entered into the “API URL Path” field in Apipheny:
https://api.flightapi.io/onewaytrip/ENTER_API_KEY_HERE/LOND/LAX/2020-08-08/2/0/1/Economy/USD
I used a date in the future “2020-08-08” within the URL.
Don’t forget to click Run after entering your API request into Apipheny and then wait for the data to be imported.
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