How to Monitor Flight Prices with TypeScript

Keeping track of flight prices manually is an exhausting task, often producing unreliable results due to limitations of APIs or generic scraping methods. Manual monitoring requires consistent effort, time-consuming checks, and frequently runs into access issues, such as challenging logins, Captchas, or two-factor authentication.

This Airtop automation, built around TypeScript, fully automates the extraction of real-time flight information directly from airline and travel websites. It navigates using real browser sessions, effortlessly managing login complexity, OAuth authentication, 2FA, and Captchas. Developers benefit from accurate, structured data outputs, streamlining integration into booking systems and travel analytics tools.

Who is this Automation for?

• Travel Application Developers

• Automation Engineers

• Pricing Analysts

• Technical Product Managers

Key Benefits

• Real browser sessions ensure accurate, current flight data

• Structured output (JSON) for straightforward integration

• Automated handling for logins, OAuth authorization, 2FA, and Captchas

• Fully customizable TypeScript environment for precise control

Use Cases

• Building dynamic flight price tracking systems

• Integrating real-time flight options into travel booking platforms

• Monitoring competitor pricing and promotional offers for analysis

• Automating customer alerts for flight price drops and offers

Getting Started with the Monitor Flight Prices Automation

Quickly set up and automate the extraction of flight prices using the TypeScript automation template by Airtop.

How the Monitor Flight Prices Automation Works

This Airtop automation navigates to specified airline or travel websites using real browser sessions powered by TypeScript scripts. It securely handles site authentication flows, including multi-factor authentication and Captchas, extracts structured data including flight price, airline, date, and duration, then neatly outputs this structured data as JSON for immediate integration with external tools and booking engines.

What You'll Need

• An active Airtop account

• Node.js and TypeScript runtime environment

• Target airline or booking website URLs and login credentials (if required)

• API endpoints or storage database for collected data

Setting Up the Automation

1. Log into your Airtop account and select the "Monitor Flight Prices" automation template.

2. Configure the target airline or booking website URLs and login details within the provided TypeScript script.

3. Define the data elements you want to extract (price, duration, airline, etc.) in the structured JSON output.

4. Test your configuration to ensure accurate automated scraping and extraction.

5. Schedule automation intervals or trigger manually as needed to continually monitor price changes.

Customize the Automation

The Airtop automation environment and flexible TypeScript-based scripts enable you to tailor flight monitoring precisely to your project's requirements. Consider these customization examples:

• Add or modify selectors to capture additional details, such as fare classes or layover information.

• Automate conditional logic, like sending notifications when particular price thresholds are met.

• Integrate with external APIs or databases to persist automated data history for trend analysis.

• Build custom error handling and detailed logging for production-grade reliability and alerting.

Automation Best Practices

• Regularly verify selectors and test data accuracy, as airline sites frequently update content.

• Use clearly named variables and modular functions in TypeScript scripts for easy maintenance.

• Store extracted data securely, particularly when capturing travel data associated with user accounts.

• Implement detailed logging to quickly identify and troubleshoot issues in your automation flow.