Seats Aero

Live Search

Real-time search for ANY city pair (not limited to monitored routes). Commercial agreement required. Not available to Pro users via API.

5-15 second response times. Build proper error handling with exponential backoff.

curl -s -X POST -H "Partner-Authorization: $SEATS_AERO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"origin_airport":"SFO","destination_airport":"NRT","departure_date":"2026-08-15","source":"united","seat_count":2}' \
  "https://seats.aero/partnerapi/live" | jq '.'

Parameters (JSON body)

Important: IDs returned from live search are NOT real and cannot be used with other Seats.aero APIs (Get Trips, etc.). Live results are ephemeral.

Pagination

All list endpoints use skip + cursor. On first call, omit both. From the response, save the cursor value. On subsequent calls, pass cursor and increment skip by the number of results received.

The cursor is a Unix timestamp. Treat it as opaque. Rare duplicates are possible across pages. Deduplicate by ID.

Useful jq Filters

# Business class availability sorted by cheapest miles
... | jq '[.data[] | select(.JAvailable == true) | {date: .Date, origin: .Route.OriginAirport, dest: .Route.DestinationAirport, miles: (.JMileageCost | tonumber), seats: .JRemainingSeats, airlines: .JAirlines, source: .Source, direct: .JDirect}] | sort_by(.miles)'

# Saver vs dynamic detection: if miles < threshold, likely saver
# AA: J saver ~57.5K for transatlantic, dynamic 100K+
# United: J saver ~60-80K for transatlantic, dynamic 100K+
... | jq '[.data[] | select(.JAvailable == true) | {date: .Date, miles: (.JMileageCost | tonumber), source: .Source, type: (if (.JMileageCost | tonumber) < 80000 then "likely_saver" else "dynamic" end)}]'

# Economy availability with 2+ seats
... | jq '[.data[] | select(.YAvailable == true and .YRemainingSeats >= 2) | {date: .Date, origin: .Route.OriginAirport, dest: .Route.DestinationAirport, miles: (.YMileageCost | tonumber), seats: .YRemainingSeats, source: .Source}] | sort_by(.miles)'

# All available cabins for a date range
... | jq '[.data[] | {date: .Date, origin: .Route.OriginAirport, dest: .Route.DestinationAirport, source: .Source, economy: (if .YAvailable then .YMileageCost else null end), business: (if .JAvailable then .JMileageCost else null end), first: (if .FAvailable then .FMileageCost else null end)}]'

# Direct flights only in business
... | jq '[.data[] | select(.JAvailable == true and .JDirect == true) | {date: .Date, miles: .JMileageCost, airlines: .JAirlines, source: .Source}]'

# Check data freshness (stale = potential phantom)
... | jq '[.data[] | {date: .Date, source: .Source, last_seen: .ComputedLastSeen}]'

Workflow: Trip Planning Search

1. Cached Search across multiple airports and date ranges to see what's available
2. Compare programs: check which source has the cheapest miles for the same route
3. Identify saver vs dynamic: low prices (e.g., 57.5K J for AA transatlantic) = saver. High prices (100K+) = dynamic.
4. Always pull Trip Details on promising availability IDs — do not stop at the search summary. The search summary (JMileageCost) only shows the cheapest itinerary. Trip details show all available options including Standard/dynamic tiers that the summary hides. This is mandatory for any search involving 2+ travelers.
5. Apply the layover filter (see below) before presenting results.
6. Verify freshness: check ComputedLastSeen. If stale (hours old), the availability may be phantom.
7. Cross-reference: check the airline's own site or call to confirm before transferring points
8. Use booking_links from trip response to book directly on each program's site
9. Cross-reference with AwardWallet balances to confirm enough points

Layover Quality Filter

After pulling trip details, always calculate layover time for every itinerary. Flag any layover over 3 hours. Do not silently present a bad-layover itinerary as the recommendation just because it's cheapest.

When the cheapest option has a layover over 3 hours:

1. Show it with an explicit flag: "⚠️ 8h layover in FRA"
2. Automatically surface the next cheapest itinerary with a layover under 3 hours alongside it
3. Let the user decide whether the points savings justify the wait — never make that call silently

Why this matters: Saver inventory often has the cheapest price but worst routings (long layovers, odd connections). Standard inventory typically costs 20-30% more in miles but offers significantly better itineraries. The cheapest award is not always the best award.

# Calculate layover duration from trip segments
# TotalDuration = full trip (gate to gate including layovers)
# Sum of individual segment durations = pure flight time
# Layover = TotalDuration - sum(segment durations)
# Flag if any single layover exceeds 180 minutes

curl -s -H "Partner-Authorization: $SEATS_AERO_API_KEY" \
  "https://seats.aero/partnerapi/trips/{id}" | jq '
  .data[] | {
    miles: .MileageCost,
    flights: .FlightNumbers,
    total_min: .TotalDuration,
    segments: [.AvailabilitySegments[] | {
      flight: .FlightNumber,
      from: .OriginAirport,
      to: .DestinationAirport,
      departs: .DepartsAt,
      arrives: .ArrivesAt
    }]
  }
'

Why Results May Be Empty

1. No saver space released. Most programs only show saver awards to partners. Check the airline's own site.
2. Elite/status restrictions. Some seats only visible to elite members or cardholders.
3. Route not monitored. If the route isn't in Get Routes, cached search won't have it. Live search can check any route.
4. Search window limits. Airlines release awards at different advance windows. Check release dates tool.
5. Already booked. Award space changes constantly. Set alerts for notification when it opens.

Specialized Tools (Web UI Only)

These tools are available on the seats.aero website but not via the Partner API:

• Alaska Upgrade Finder (seats.aero/alaska/upgrades): Find confirmable upgrade space for Alaska elites using Atmos Gold Guest Upgrade certificates. Dedicated tool for scanning upgrade availability.
• Etihad First Class Finder (seats.aero/etihad/first): Dedicated tracker for newly available Etihad First Class seats. Etihad F is rare and highly sought after. This tool surfaces new availability faster than general search.
• Price History: Fare trends over time are available on the web UI but not via API. Use the seats-aero-web skill (Patchright browser automation) to access price history charts.

Alert Features

When creating alerts on seats.aero:

• Time filters: Departure and arrival time ranges are available as alert filters. Useful for avoiding red-eyes or ensuring morning arrivals.
• Cabin, route, and program filters: Standard alert parameters.
• Alerts notify via email or push when matching availability appears.

Third-Party Integrations

Pro account holders can connect seats.aero to third-party apps via the "Connect seats.aero" button on the website.

• aeroconnections.app (by @wavydavy): Visualization tool that shows available connections from specific airports. Log in with your Pro account to see current award space mapped visually. Useful for exploring routing options you wouldn't think to search.

Notes

• All times in responses are local airport times.
• TotalTaxes is in cents (divide by 100 for dollars).
• MileageCost in availability objects is a string. In trip objects it's an integer.
• AllianceCost in trip objects shows what booking through an alliance partner would cost.
• Dynamic pricing filters are on by default. Pass include_filtered=true to see everything.
• Availability data is cached, not live. Check ComputedLastSeen for freshness.
• Pro users: 1,000 API calls/day. Failed live searches don't count.
• Free users can only search 30 days ahead. Pro unlocks 60+ days.
• Post-search filters (max points, stops, duration, etc.) now apply directly to flight detail results, not just the search results list.