Introduction

This guide explains how to run a shopping search using the Sandbox Tool and view the results returned by the API. The shopping search lets you simulate real booking scenarios by entering journey details such as destinations, travel dates, fares and passenger information, then retrieving matching flight offers from the Sandbox environment.

You'll learn where to enter your search criteria, how to run a search and how to review the offers and logs generated by the system. This helps you understand how the search flow works end to end, so you can test integrations, validate responses and become familiar with the booking process before moving to a live environment.

Video

A guided walkthrough of the Virgin Atlantic Sandbox Tool, from shopping search to confirmed booking.

Prerequisites

How the flow works

A complete test booking follows five steps in sequence:

1. Shopping Search — enter journey criteria and run a search (AirShopping)
2. Offers — review and select a fare offer (OfferPrice)
3. Passenger Details — enter traveller information and optional ancillaries
4. Confirm Order — review the order summary and submit payment (OrderCreate)
5. API XML Logs — inspect the full request/response logs for each call

Shopping Search

This is the Flight Search screen, designed to help you navigate and manage your search efficiently.

1. In the Left Navigation, you'll find the search filter, a list of previous searches, and the Admin Panel menu.
2. The Main Section of the screen displays the Flight Search interface, where you can input travel details and view matching flight results.

Main Section

The Main Section is where you begin your test booking journey. Define the key parameters for your search — journey type, fare preferences, travel dates, and passenger details — to simulate real-world scenarios and retrieve accurate API responses from the Sandbox environment.

1. Journey Type: Select the type of journey. Available options are One Way, Round Trip, Multicity and Open Jaw.
2. Cabin Type: Choose your preferred cabin class: Business, Premium Economy or Economy.
3. Fare Type: Select either Published (No Penalties) or Published (With Penalties).
4. Calendar Search Tolerances: Specify a flexible date range. You can search up to ±3 days around your selected departure and return dates.
5. Flying From: Enter the departure airport. Start typing the airport name or IATA code and the system will suggest matching airports.
6. Flying To: Enter the arrival airport. You can also search by airport name or IATA code.
7. When (Date Range): Select the outbound and inbound travel dates for your journey.
8. Who (Passengers): Indicate who is flying and their ages. This determines the appropriate fare categories (e.g., adult, child, infant).

Once you have entered your search criteria, click the Search button. An AirShopping request will be submitted to the API.

Offers

The Sandbox Tool will return a list of offers matching your search criteria, as shown below.

Select one of the available options. In the example below, Economy Classic is selected.

Passenger Details

Once you have selected your offer, provide the passenger details for each traveller.

1. Name: The passenger's title (e.g. Mr), first name, and last name as they appear on their travel document.
2. Gender: The passenger's gender (e.g. M for Male).
3. Date of Birth: The passenger's date of birth in DD/MM/YYYY format.
4. Passenger Type: ADT, CHD, INF or GBE. For explanations see <PTC> under the PaxList Datalist.
5. Base Fare: The base fare for this passenger (e.g. 218.00).
6. Tax: The tax amount applicable to this passenger (e.g. 410.22).
7. Total Price: The combined fare and tax total per passenger (e.g. 628.22 GBP). Click the ⓘ icon for a full breakdown of charges.
8. Add Meal button: Click to add a meal preference for the passenger to the booking.

Confirm Order

This is the final step before completing the booking. The screen is divided into two panels: Customer Billing Details (left) and the Order Summary (right).

Customer Billing Details

Enter the billing contact information for this booking.

• First Name / Last Name: Enter the billing contact's name. Use the Passenger button to auto-populate with the passenger's details, or 3rd Party Payer if the billing contact is someone other than the traveller.

Customer Contact / Billing Address

• Address Line 1 / Address Line 2: Enter the billing address.
• City: Enter the city.
• State / County: Enter the state or county.
• Zip / Postcode: Enter the postcode.
• Country: Defaults to United Kingdom; update if required.
• Email: Enter the contact email address for booking confirmation.
• Telephone: Enter a contact phone number, with country dialling code pre-selected.

Total Due

A summary of all charges for the booking:

• Flights: Base fare and tax total (e.g. 628.22).
• Seats: Cost of any selected seats (0.00 if none added).
• Services (Meals / Bags): Cost of any ancillary services (0.00 if none added).
• Card Fee: Any applicable card payment surcharge.
• Total: The full amount due (e.g. 628.22 GBP).

Payment & Action Buttons

• Cash: Select to pay via cash / BSP settlement.
• Credit Card: Select to pay by credit card.
• Hold: Places the booking on hold without immediate payment.
• Book: Confirms and submits the order with the selected payment method (OrderCreate).

API XML Logs

From the Admin Panel, select the API XML Logs button to access every request and response captured during your session.

Developer Logs

Select any XML sample from the shopping flow to view the full request and response for that API call. You can download individual logs to compare against your own API development and validate requests and responses across the booking and servicing flows.

Select one of the samples. In the example below, AirShoppingRQ is selected to view the full request.