Web platformBooking & travelOriginal by obilet.com
obilet is a leading Turkish ticketing site that makes buying tickets easier by letting travellers compare dozens of coach operators and flights on one search screen. Passengers choose by departure time, price, operator rating and seat layout, and pay in one place. Its reliability rests on showing live seat availability correctly and running cancellations and refunds smoothly.
The real work in building something similar is not the interface but the operator and supplier integrations. You need an integration layer that connects to coach operators' ticketing systems and to GDS or aggregator APIs for flights, a search engine that merges the results and seat-locking logic. A website, a mobile app, a partner panel and accounting reconciliation are part of the scope too.
How obilet works: the core user flow
How many apps and dashboards do you need?
Website and mobile app
The interfaces where passengers search departures, choose seats, pay and manage their tickets.
Operator and partner panel
The panel where smaller operators without an integration enter departures and fares and monitor their sales.
Admin and reconciliation panel
The panel for managing commissions, refunds, promotions and per-operator reconciliation reports.
Critical features of a product like obilet
Multi-supplier search
Sends parallel queries to different operators' APIs, then merges and ranks the results in one format.
Live seat map
Fetches the coach layout and occupied or free seats from the operator in real time and applies seating rules.
Seat locking and timeout
Holds the seat briefly during checkout and releases it if payment is not completed.
Cancellations, open tickets and changes
Calculates the refund amount according to operator rules and handles open-dated tickets and date changes.
Price alerts and flexible dates
Notifications when prices drop on a chosen route and a fare calendar for nearby dates.
Operator ratings and reviews
Operators are rated through post-trip reviews, which also affect their ranking.
What goes into the first version, what comes later
First version (MVP)
- Coach departure search and listings
- Live integration with a few operators and seat selection
- Online payment and e-ticket delivery by SMS and email
- Ticket lookup, cancellations and refunds
- Admin panel with commission and reconciliation reports
Later releases
- Flight and ferry ticket integration
- Mobile app and price alerts
- Hotel and car rental cross-selling
- Loyalty points and corporate travel accounts
Modules and how the budget is calculated
The budget is calculated with 360 SOFT’s pricing model from the modules below, about 30 screens and the project’s complexity: roughly 204 person-days for the full scope and 124 person-days for the first version. Every module you drop lowers the budget directly.
| Module | Phase |
|---|---|
| Sign-up, login, social login | First version |
| User profile and settings | First version |
| Roles and permissions | First version |
| Admin dashboard | First version |
| Booking / reservations | First version |
| Advanced search and filters | First version |
| Online payments (Stripe / PSP) | First version |
| Marketplace integration (Amazon, etc.) | Later release |
| Email / SMS notifications | First version |
| Ratings and reviews | First version |
| Reporting and analytics | Later release |
| E-invoicing | First version |
| Third-party API integration | First version |
Hosting, SMS, map APIs, app store accounts and payment-provider fees are separate items. Maintenance and improvements (optional): €700 / month. We send a fixed written price within 24 hours after a free discovery call.
The hard parts
Integration diversity
Each operator's system uses different protocols and data structures; building and maintaining a shared adapter layer takes continuous effort.
Double-booking risk
To make sure a seat is not sold through another channel, locking and confirmation steps must stay in sync with the operator.
Holiday peaks
Traffic multiplies during public holidays and peak travel periods; caching and scalable infrastructure are essential.
Business model
The main revenue is the commission operators pay on every ticket sold. A small service fee for passengers, add-ons such as travel insurance and cancellation cover, hotel and car rental cross-sales and fees operators pay to be featured in search results increase revenue. For flights, a transaction fee model is usually applied.
Get a free quote for your project
Let us scope it together and send a fixed written quote within 24 hours. NDA on request; you own the source code.
Choosing a company to build an app like obilet
Most people searching “website like obilet” are really looking for a reliable app development company. When comparing quotes, check four things:
- Can you try similar products they have shipped, in the stores or live?
- Are the source code, design files, servers and store accounts transferred to you by contract?
- Do they show a working demo every two weeks, with written scope and acceptance criteria?
- Are maintenance, scaling and GDPR/security costs written into the quote?
Copyright and trademarks
A business model and features are generally not protected on their own, but the obilet name, logo, interface design, content and source code are. That is why we build a product with similar functionality but your own brand, design and code. This is not legal advice; we recommend a trademark search before launch.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build a website like obilet?
A first version integrated with a limited number of coach operators can go live in a few months. What really sets the timeline is the number of operator integrations and how quickly operators deliver their APIs.
How do you integrate with coach operators?
Operators usually open the API of their ticketing software under an agency agreement. Some software providers bundle several operators under a single API, which speeds things up at the start.
Are there copyright or trademark issues?
The ticket comparison model is free to use; the obilet name, logo, design, content and code may not be copied. This information is not legal advice.
Which legal steps does a ticketing site need?
Agency agreements, distance selling terms and GDPR texts, e-invoicing and the relevant authorisations for selling flights should be assessed. Payments should be taken through a licensed payment provider.
