Uber has collaborated with OAG since 2016 to enhance flight tracking for its Uber Reserve service, initially offered at selected US airports. Uber Reserve enables riders to pre-schedule airport pickups up to 90 days in advance. Notifications about delays or early arrivals are sent through the Uber app, and reservation times are automatically adjusted based on OAG’s data, ensuring that drivers are ready when passengers land.

The Status Data from OAG also aids Uber in demand management. For instance, if multiple inbound flights are delayed, Uber can deploy additional resources promptly. Due to the service’s success, Uber expanded Uber Reserve globally in 2023.

Initially, Uber used two of OAG’s APIs: FlightView XML for scheduled data and FlightView Batch for near real-time updates. Recently, Uber transitioned to OAG’s Flight Info Alerts, a cloud-enabled platform, which consolidates status and schedules into a single source, facilitating a more robust and scalable operation.

The technical intricacies are detailed in OAG’s paper, covering challenges with the legacy APIs and the implementation and outcomes of OAG’s solutions. The legacy APIs faced issues when flights changed within look-ahead windows, causing inconsistencies in Uber’s backend.

The original setup involved integrating FVXML API for long-term scheduling and FVBatch Data for tracking imminent flights. However, the need for a per-minute scheduled workflow led Uber and OAG to closely collaborate and plan transitions.

Through these efforts, Flight Info Alerts emerged as a proposed solution, ensuring a cohesive user experience for Uber Reserve anywhere globally, from booking to arrival.

Source: Uber Reserve’s Cloud Transformation with OAG | Data, Tech and Product.