Freshness & data quality - Farelint

Fresh collection is a timestamp

observed_at records when Farelint collected the response. source_priced_at records when the source says it priced it, if available. A new collection can still contain a source-cached price. An unknown source pricing time is null.

Empty is not failed

Result	Interpretation
Completed with observations	The source returned parsed fare observations
Completed, empty	The source search completed with no offers for those criteria
Partial	Some requested scope was observed; inspect source-level gaps
Blocked or failed	No conclusion about flight availability can be drawn

Preserve uncertainty

Missing taxes, baggage, segments or fare conditions remain explicit. Do not infer direct flights or included bags from a low advertised price. Booking links may expire, and final prices can change.

Planned error behavior

Invalid input returns a specific validation error. Unavailable sources and exhausted budgets stop dispatch. Rate limits should include retry guidance; clients should back off rather than retry indefinitely. Error responses should carry a request ID, machine-readable code and retryability flag.

Service targets

Carrier freshness, latency, completion rates and completeness should be measured separately. Targets and any contractual SLA are agreed after validating the actual workload. No global uptime or response-time guarantee is currently offered.