A search round-trip airfare pricing method, system, electronic device and storage medium

Abstract

This disclosure relates to the field of flight search technology, providing a method, system, electronic device, and storage medium for searching through-flight fares. The method includes obtaining through-flight rules; constructing through-flight routes based on the through-flight rules; obtaining cabin class information for each flight based on the through-flight routes; filtering available through-flight routes based on the cabin class information for each flight and forming through-flight combinations; and calculating through-flight fares based on the through-flight combinations. By establishing through-flight routes and calculating through-flight fares based on through-flight combinations, the front-end platform can obtain through-flight fare results, prioritize pushing and selling compliant through-flight tickets to passengers, thereby improving the service experience of searching for through-flight fares.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of airfare search technology, and in particular to a method, system, electronic device, and storage medium for searching through-flight fares. Background Technology

[0002] Through flights are multi-segment journeys where passengers purchase connecting tickets at the originating station, operated by one or more airlines under an agreement. Passengers only need to check in and drop off their luggage once at the originating station; during transfers, they do not need to retrieve their luggage and can check it directly from the originating station to their destination, greatly improving travel convenience.

[0003] Through flights bring convenience to passengers' ticket purchase and travel. When selling through flight products, sales service providers need to place through flight products separately in the direct flight and connecting flight lists, and the connecting flight list should prioritize displaying through flight products.

[0004] The existing fare search process only generates direct flights and regular connecting flights, making it difficult to search for through flights. This makes it hard for the front-end platform to obtain through flight fare results to display to passengers, thus the service of searching for through flights needs improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, this disclosure provides a method, system, electronic device, and storage medium for searching through-flight fares. By establishing a through-flight system, the system can prioritize the return of through-flight results through a filtering logic, display through-flight results and through-flight identifiers across all channels, and prioritize the delivery and sale of compliant through-flight tickets to passengers.

[0006] The first aspect of this disclosure provides a method for searching through-flight fares, the method comprising: obtaining through-flight rules; constructing through-flights based on the through-flight rules; obtaining cabin class information for each flight based on the through-flights; filtering available through-flights based on the cabin class information for each flight and forming through-flight combinations; and calculating through-flight fares based on the through-flight combinations.

[0007] This setup, when establishing through-flight rules, allows for the prioritization of through-flight results through a filtering logic. This facilitates the acquisition of cabin class information for each flight and the selection of available through-flight combinations. Consequently, it enables the calculation of through-flight fares based on these combinations. This helps the front-end platform obtain through-flight fare results and prioritize the promotion and sale of compliant through-flight tickets to passengers, thereby improving the service experience of searching for through-flight fares.

[0008] In some embodiments, building a through flight based on the through flight rules includes: matching multiple flight segments based on the through flight combination configuration in the through flight rules; and building a through flight based on two of the multiple flight segments.

[0009] This setup only considers two-segment connecting flights, and does not set up connecting flights with more than two segments, so that the arrival time of the first segment and the departure time of the second segment are on the same calendar day when connecting flights are in transit.

[0010] In some embodiments, the step of creating a through flight based on two of the multiple flight segments includes: verifying whether the connecting flight time is greater than two hours based on the two flight segments; if it is greater, then a through flight is created; if it is less, then the creation of the through flight fails.

[0011] This setup helps to create through flights with transfer times that comply with connecting flight rules.

[0012] In some embodiments, the step of establishing a through flight based on two of the multiple flight segments includes: obtaining the inter-airline intermodal transport agreements for the multiple flight segments; verifying whether the airlines in the two flight segments are in the intermodal transport agreement list based on the inter-airline intermodal transport agreements; if they are, then establishing a through flight; if not, then establishing a through flight fails.

[0013] This setup helps to create through flights that comply with airline intermodal transport agreements.

[0014] In some embodiments, the step of filtering available through flights based on the cabin class information of each flight and forming through flight combinations includes: obtaining the number of through flight combinations with limited return; obtaining the number of available through flights and the number of ordinary connecting flights; and forming through flight combinations with the number of available through flights equal to the number of ordinary connecting flights based on the number of through flight combinations with limited return.

[0015] This setting, with the number of through flights and regular connecting flights being equal, helps to filter out the through flight combinations that are prioritized for return.

[0016] In some embodiments, forming a flight combination with the number of available through flights equal to the number of regular connecting flights based on the number of flight combinations returned by the restriction includes: marking the available through flights to form a through flight combination with the marking.

[0017] This setup is designed to facilitate the display of through flight identifiers after the through flight results are generated, thereby prioritizing the display of through flight products in the transit flight list.

[0018] In some embodiments, calculating the through flight fare based on the through flight combination includes: obtaining a fare combination scheme based on the user's itinerary and the through flight combination; calculating the fare price for each itinerary based on the fare combination scheme to generate an itinerary scheme price result; and calculating the through flight fare based on the itinerary scheme price verification and calculation.

[0019] This setup helps to display the constructed through-flight fares, making it easier to prioritize and sell compliant through-flight tickets to passengers.

[0020] A second aspect of this disclosure provides a system for searching through-flight fares. The system includes a data receiving module for acquiring through-flight rules; a building module for building through-flights based on the through-flight rules; an acquisition module for acquiring cabin availability information for each flight based on the through-flights; a filtering module for filtering available through-flights based on the cabin availability information for each flight and forming through-flight combinations; and a calculation module for calculating through-flight fares based on the through-flight combinations.

[0021] This setting helps to search for pre-configured through-flight combinations from airlines, prioritizing the return of through-flight combinations preferred by airlines. This improves the richness and diversity of search results, thereby enhancing the service experience of searching for through-flight fares.

[0022] A third aspect of this disclosure provides an electronic device, the electronic device comprising: a memory for storing a computer program; and a processor for executing the computer program to implement the method for searching through-flight fares as described in the first aspect.

[0023] The technical effects of any possible implementation of the third aspect can be found in the technical effects of the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0024] The fourth aspect of this disclosure provides a computer storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method for searching through-flight fares as described in the first aspect.

[0025] The technical effects of any possible implementation of the fourth aspect can be found in the technical effects of the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, this disclosure has the following advantages:

[0027] 1. By building through-flight systems, the system searches for pre-configured through-flight combinations from airlines, prioritizing the results of through-flight combinations preferred by the airlines, thus improving the richness and diversity of search results.

[0028] 2. Enhance airlines' regional flight sales capabilities and fully promote premium through-flight services, providing strong support.

[0029] Other features and advantages of this disclosure will be set forth in the following description and will be apparent in part from the description or may be learned by practicing the disclosure. The objects and other advantages of this disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the structures pointed out in the description, claims and drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0030] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for searching through-flight fares according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating the method for implementing through-flight fares provided in this embodiment of the disclosure;

[0033] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a flight rules text file provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 4 This is a block diagram of a system for searching through-flight fares provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0035] Figure 5 This is a structural block diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0036] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0037] The following is a brief introduction to some concepts that may be involved in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0038] As required by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, when air carriers, general aviation enterprises, air sales agents, and air sales network platform operators participate in the sale of through-flight products, they must carefully verify the registration status of the through-flight and the transportation conditions set by the air carriers and general aviation enterprises through the through-flight platform. After completing the verification, they must uniformly set the "through-flight" label in the sales system and give priority to pushing and selling compliant through-flight tickets to passengers.

[0039] Currently, numerous airlines and sales agents are engaged in the sale of through flights. By utilizing their own routes or cross-selling routes, airlines have successfully expanded their route coverage and significantly enhanced the distribution capabilities of hub airports.

[0040] To promote through-flight services, a premium service in China's civil aviation industry, and to facilitate passenger travel, sales service providers must place through-flight products separately in the lists of direct and connecting flights. Simultaneously, the connecting flight list should prioritize displaying through-flight products. The entire process involves several business steps, including flight search (including integrating through-flight connecting rules, calculating and adjusting the order of through-flight connections, and displaying through-flight brands), passenger booking (automatic tagging of through-flight passengers), passenger departure records (independent display of through-flight passenger identifiers), and adjustments to the display on both the agent's and airline's front-ends.

[0041] Therefore, this disclosure provides a method for searching through-flight fares. In the flight query process, through-flights are constructed and their identifiers are displayed to facilitate the front-end platform in obtaining through-flight fare results and displaying them to passengers, thereby improving the service experience of searching through-flight fares.

[0042] See Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for searching through-flight fares according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a method for implementing through-flight fares provided in this embodiment of the disclosure. The method for searching through-flight fares is equivalent to... Figure 2 The flight search step in the system aims to find suitable flights or flight combinations, as well as available cabin class. Through-flight setup is also completed within the flight search process.

[0043] In flight search, a route is first constructed based on the user-input departure and arrival cities. Then, flights are searched for each segment of the route. The generated route can be divided into single or multiple segments. For a single segment, available direct flights are directly matched. For multiple segments, flight setup is required. The flight setup process is divided into regular connecting flight setup and through flight setup. This disclosure mainly describes the through flight setup process in detail. Therefore, the method for searching through flight fares includes the following steps:

[0044] S100, Obtain through flight rules.

[0045] In this embodiment, the through flight rules are entered by the operators of each airline into the domestic through flight service management platform of the Civil Aviation Administration of China's clearing center, that is, by... Figure 2 The Civil Aviation Administration of China's (CAAC) through-flight management platform pushes data. Airlines can submit connecting flight registrations on the through-flight registration platform at any time. After the airline submits the registration, the domestic through-flight service management platform pushes the data file to the TravelSky system and distributes it to... Figure 2 The data receiving module in the middle.

[0046] In some embodiments, data files are pushed in full via FTP. The file format is UTF-8, and line breaks are supported for Linux and UX. The text filename is determined to be a new file based on whether the timestamp has changed; the push frequency is real-time, with the data receiving module scanning for new files every half hour, and receiving any new files as soon as they are found.

[0047] For example, see Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a flight rules text file provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The data text file pushed to the fare search system backend by the through-flight service management platform consists of field names at the beginning and data at the end.

[0048] For example, the rules text file contains the following two configurations:

[0049] The first data entry is: AA-XXXX Airlines, TAO.XMN, TC9ABC, 20230901, 20241231, AA, 0001, A, TAO, XI Y, CC, 0002, XIY, XMN;

[0050] The second data entry is: CA-XXXX Aviation, PEK, CAN, TC001, 20230106, 202301021, CA, 1235, PEK, SHA, CA, 1345, SHA, CAN;

[0051] Suppose the user requests a trip from PEK to CAN on July 23, 2024.

[0052] The second data entry in the configuration file above matches the user-requested itinerary PEK-CAN, the date is within the range, and the flight schedule table contains two flight schedules: CA1235 and CA1345. Therefore, this configuration can be used for subsequent through-flight setup. The first data entry in the configuration file does not match the user request, therefore this configuration cannot be used for subsequent through-flight setup.

[0053] S200, establish through-flight rules.

[0054] In this embodiment, multiple flight segments are formed by matching based on the through flight combination configuration in the through flight rules; a through flight is then constructed based on two of the multiple flight segments. It can be understood that in the combination of multiple through flight segments, only two segments are considered; any additional two segments are not constructed. Furthermore, matching is performed using the through flight combination configuration in the through flight rules file. As long as a configured flight combination exists in the file, and there is a corresponding flight schedule for the day that matches the user's requested itinerary, the matching requirements are met, and the combination must be displayed.

[0055] For example, the arrival time of the first segment and the departure time of the second segment in a connecting flight must be on the same calendar day. It is possible that cross-day functionality will be supported in the future. In other words, the system checks whether the connecting flight time is greater than two hours based on the two flight segments; if it is, a connecting flight is created; if it is less than two hours, the connecting flight creation fails.

[0056] For example, if an airline's connecting flight rules configuration table requires that the transfer time between flights A and B must not be less than 120 minutes, and there is a connecting flight configuration of flight A + flight B in the connecting flight file, but the departure time of flight B and the arrival time of flight A found by searching the flight schedule table are less than 120 minutes, then connecting flight A + B cannot be set up.

[0057] For example, regarding connecting flight times, please refer to... Figure 3 The second data entry in the configuration file lists flights CA1235 and CA1345. Flight CA1235 is scheduled to arrive at 12:30, and flight CA1345 is scheduled to depart at 13:30 on the same day, a difference of 60 minutes. The transfer rule table stipulates that the minimum connection time between these two flights must be no less than 120 minutes, therefore, a flight connection cannot be established between them.

[0058] For example, regarding the handling of flights spanning multiple days, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 3The second data entry in the configuration file lists flights CA1235 and CA1345. Flight CA1235 is scheduled to arrive at 22:30, while flight CA1345 is scheduled to depart at 6:30 the following morning. The two flights' departure and arrival times are not on the same day. Flight setup cannot be performed in this situation.

[0059] For example, interline agreements between airlines also need to be validated, using data from the interline agreement list for judgment. That is, the interline agreements between airlines for multiple flight segments are obtained; based on the interline agreements, it is verified whether the airlines in the two flight segments are in the interline agreement list: if they are, a through flight is created; if not, the through flight creation fails. For example, if airline A and airline B do not exist in the list, a through flight cannot be created between airline A and airline B.

[0060] For example, the following through flight configuration data meets the itinerary requirements: CAxxxx Airlines, PEK,CAN,TC001,20230106,20301021,CA,1235,PEK,SHA,CZ,1345,SHA,CAN; Flights CA1235 and CZ2135 belong to different airlines. It is necessary to determine whether the two airlines have a connecting flight agreement in the airline agreement table. If there is a connecting flight agreement, the through flight result CA1235+CZ1345 can be built. If there is no connecting flight agreement, the flight cannot be built.

[0061] For example, if the user request only requires the return of a regular connecting flight result, then connecting flight setup is not necessary. If the user request does not specify any requirements, then both connecting flight and regular connecting flight results need to be returned.

[0062] For example, if the request uses field control, when connect i onPrefered=1, it is not necessary to return the through flight result; when connect i onPrefered=2, it is necessary to return the through flight and regular connecting flight results.

[0063] S300: Obtain cabin information for each flight based on through-flight schedules.

[0064] In this embodiment, data for each flight in the through flight is obtained from the Civil Aviation Administration's through flight management platform, and cabin information is assigned to each flight to facilitate matching of cabin information for through flights.

[0065] S400: Based on the cabin information of each flight, select available through flights and form through flight combinations.

[0066] In this embodiment, the filtering principle prioritizes returning through-flight results, while also being subject to the upper limit on the number of connecting flight returns. That is, the number of through-flight combinations with a limited number of returns is obtained, then the number of available through-flights and the number of regular connecting flights are obtained, and then through-flight combinations with an equal number of available through-flights and regular connecting flights are formed based on the number of through-flight combinations with a limited number of returns.

[0067] For example, if the system is limited to returning only 10 connecting flight results, and 5 through flights and 12 regular connecting flights are generated, then the final flight results returned to the main process will be: 5 through flights + 5 regular connecting flights. The main process is... Figure 2 The fare search system process aims to prioritize returning available through flights.

[0068] For example, if the fare search system limits each request to returning only 10 connecting flight results: Assuming that through-flight flights generate 5 usable results after the above steps, and regular connecting flight results generate 12 usable results, then the final flight results returned to the main process will be: 5 through-flight flights + 5 regular connecting flight results. Alternatively, assuming that through-flight flights generate 12 usable results after the above steps, and regular connecting flight results generate 5 usable results, then the final flight results returned to the main process will be: 10 through-flight flights. These 10 through-flight flights are selected from the 12 based on priority, with the priority ranking considering factors such as departure time, transfer time, detour rate, and whether they are combined with the same airline, among other factors.

[0069] In some embodiments, available through flights are tagged to form tagged through flight combinations, and the results of the tagged through flight combinations are then returned to the main process so that the fare search system can retrieve fares later.

[0070] S500 calculates through-flight fares based on through-flight combinations.

[0071] In this embodiment of the disclosure, a fare combination scheme is obtained based on the user's itinerary and connecting flight combinations. Then, the fare price for each itinerary is calculated based on the fare combination scheme to generate the itinerary scheme price result, which is... Figure 2 The process involves obtaining fares; finally, based on price verification and calculation of the itinerary plan, the through-flight fare is obtained, which is... Figure 2 Freight rate calculation and freight rate verification.

[0072] For example, it is necessary to break down the user's itinerary, that is, to break down the user's actual itinerary into one or more fare combination schemes. These fare combination schemes can be used to attach fare information and flight information. It should be noted that the flight combination results after the above-mentioned flight setup are attached to the fare combination scheme, and the fare combination scheme is the smallest unit of calculation for domestic fare search. The created fare combinations can be categorized as one-way full fare, one-way multi-segment fare, round-trip full fare, and round-trip multi-segment fare.

[0073] For example, fare data is obtained based on fare combination schemes to facilitate fare verification, including fare class verification, access control verification, rule verification, and route verification. These verifications ensure that the itinerary solution is accurate and meets the requirements; only itinerary solutions that pass fare verification can be returned to the main process of the fare search system.

[0074] For example, after calculating the fare for each trip to generate the trip plan price result, the result is processed and displayed according to the information specified in the user input message after fare combination verification and calculation, including flight information and its corresponding fare. In this step, direct flights, connecting flights, and regular connecting flights will all be displayed. Connecting flights will also display a connecting flight identifier to distinguish them from regular connecting flights.

[0075] Based on the above method, this disclosure also provides a search system 2000 for through-flight fares corresponding to the above method, see below. Figure 4 , Figure 4 This is a block diagram of a system for searching through-flight fares according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The system includes a data receiving module 210, a building module 220, an acquisition module 230, a filtering module 240, and a calculation module 250. The data receiving module 210 is used to acquire through-flight rules; the building module 220 is used to build through-flights based on the through-flight rules; the acquisition module 230 is used to acquire cabin class information for each flight based on the through-flight rules; the filtering module 240 is used to filter available through-flights based on the cabin class information for each flight and form through-flight combinations; and the calculation module 250 is used to calculate and obtain through-flight fares based on the through-flight combinations.

[0076] In this embodiment, by establishing and identifying through flights, the results of through flights can be prioritized through the filtering logic, so as to display the through flight results and identification on all channels, and to prioritize the promotion and sale of compliant through flight tickets to passengers.

[0077] Based on the same inventive concept as the above-disclosed content, this disclosure also provides an electronic device 3000. For example... Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5This is a block diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 3000 of this embodiment includes at least one processor 310 and at least one memory 320 electrically connected to it. The memory 320 is electrically connected to the processor 310, and the memory 320 stores instructions that can be executed by at least one processor 310. The instructions are executed by at least one processor 310 to enable at least one processor 310 to perform the method described above.

[0078] It should be noted that the electrical connection between the above-mentioned units does not necessarily mean the connection between lines. The indirect connection method can be applied to the embodiments of this disclosure as long as it achieves the purpose of this disclosure.

[0079] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure also provides a computer storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, is described as described above. The storage medium may include various media capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a portable hard drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0080] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for searching through-flight fares, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain the through flight rules; wherein, the data text of the through flight rules consists of field names at the beginning and data at the end; the through flight rules are pushed by the through flight management platform; the through flight management platform is used to receive connecting flight filings submitted by airlines on the through flight filing platform; Establish through-flight services based on the aforementioned through-flight rules; Based on the through flight information, obtain the cabin class information for each flight; Available through flights are selected based on the cabin class information of each flight, and through flight combinations are formed. The through flight fare is calculated based on the through flight combination.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process of establishing through-flight services based on the through-flight rules includes: Multiple flight segments are formed by matching the through flight combination configuration in the through flight rules; A through flight is formed by combining two of the aforementioned multiple flight segments.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method of establishing a through flight based on two segments of the multiple flight segments includes: Based on the two flight segments, verify whether the connecting transfer time is greater than two hours; If the value is greater than the specified value, then a through flight will be established. If the value is less than the specified value, then the connection to the through flight will fail.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method of establishing a through flight based on two segments of the multiple flight segments includes: Obtain the interline agreements between the airlines for the aforementioned multiple flight segments; Verify whether the airlines in the two flight segments are in the inter-airline agreement list based on the inter-airline agreement; If available, then a through flight will be established; If not, the connection to the flight will fail to be established.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process of filtering available through flights based on the cabin class information of each flight and forming through flight combinations includes: Get the number of through flight combinations that can be returned within the limit; Obtain the number of available through flights and the number of regular connecting flights; Based on the number of through flight combinations returned under the aforementioned restrictions, a through flight combination is formed where the number of available through flights is equal to the number of regular connecting flights.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The process of forming flight combinations where the number of available through flights equals the number of regular connecting flights, based on the number of flight combinations returned under the aforementioned restrictions, includes: The available through flights are marked to form a combination of marked through flights.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The calculation of the through flight fare based on the through flight combination includes: A fare combination plan is generated based on the user's itinerary and the aforementioned connecting flight combination; The fare for each trip is calculated based on the aforementioned fare combination scheme, and the trip plan price result is generated; The through-flight fare is obtained based on the price verification and calculation of the aforementioned itinerary plan.

8. A system for searching through-flight fares, characterized in that, The system includes: The data receiving module is used to acquire through-flight rules; wherein, the data text of the through-flight rules consists of field names at the beginning and data at the end; the through-flight rules are pushed by the Civil Aviation Administration of China's through-flight management platform; the Civil Aviation Administration of China's through-flight management platform is used to receive connecting flight filings submitted by airlines on the through-flight filing platform; A module for building through flights based on the through flight rules; The acquisition module is used to acquire cabin information for each flight based on the through flight; The filtering module is used to filter available through flights based on the cabin class information of each flight and form through flight combinations; The calculation module is used to calculate the through flight fare based on the through flight combination.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that, The electronic device includes: Memory, used to store computer programs; A processor for executing the computer program to implement the method for searching through-flight fares as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method for searching through-flight fares as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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