Airline Reservation System

Abstract

To support an efficient aircraft operation by increasing a passenger load factor.SOLUTION: An aircraft reservation system 1 includes: a reservation acceptance unit 11 which accepts a reservation for a flight; a recommended candidate flight extraction unit 12 configured to extract a plurality of recommended candidate flights which satisfy a use spot condition and a use date and time condition and have a vacant seat, by referring to a flight database 211; a reservation rate estimation unit 13 configured to estimate a reservation rate at a time point a second predetermined time earlier than a desired departure date and time, for the plurality of recommended candidate flights; a recommended flight selection unit 14 configured to select, as a recommended flight, the recommended candidate flight with the highest reservation rate at the time point when the reservation is accepted by the reservation acceptance unit or the recommended candidate flight with the highest reservation rate estimated by the reservation rate estimation unit, among the plurality of recommended candidate flights; and a recommended flight proposal unit 15 which transmits recommended flight proposal information for proposing a reservation for the recommended flight to a user terminal 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an airline reservation system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a system has been proposed that predicts and presents to airline passengers the amount of available seats on an aircraft and when they will run out of stock at the time of a reservation inquiry, allowing passengers to reserve inventory and specify reservation conditions (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-256702 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The conventional system described above can reduce the time and effort required for reservations by providing users with information on available seats, enabling them to make reservations efficiently. However, the occupancy rate of each aircraft is not taken into consideration. Therefore, there is room for improvement to increase the occupancy rate and operate more efficiently, especially for aircraft with a small passenger capacity, such as VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft. The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and has as its object to provide an aircraft reservation system that supports efficient aircraft operation by increasing the boarding rate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] As a first aspect for achieving the above object, a reservation acceptance unit receives flight reservation condition information transmitted from a user terminal used by an aircraft user, recognizes reservation conditions including a desired departure point, a desired arrival point, and a desired departure date and time or a desired arrival date and time, and accepts flight reservations; and refers to a flight database in which flight plans and reservation statuses of multiple flights are recorded, and recognizes a usage location condition in which the distance between the departure point and the desired departure point is equal to or less than a first predetermined distance and the distance between the arrival point and the desired arrival point is equal to or less than a second predetermined distance, and a usage location condition in which the scheduled departure date and time and the desired departure date and time are equal to or less than a first predetermined distance. Date and Time a recommended candidate flight extraction unit that extracts a plurality of recommended candidate flights that satisfy a usage date and time condition that the time difference between the scheduled arrival date and time and the desired arrival date and time is a first predetermined time or less, or the time difference between the scheduled arrival date and time and the desired arrival date and time is a second predetermined time or less, and that have available seats; and a recommended candidate flight that has the highest reservation rate at the time the reservation is accepted by the reservation acceptance unit among the plurality of recommended candidate flights; or A reservation rate estimation map that maps an estimated reservation rate at a predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the recommended candidate flight based on the past reservation record of the recommended candidate flight, An example of an aircraft reservation system includes a recommended flight selection unit that selects the recommended candidate flight with the highest estimated reservation rate at a third predetermined time before the desired departure date and time obtained by the reservation rate estimation unit as a recommended flight, and a recommended flight proposal unit that transmits recommended flight proposal information proposing a reservation for the recommended flight to the user terminal.

[0006] The above-mentioned aircraft reservation system may be configured to include a usage fee reduction unit that sets the usage fee for the recommended flight lower than the usage fee for a flight that meets the reservation conditions, and the recommended flight suggestion unit may be configured to send the recommended flight suggestion information including the usage fee for the recommended flight to the user terminal.

[0007] As a second aspect to achieve the above object, there is provided an adjustment target flight extraction unit that refers to a flight database in which flight plans and reservation statuses of a plurality of flights are recorded, and extracts adjustment target flights that are a fourth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time and have a reservation rate that is equal to or less than a first judgment value; an alternative candidate flight extraction unit that refers to the flight database and extracts, from among the considered flights that have available seats and have a reservation rate that is equal to or greater than a second judgment value that is higher than the first judgment value, a plurality of alternative candidate flights that are the considered flights that satisfy a usage location condition that the distance between the departure point of the adjustment target flight and the departure point of the considered flight is equal to or less than a third predetermined distance and the distance between the arrival point of the adjustment target flight and the arrival point of the considered flight is equal to or less than a fourth predetermined distance; and a usage date and time condition that the time difference between the scheduled departure date and time of the adjustment target flight and the scheduled departure date and time of the considered flight is equal to or less than a fifth predetermined time, or the time difference between the scheduled arrival date and time of the adjustment target flight and the scheduled arrival date and time of the considered flight is equal to or less than a sixth predetermined time; and A reservation rate estimation map that maps an estimated reservation rate for a predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the alternative candidate flight based on the past reservation history of the alternative candidate flight, An example of an aircraft reservation system includes: a reservation rate estimation unit that calculates an estimated reservation rate as of a fifth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted; an alternative flight selection unit that selects, from among the multiple alternative candidate flights, the alternative candidate flight with the highest reservation rate as of the fourth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted, or the alternative candidate flight with the highest estimated reservation rate as of a seventh predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted as calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit, as an alternative flight; and a flight change proposal unit that transmits flight change proposal information that proposes changing the reservation to the alternative flight to a user terminal used by a user who has booked the flight to be adjusted.

[0008] The above-mentioned aircraft reservation system may be configured to include a fee reduction unit that sets the usage fee for the alternative candidate flight lower than the usage fee for the flight to be adjusted, and the flight change proposal unit may be configured to send the flight change proposal information including the usage fee for the alternative candidate flight to the user terminal.

[0009] The aircraft management system may be configured to include a flight cancellation unit that cancels underperforming flights recorded in the flight database, the reservation rate of which, at the eighth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time, is equal to or less than a fourth judgment value, or the estimated reservation rate, at the ninth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit, is equal to or less than a fifth judgment value.

[0010] In the aircraft management system, the flight cancellation unit Accessing the flight database to determine whether there are any other flights that would be affected if the underperforming flight were to be cancelled, and if there are no other flights that would be affected, The low-speed flight may be stopped. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The above-described aircraft reservation system can support efficient aircraft operation by increasing the boarding rate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an airline reservation system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the recommended flight suggestion process. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the recommended flight suggestion process. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the flight change proposal process. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the flight change process. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the flight cancellation process. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the flight cancellation process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] [1. Airline reservation system configuration] The configuration of an aircraft reservation system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The aircraft reservation system 1 executes processing to support a user U in reserving a flight on an aircraft 50. The aircraft 50 according to this embodiment is a vertical take-off and landing aircraft such as a VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft). In this embodiment, the number of passengers that can board the aircraft 50 is four, but this is not limited to four, and application of the aircraft reservation system according to the present disclosure is particularly effective when the number of passengers that can board the aircraft in question is small.

[0014] A user U makes a flight reservation using an airline reservation app (application program) installed on the user terminal 100. The user U specifies the reservation conditions for the flight he or she wishes to use and applies for a flight reservation. The reservation conditions include the desired departure point, desired arrival point, desired departure date and time, and desired arrival date and time.

[0015] 1 illustrates a situation in which a user U reserves and uses a flight on an aircraft 50 from a departure point Ar1 to a destination Ar2. The user terminal 100 is a communication terminal such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a laptop computer, or a desktop computer.

[0016] The aircraft reservation system 1 communicates with the user terminal 100, a flight management system 210, and the like via a communication network 200. The flight management system 210 is a computer system equipped with a processor, memory, a communication unit, and the like (not shown). The flight management system 210 is equipped with a flight DB (database) in which flight information FLi including flight plans and reservation statuses of multiple flights is recorded.

[0017] The aircraft reservation system 1 is a computer system equipped with a processor 10, a memory 30, a communication unit 40, etc. The communication unit 40 communicates with a flight management system 210, a user terminal 100, etc. via a communication network 200. The memory 30 stores a control program 31 for the aircraft reservation system 1, reservation acceptance data 32 in which reservation information for flights applied for by users U, etc. is recorded, and data 33 for a reservation rate estimation map Mp for estimating future reservation rates for flights recorded in the flight DB.

[0018] The reservation rate estimation map Mp is a map of the estimated reservation rate at a predetermined time before the scheduled flight departure date and time (one day before, two days before, etc.). The reservation rate estimation map is updated as appropriate based on the past reservation records of each flight. Furthermore, multiple reservation rate estimation maps may be prepared in advance depending on whether or not there are variable factors such as weather information or event information near the departure or arrival point, and the reservation rate estimation map to be used may be switched depending on the presence or absence of these variable factors.

[0019] By reading and executing the control program 31, the processor 10 functions as a reservation reception unit 11, a recommended candidate flight extraction unit 12, a reservation rate estimation unit 13, a recommended flight selection unit 14, a recommended flight proposal unit 15, a flight to be adjusted extraction unit 16, an alternative candidate flight extraction unit 17, an alternative flight selection unit 18, a flight change proposal unit 19, a usage fee reduction unit 20, and a flight cancellation unit 21.

[0020] The reservation reception unit 11 receives the reservation condition information BKr transmitted from the user terminal 100 and records the reservation condition information BKr in the reservation reception data 32. The reservation reception unit 11 recognizes the reservation conditions such as the desired departure place, desired arrival place, desired departure date and time, and desired arrival date and time indicated by the reservation condition information BKr, and accepts a flight reservation by the user U.

[0021] The recommended candidate flight extraction unit 12 accesses the flight DB 211 of the flight management system 210 and receives flight information FLi recorded in the flight DB 211, thereby recognizing the flight plan and reservation status of each flight, and extracts recommended candidate flights that satisfy the following seat availability conditions, usage location conditions, and usage time conditions based on the reservation conditions of user U. Availability condition: There must be available seats. Usage location condition: The departure point and the desired departure point are the same, and the arrival point and the desired arrival point are the same. Note that the usage location condition may also be that the distance between the departure point and the desired departure point is equal to or less than a first predetermined distance, and the distance between the arrival point and the desired arrival point is equal to or less than a second predetermined distance. Usage date and time conditions: The time difference between the scheduled departure date and time and the desired departure date and time must be less than the first specified time.

[0022] The reservation rate estimation unit 13 calculates an estimated reservation rate for flights recorded in the flight DB at a third predetermined time before (for example, one day before) the scheduled departure date and time using the reservation rate estimation map Mp. The recommended flight selection unit 14 selects, from the multiple recommended candidate flights extracted by the recommended candidate flight extraction unit 12, the recommended candidate flight with the highest estimated reservation rate calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit 13 as a recommended flight.

[0023] If there are multiple recommended candidate flights with the highest estimated reservation rates, the recommended flight selection unit 14 selects, for example, the one with the shortest time difference between the scheduled departure date and time and the desired departure date and time as the recommended flight. Also, the fare reduction unit 20 sets the fare for the recommended flight lower than the regular fare (the regular fare for a flight that meets the desired conditions of the user U).

[0024] The recommended flight suggestion unit 15 transmits recommended flight suggestion information RFp, which suggests booking a recommended flight, to the user terminal 100. The recommended flight suggestion information RFp includes information such as the departure point, arrival point, scheduled departure date and time, scheduled arrival date and time, and fare of the recommended flight. On the user terminal 100, a reservation app displays a screen recommending use of the recommended flight by highlighting information about the recommended flight and the fact that the fare for the recommended flight is cheaper than the regular fare. This allows the user U to be guided to flights that have a high reservation rate and are easy to fill up, thereby enabling efficient flight operation even when the flight is full.

[0025] The adjustment target flight extraction unit 16 accesses the flight DB 211 of the flight management system 210 and extracts adjustment target flights that satisfy the following immediate departure conditions and low booking conditions from among the flights recorded in the flight DB. Immediate departure condition: The fourth specified time before the scheduled departure date and time (for example, one day before). Low reservation condition: The current reservation rate is below the first judgment value (for example, 25%).

[0026] The alternative candidate flight extraction unit 17 accesses the flight DB 211 of the flight management system 210 and extracts alternative candidate flights from among the flights recorded in the flight DB that are eligible for consideration and that satisfy the following conditions for the location of use and the date and time of use: Conditions for eligibility for consideration: The flight must have available seats and a booking rate that is equal to or greater than the second judgment value (e.g., 50%), which is higher than the first judgment value mentioned above. Usage location condition: The departure points of the flight to be adjusted and the flight to be considered are the same, and the arrival points of the flight to be adjusted and the flight to be considered are the same. Note that the usage location condition may also be that the distance between the departure point of the flight to be adjusted and the departure point of the flight to be considered is equal to or less than a third predetermined distance, and the distance between the arrival point of the flight to be adjusted and the arrival point of the flight to be considered is equal to or less than a fourth predetermined distance. Usage date and time conditions: The time difference between the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted and the scheduled departure date and time of the flight under consideration must be less than the fifth specified time.

[0027] The alternative flight selection unit 18 selects, as an alternative flight, the alternative flight with the highest estimated reservation rate as of a seventh predetermined time (e.g., three days) before the scheduled departure date and time calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit 13, from among the multiple alternative flight candidates extracted by the alternative flight extraction unit 17. If there are multiple alternative flight candidates with the highest estimated reservation rates, the alternative flight selection unit 18 selects, for example, the alternative flight with the shorter time difference between the scheduled departure date and time and the flight to be adjusted. The usage fee reduction unit 20 sets the usage fee for the alternative flight lower than the usage fee for the flight to be adjusted.

[0028] The flight change proposal unit 19 transmits flight change proposal information CFp, which proposes changing the reservation from the flight to be adjusted to an alternative flight, to the user terminal of the user who has reserved the flight to be adjusted. Figure 1 illustrates an example in which a user U has reserved the flight to be adjusted and the flight change proposal information CFp is transmitted to the user terminal 100.

[0029] The flight change proposal information CFp includes information such as the departure point, arrival point, scheduled departure date and time, scheduled arrival date and time, and fare of the alternative flight. On the user terminal 100, the reservation app displays a screen recommending changing the reservation from the flight to be adjusted to the alternative flight, highlighting the fact that the fare of the alternative flight is cheaper than that of the flight to be adjusted. This guides the user U to a flight with a high reservation rate and that is easy to fill, thereby enabling efficient flight operation even when the flight is fully booked.

[0030] The flight cancellation unit 21 accesses the flight DB 211 of the flight management system 210 and extracts poorly performing flights that satisfy the following flight cancellation conditions. Flight cancellation conditions: The reservation rate is equal to or less than the fourth judgment value (e.g., 0%) at the eighth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time (e.g., three days before), or the estimated reservation rate calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit 13 at the ninth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time (e.g., one day before) is equal to or less than the fifth judgment value (e.g., 25%). The flight cancellation unit 21 cancels the execution of the extracted low-performance flights, thereby making it possible to avoid the execution of flights with low occupancy rates and low transport efficiency.

[0031] [2. Recommended Flight Proposal Processing] The procedure of the recommended flight suggestion process executed by the aircraft reservation system 1 in the situation shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0032] 2, when the reservation reception unit 11 receives reservation condition information BKr transmitted from the user terminal 100, the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the reservation reception unit 11 records the reservation condition information BKr in the reservation reception data 32, recognizes the reservation conditions desired by the user U from the reservation condition information BKr, and accepts the flight reservation.

[0033] In the following step S3, the recommended candidate flight extraction unit 12 accesses the flight DB 211 of the flight management system 210 and extracts a plurality of recommended candidate flights that satisfy the seat availability conditions, usage location conditions, and usage date and time conditions, as described above. In the next step S4, the reservation rate estimation unit 13 calculates, for each recommended candidate flight, an estimated reservation rate as of a third predetermined time before (e.g., three days before) the desired departure date and time. In the following step S5, the recommended flight selection unit 14 selects, from the plurality of recommended candidate flights extracted by the recommended candidate flight extraction unit 12, the recommended candidate flight with the highest estimated reservation rate calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit 13 as a recommended flight.

[0034] Here, the manner in which the recommended flight is selected by the recommended flight selector 14 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 illustrates an example in which the recommended candidate flight extractor 12 extracts flight A1, flight B1, and flight C1, which have scheduled departure times of 9:00, 9:30, and 10:00, respectively, on the same day.

[0035] The current booking rate for flight A1 (5 days before the scheduled departure date, which is the time reservations are accepted), the estimated booking rate 3 days in advance, and the estimated booking rate 1 day in advance are 0% → 0% → 25%. The current booking rate for flight B1, the estimated booking rate 3 days in advance, and the estimated booking rate 1 day in advance are 75% → 75% → 100%. The current booking rate for flight C1, the estimated booking rate 3 days in advance, and the estimated booking rate 1 day in advance are 50% → 50% → 75%.

[0036] In this case, the recommended flight selection unit 14 compares the estimated reservation rates three days in advance and selects flight B1 with the highest estimated reservation rate three days in advance as the recommended flight. Alternatively, the recommended flight selection unit 14 compares the estimated reservation rates one day in advance and selects flight C1, which has the higher estimated reservation rate, as the recommended flight, from flight A1 and flight C1, excluding flight B1 which is estimated to have no available seats (100% reservation rate) and therefore has little need to be recommended. Note that the current reservation rates of flights A1, B1, and C1 may be compared and flight B1 with the highest reservation rate may be selected as the recommended flight.

[0037] In the following step S6, the recommended flight proposing unit 15 transmits recommended flight proposal information RFp to the user terminal 100. In the user terminal 100 that has received the recommended flight proposal information RFp, a screen proposing a reservation of the recommended flight is displayed by the reservation app. In the following step S7, when the reservation reception unit 11 receives reservation request information requesting a reservation of the recommended flight from the user terminal 100, the reservation reception unit 11 proceeds to step S20, and when the reservation request information has not been received, the reservation reception unit 11 proceeds to step S8.

[0038] In step S20, the reservation reception unit 11 transmits reservation arrangement information requesting arrangement of a reservation for the recommended flight to the flight management system 210. In this way, the reservation of the user for the recommended flight is arranged.

[0039] [3. Flight change processing] The procedure of the flight change process executed by the aircraft reservation system 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 4. The aircraft reservation system 1 repeatedly executes the process according to the flowchart shown in Fig. 4 at predetermined confirmation timings.

[0040] 4, the adjustment target flight extraction unit 16 accesses the flight DB 211 of the flight management system 210 to search for an adjustment target flight that satisfies the immediate departure condition and the low reservation condition. In the following step S31, if an adjustment target flight is extracted, the adjustment target flight extraction unit 16 proceeds to step S32, and if an adjustment target flight is not extracted, the adjustment target flight extraction unit 16 proceeds to step S37.

[0041] In step S32, the alternative candidate flight extraction unit 17 accesses the flight DB 211 of the flight management system 210 and extracts the above-mentioned conditions to be considered, conditions for use locations, and use dates and times. conditions In the next step S33, the reservation rate estimation unit 13 calculates the estimated reservation rate for the multiple alternative candidate flights extracted by the alternative candidate flight extraction unit 17 at a point in time a seventh predetermined time before (e.g., three days before) the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted.

[0042] In the next step S34, the alternative flight selection unit 18 selects as an alternative flight the alternative flight with the highest estimated rate estimated by the reservation rate estimation unit 13 from among the multiple alternative candidate flights extracted by the alternative candidate flight extraction unit 17.

[0043] Here, the process of selecting an alternative flight by the alternative flight selection unit 18 will be described with reference to FIG. 5This example shows a case where flights B2 and C2 are extracted as alternative candidate flights for flight A2, which is the flight to be adjusted. The scheduled departure times of flights A2, B2, and C2 are 9:00, 9:30, and 10:00, respectively, on the same day.

[0044] The current booking rate for flight A2 (5 days before the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted, which is the time when the flight to be adjusted was extracted), the estimated booking rate 3 days in advance, and the estimated booking rate 1 day in advance are 25% → 25% → 25%. The current booking rate for flight B2, the estimated booking rate 3 days in advance, and the estimated booking rate 1 day in advance are 75% → 75% → 100%. The current booking rate for flight C2, the estimated booking rate 3 days in advance, and the estimated booking rate 1 day in advance are 50% → 50% → 75%.

[0045] In this case, the alternative flight selection unit 18 compares the estimated reservation rates of flight B2 and flight C2 three days in advance and selects flight B2, which has the highest estimated reservation rate three days in advance, as the alternative flight. Alternatively, the alternative flight selection unit 18 compares the estimated reservation rates of flight B2 and flight C2 one day in advance and selects flight C2 as the alternative flight, excluding flight B2, which is unlikely to be used as an alternative because it is estimated that there will be no available seats (100% reservation rate).

[0046] Next step S 35 Then, the flight change proposing unit 19 transmits the flight change proposal information CFp to the user terminal 100. On the user terminal 100 that has received the flight change proposal information CFp, the reservation app displays a screen proposing a reservation change from the flight to be adjusted to an alternative flight. In the next step S36, if the reservation reception unit 11 has received reservation change request information from the user terminal 100 requesting a reservation change from the flight to be adjusted to an alternative flight, the reservation reception unit 11 proceeds to step S40; if the reservation change request information has not been received, the reservation reception unit 11 proceeds to step S40.

[0047] In step S40, the reservation reception unit 11 transmits reservation change arrangement information requesting arrangements for changing the reservation from the flight to be adjusted to an alternative flight to the flight management system 210. As a result, arrangements are made for changing the reservation from the flight to be adjusted to the alternative flight.

[0048] [4. Flight Cancellation Processing] The flight cancellation process executed by the aircraft reservation system 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 6. The aircraft reservation system 1 repeatedly executes the process according to the flowchart shown in Fig. 6 at predetermined confirmation timings.

[0049] 6, the flight cancellation unit 21 accesses the flight DB 211 of the flight management system 210 to search for a poor flight that satisfies the above-mentioned flight cancellation conditions. In the following step S51, if a poor flight is extracted, the flight cancellation unit 21 proceeds to step S52, and if no poor flight is extracted, the flight cancellation unit 21 proceeds to step S57.

[0050] Here, the process of extracting a poor flight by the flight cancellation unit 21 will be described with reference to FIG. ToD This shows an example in which the flight cancellation unit 21 extracts underperforming flights from among flights A3, B3, and C3 whose information is recorded in B211. The flight cancellation unit 21 extracts flight A3, which has a current reservation rate of 0% (here, three days before the scheduled departure date and time) and an estimated reservation rate of 25% one day before the scheduled departure date and time, as an underperforming flight.

[0051] In step S52, the flight cancellation unit 21 accesses the flight DB 211 of the aircraft reservation system 1 to check whether there are any other flights that will be affected if the sluggish flight is canceled. In the following step S53, the flight cancellation unit 21 proceeds to step S57 if there are any other flights that will be affected, in which case the sluggish flight is not canceled.

[0052] On the other hand, if there are no other flights that will be affected, the flight cancellation unit 21 proceeds from step S53 to step S54, and transmits cancellation request information requesting the cancellation of the sluggish flight to the flight management system 210. As a result, the flight management system 210 executes the cancellation process for the sluggish flight, and the flight plan of the sluggish flight is deleted from the flight DB 211.

[0053] In the following step S55, the flight cancellation unit 21 determines whether or not there is a user U who has booked a slow flight, and if there is a user U who has booked a slow flight, the process proceeds to step S56, and if there is no user U who has booked a slow flight, the process proceeds to step S57. In step S56, the flight cancellation unit 21 transmits flight cancellation information to the user terminal 100 of the user U who has booked a slow flight, notifying that the booked flight has been cancelled.

[0054] 5. Other Embodiments In the above embodiment, the flight cancellation unit 21 is provided to perform processing to cancel flights with low reservation rates, but the flight cancellation unit 21 may be omitted.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the recommended flight proposal process is performed by including the recommended candidate flight extraction unit 12, the recommended flight selection unit 14, and the recommended flight proposal unit 15, and the flight change proposal process is performed by including the adjustment target flight extraction unit 16, the alternative candidate flight extraction unit 17, the alternative flight selection unit 18, and the flight change proposal unit 19. Alternatively, the system may be configured to execute only one of the recommended flight proposal process and the flight change process.

[0056] In the above embodiment, the recommended flight candidate extraction unit 12 uses the use date and time condition for extracting recommended flight candidates that the time difference between the scheduled departure date and time and the desired departure date and time is equal to or less than a first predetermined time. In another embodiment, the use date and time condition may be that the time difference between the scheduled arrival date and time and the desired arrival date and time is equal to or less than a second predetermined time.

[0057] In the above embodiment, the alternative candidate flight extraction unit 17 uses, as the use date and time condition for extracting alternative candidate flights, that the time difference between the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted and the scheduled departure date and time of the flight under consideration is equal to or less than a fifth predetermined time. In another embodiment, the use date and time condition may be that the time difference between the scheduled arrival date and time of the flight to be adjusted and the scheduled arrival date and time of the flight under consideration is equal to or less than a sixth predetermined time.

[0058] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the functional configuration of the aircraft reservation system 1 divided by main processing content to facilitate understanding of the present invention, but the configuration of the aircraft reservation system 1 may be divided in other ways. Furthermore, the processing of each component may be executed by one hardware unit or multiple hardware units. Furthermore, the processing of each component shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 6 may be executed by one program or multiple programs.

[0059] 6. Configurations Supported by the Above Embodiments The above embodiment is a specific example of the following configuration.

[0060] (Configuration 1) A reservation reception unit receives flight reservation condition information transmitted from a user terminal used by an aircraft user, recognizes reservation conditions including a desired departure point, a desired arrival point, and a desired departure date and time or a desired arrival date and time, and accepts flight reservations; and refers to a flight database in which flight plans and reservation statuses of multiple flights are recorded, and recognizes usage location conditions in which the distance between the departure point and the desired departure point is equal to or less than a first predetermined distance and the distance between the arrival point and the desired arrival point is equal to or less than a second predetermined distance, and in which the time difference between the scheduled departure date and time and the desired departure date is equal to or less than a first predetermined time, or the time difference between the scheduled arrival date and time and the desired arrival date and time is equal to or less than a first predetermined time. An aircraft reservation system comprising: a recommended candidate flight extraction unit that extracts a plurality of recommended candidate flights that satisfy a usage date and time condition that the time difference is less than a second predetermined time and that have available seats; a recommended flight selection unit that selects, from the plurality of recommended candidate flights, the recommended candidate flight with the highest reservation rate at the time the reservation is accepted by the reservation acceptance unit, or the recommended candidate flight with the highest estimated reservation rate at a third predetermined time before the desired departure date and time determined by a reservation rate estimation unit, as a recommended flight; and a recommended flight proposal unit that transmits recommended flight proposal information proposing a reservation of the recommended flight to the user terminal. According to the aircraft reservation system of configuration 1, the reservation rate for users is expensive By suggesting the use of flights, we can support efficient aircraft operation by increasing flight occupancy rates.

[0061] (Configuration 2) An aircraft reservation system as described in Configuration 1, which includes a usage fee reduction unit that sets the usage fee for the recommended flight to a lower price than the usage fee for a flight that meets the reservation conditions, and the recommended flight suggestion unit transmits the recommended flight suggestion information including the usage fee for the recommended flight to the user terminal. According to the aircraft reservation system of configuration 2, the benefits to users of using recommended flights can be increased by reducing the usage fee.

[0062] (Configuration 3) A flight extraction unit for extracting flights to be adjusted that are a fourth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time and have a reservation rate that is equal to or less than a first judgment value, by referring to a flight database in which flight plans and reservation statuses of multiple flights are recorded; and a flight extraction unit for extracting flights to be adjusted that are a fourth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time and have a reservation rate that is equal to or less than a first judgment value, by referring to the flight database, among flights to be considered that have available seats and have a reservation rate that is equal to or greater than a second judgment value that is higher than the first judgment value, by referring to the flight database, and extracting flights to be considered that are a third predetermined distance or less in distance from the departure point of the flight to be adjusted and a fourth predetermined distance or less in distance from the arrival point of the flight to be considered; and a flight extraction unit for extracting flights to be adjusted that are a fifth predetermined time or less in time difference between the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted and the scheduled arrival date and time of the flight to be considered. a reservation rate estimation unit that calculates an estimated reservation rate for the plurality of alternative candidate flights at a time point 5 predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted; an alternative flight selection unit that selects, from the plurality of alternative candidate flights, the alternative candidate flight with the highest reservation rate at a time point 4 predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted, or the alternative candidate flight with the highest estimated reservation rate at a time point 7 predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted as calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit; and a flight change proposal unit that transmits flight change proposal information that proposes changing the reservation to the alternative flight to a user terminal used by a user who has reserved the flight to be adjusted. According to the aircraft reservation system of configuration 3, the reservation rate for users is expensive Proposing changes to flights can support efficient aircraft operations by increasing flight load factors.

[0063] (Configuration 4) An aircraft reservation system as described in Configuration 3, which includes a usage fee reduction unit that sets the usage fee of the alternative candidate flight lower than the usage fee of the flight to be adjusted, and the flight change proposal unit transmits the flight change proposal information including the usage fee of the alternative candidate flight to the user terminal. composition 4 According to this aircraft reservation system, by reducing the usage fee, it is possible to increase the benefits to users by changing from the adjusted flight to an alternative flight.

[0064] (Configuration 5) An aircraft reservation system according to any one of configurations 1 to 4, comprising a flight cancellation unit that cancels underperforming flights recorded in the flight database, the reservation rate of which, at the eighth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time, is equal to or less than a fourth judgment value, or the estimated reservation rate, at the ninth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit, is equal to or less than a fifth judgment value. According to the aircraft reservation system of configuration 5, it is possible to avoid inefficient flights being carried out when the boarding rate is low.

[0065] (Configuration 6) The aircraft reservation system according to Configuration 5, wherein the flight cancellation unit cancels the underperforming flight on the condition that it does not affect other flights. According to the aircraft reservation system of configuration 6, it is possible to avoid cancellation of a flight that affects other flights, such as the cancellation of an outbound flight when a return flight is scheduled. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1...Aircraft reservation system, 10...Processor, 11...Reservation reception unit, 12...Recommended candidate flight extraction unit, 13...Reservation rate estimation unit, 14...Recommended flight selection unit, 15...Recommended flight suggestionunit, 16... unit for extracting flights to be adjusted, 17... unit for extracting alternative candidate flights, 18... unit for selecting alternative flights, 19... unit for proposing flight changes, 20... unit for reducing usage fees, 21... unit for canceling flights, 30... memory, 31... control program, 32... reservation reception data, 33... reservation rate estimation map, 50... aircraft, 100... user terminal, 200... communication network, 210... flight management system, 211... flight DB, U... user.

Claims

1. a reservation reception unit that receives flight reservation condition information transmitted from a user terminal used by an aircraft user, recognizes the reservation conditions including a desired departure point, a desired arrival point, and a desired departure date and time or a desired arrival date and time, and receives flight reservations; a recommended candidate flight extraction unit that refers to a flight database in which flight plans and reservation statuses of multiple flights are recorded, and extracts multiple recommended candidate flights that have available seats and satisfy a usage location condition that the distance between the departure point and the desired departure point is equal to or less than a first predetermined distance and the distance between the arrival point and the desired arrival point is equal to or less than a second predetermined distance, and a usage date and time condition that the time difference between the scheduled departure date and time and the desired departure date and time is equal to or less than a first predetermined time, or the time difference between the scheduled arrival date and time and the desired arrival date and time is equal to or less than a second predetermined time; a recommended flight selection unit that selects, from among the plurality of recommended candidate flights, the recommended candidate flight with the highest reservation rate at the time when the reservation is accepted by the reservation acceptance unit, or the recommended candidate flight with the highest estimated reservation rate at a third predetermined time before the desired departure date and time calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit using a reservation rate estimation map that maps estimated reservation rates at a predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the recommended candidate flight based on past reservation records of the recommended candidate flights; and a recommended flight suggestion unit that transmits recommended flight suggestion information that suggests booking the recommended flight to the user terminal; An aircraft reservation system comprising:

2. a fee reduction unit that sets the fee for the recommended flight lower than the fee for a flight that meets the reservation conditions; The recommended flight suggestion unit transmits the recommended flight suggestion information including the usage fee of the recommended flight to the user terminal. The airline reservation system of claim 1 .

3. an adjustment target flight extraction unit that refers to a flight database in which flight plans and reservation statuses of multiple flights are recorded, and extracts adjustment target flights that are a fourth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time and whose reservation rate is equal to or less than a first determination value; an alternative candidate flight extraction unit that refers to the flight database and extracts, from among flights under consideration that have available seats and a reservation rate equal to or greater than a second determination value that is higher than the first determination value, a plurality of alternative candidate flights that are the flights under consideration that satisfy a usage location condition that the distance between the departure point of the flight under consideration and the departure point of the flight under consideration is equal to or less than a third predetermined distance and the distance between the arrival point of the flight under consideration and the arrival point of the flight under consideration is equal to or less than a fourth predetermined distance, and a usage date and time condition that the time difference between the scheduled departure date and time of the flight under consideration and the scheduled departure date and time of the flight under consideration is equal to or less than a fifth predetermined time, or the time difference between the scheduled arrival date and time of the flight under consideration and the scheduled arrival date and time of the flight under consideration is equal to or less than a sixth predetermined time; a reservation rate estimation unit that calculates an estimated reservation rate for a fifth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the adjustment target flight using a reservation rate estimation map that maps estimated reservation rates for a predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the alternative candidate flights based on past reservation records of the alternative candidate flights; an alternative flight selection unit that selects, from among the plurality of alternative candidate flights, the alternative candidate flight with the highest reservation rate at the fourth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted, or the alternative candidate flight with the highest estimated reservation rate at the seventh predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time of the flight to be adjusted, as determined by a reservation rate estimation unit; and a flight change proposal unit that transmits flight change proposal information proposing a change of reservation to the alternative flight to a user terminal used by the user who has booked the flight to be adjusted; An aircraft reservation system comprising:

4. a fee reduction unit that sets the fee for the alternative candidate flight lower than the fee for the flight to be adjusted; The flight change proposal unit transmits the flight change proposal information including the price of the alternative candidate flight to the user terminal. The aircraft reservation system according to claim 3 .

5. and a flight cancellation unit that cancels an underperforming flight, among the flights recorded in the flight database, whose reservation rate at a time point eighth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time is equal to or less than a fourth judgment value, or whose estimated reservation rate at a time point ninth predetermined time before the scheduled departure date and time calculated by the reservation rate estimation unit is equal to or less than a fifth judgment value. The aircraft reservation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The flight cancellation unit accesses the flight database to check whether there are any other flights that will be affected if the low-performance flight is cancelled, and if there are no other flights that will be affected, cancels the low-performance flight. The aircraft reservation system according to claim 5.

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