Automated Airline Pricing System with Pattern Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current airline pricing systems lack automation and adaptability, requiring significant manual effort and failing to respond effectively to competitive changes and market dynamics, leading to suboptimal pricing strategies and reduced profitability.

Innovation Solution

An automated airline pricing system that integrates a pricing data acquisition and preparation module, pattern detection engine, pricing decision system, forecast and impact simulation module, adaptive engine, and pricing fulfillment system, which automatically receives fare data, detects patterns, selects pricing strategies, forecasts impacts, and implements pricing actions to set competitive fares and rules.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Extent of automation

If manual pricing methods are used, then pricing decisions can be made with human judgment, but significant manual effort is required and response time to market changes is slow

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepricing automationVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Extent of automationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The pricing system is divided into distinct functional modules: data acquisition module, pattern detection module, pricing decision module, and fulfillment module. Each module handles specific tasks independently, enabling automated pricing while managing system complexity through modular design. The pattern detection module separately analyzes competitor pricing patterns, market dynamics, and booking trends before passing insights to the pricing decision module.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The pattern detection module serves as an intermediary between raw pricing data and automated pricing decisions. It processes and interprets complex market patterns, transforming unstructured data into actionable pricing insights that the automated system can utilize without requiring full human intervention while maintaining manageable system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If manual pricing strategies are used, then flexibility in pricing decisions is maintained, but the system fails to respond effectively to competitive changes and market dynamics

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepricing response speedVSAvoidtime to adapt to market changes
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The pattern detection module continuously monitors and analyzes competitor pricing patterns, market dynamics, and booking trends in advance, preparing pricing insights before market changes occur. This preliminary analysis enables the automated pricing system to respond rapidly to competitive changes and market dynamics, significantly improving pricing response speed while reducing the time lost to market adaptation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements continuous feedback loops where pricing decisions are made based on real-time pattern detection from market data, and the results feed back into the pattern detection module for ongoing analysis. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables rapid adaptation to market changes by constantly learning from new data while maintaining high productivity in pricing responses.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Adaptability or versatility

If automated pricing systems are implemented, then response time to market changes improves, but the system requires complex integration of multiple modules

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadaptability to market changesVSAvoidsystem integration complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The automated pricing system is segmented into specialized modules: data acquisition, pattern detection, pricing decision, and fulfillment. Each module is optimized for its specific function, enabling high adaptability to market changes while reducing overall system integration complexity through clear module boundaries and defined interfaces.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The pattern detection module performs multiple functions including competitor pricing analysis, market dynamics monitoring, and booking trend analysis within a single integrated component. This multi-functionality increases the system's adaptability to various market scenarios while minimizing the number of separate components needed, thereby reducing integration complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS8615422B1Airline pricing system and method
Publication Date: 2013.12.24 AMERICAN AIRLINES INC
  • US8615422B1 patent drawing
  • US8615422B1 patent drawing
  • US8615422B1 patent drawing

AI summary

An airline pricing system and method according to which prices, such as airline ticket prices or fares, are automatically set based on selected pricing strategies and patterns detected within airline fare data.