Airline Reservation System for Automatic Ancillary Service Rescheduling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airline reservation systems do not effectively manage and automatically reschedule or cancel ancillary travel services when flights are rescheduled or cancelled, leading to inconvenience for travelers and inefficiencies in managing dependent travel services.
Innovation Solution
A system and process that includes a user interface to receive electronic status changes for airline flights and determine if ancillary travel services need modification, with a messaging interface to transmit requests and payment information to travel service providers for crediting or debiting payments associated with these services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If airline reservation systems only manage flight reservations without integrating ancillary travel services, then the system complexity is reduced, but the convenience for travelers is worsened when flights are rescheduled or cancelled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines flight reservation management with ancillary travel service management into a single integrated system. The airline reservation system now manages not only flight bookings but also automatically coordinates with hotels, car rental agencies, and other travel service providers, allowing comprehensive itinerary management in one place.
Solution Approach 2:
The airline reservation system has been transformed into a multi-functional platform that performs both flight reservations and ancillary service management. It can detect flight status changes, automatically modify dependent travel services, and coordinate with multiple travel service providers, making the system universally applicable to various travel needs.
2Productivity
If the airline reservation system automatically manages ancillary travel services, then the productivity of travel itinerary management is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes predetermined rules and criteria for modifying ancillary travel services based on flight status changes. When a flight is rescheduled or cancelled, the system automatically applies these pre-defined rules to determine which ancillary services need modification, eliminating the need for manual assessment and speeding up the response process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a messaging interface as an intermediary component that facilitates automatic communication between the airline reservation system and travel service providers. This intermediary handles the coordination and information exchange, allowing the system to manage multiple ancillary services efficiently without requiring direct complex connections to each provider.
3Loss of time
If manual management of ancillary travel services is used when flights are rescheduled, then the payment processing complexity is reduced, but the loss of time for travelers increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automatic detection and modification of ancillary travel services based on flight status changes. When a flight is rescheduled or cancelled, the system automatically identifies affected services, initiates modifications, and processes payment adjustments without requiring manual traveler intervention, significantly reducing the time loss for travelers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a feedback mechanism where the airline reservation system continuously monitors flight status changes and automatically triggers corresponding modifications to ancillary services. This closed-loop feedback system ensures that payment processing and service modifications occur automatically and promptly, reducing manual intervention requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a system that includes a user interface to receive an electronic status change for an airline flight and an airline reservation system to determine whether at least one ancillary travel service associated with the airline flight should be modified based on the received electronic status change. The system includes a messaging interface to electronically transmit a request to modify the at least one ancillary travel service based on the electronic status change if the determination is made to modify the at least one ancillary travel service. The messaging interface further electronically transmits payment information to the travel service provider for use in crediting or debiting a payment associated with the at least one modified ancillary travel service. The payment information is associated with a customer that reserved the at least one ancillary travel service.