Charter Flight Bidding Platform for Owner-Led Pricing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing charter flight broker services often operate at a loss for plane owners due to unbalanced pricing dictated by intermediaries, neglecting operational costs such as fuel, pilot, crew, maintenance, and hangar expenses.
Innovation Solution
A computer system and mobile applications facilitate a bid-ask process between customers and plane owners, enabling user authentication, charter request management, automated and manual bidding, and back-end algorithms for matching user requirements with available planes, along with payment processing and pilot/crew assignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If broker services operate as intermediaries to facilitate charter flights, then customer service is improved, but plane owners operate at a loss due to unbalanced pricing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the pricing control function from the broker intermediary and returns it directly to plane owners through the platform. Owners can set their own base rates, minimum rates, maximum rates, and bid strategies, eliminating the broker's ability to dictate unbalanced pricing while maintaining the platform's facilitation role.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform acts as a new type of intermediary that differs from traditional brokers. Instead of dictating pricing, the platform enables direct communication between owners and customers, providing tools for owners to control pricing while facilitating matches. The intermediary now serves both parties equitably rather than favoring customers.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional broker services dictate pricing terms, then customer acquisition is simplified, but plane owners cannot cover operational costs such as fuel, pilot, crew, maintenance, and hangar expenses
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic pricing where owners can set flexible rate parameters (base rate, minimum rate, maximum rate) and bid strategies that adapt to market conditions. This allows owners to dynamically adjust pricing to cover operational costs while remaining competitive, rather than accepting fixed broker-dictated rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform provides feedback mechanisms including bid history, market demand information, and pricing analytics that help owners understand what rates are needed to cover costs while remaining competitive. Owners can use this feedback to adjust their pricing strategies in real-time.
3Loss of energy
If a bid-ask process is implemented to match customers and plane owners, then pricing optimization for owners is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automated bidding where owners configure their bid parameters once (base rate, minimum rate, maximum rate, bid increment percentage, time between bids), and the system automatically executes bids on their behalf. This self-service approach eliminates the need for owners to manually monitor and respond to each charter request, managing complexity through automation rather than simplification.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual bidding process is replaced with an automated electronic bidding system. The platform's algorithms automatically match charter requests with appropriate owners based on configured parameters, execute bids, and manage the matching process, replacing what would otherwise require extensive manual intervention and coordination.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention described herein relate to efficient coordination and management of charter flight transportation. The Interface may include user interface, owner interface and service provider interface. The user interface may allow users to input user requirements, such as origin location, destination location, date/time of the trip, number of passengers, payment options, and preferred cost. The user requirements is used to begin a bidding process with the owners. Further, the owner interface allows owners to set certain parameters of bidding process. Further, the user may then select bid placed by owner and lowest bid may be winning bid. Further, the service provider interface similarly tracks the list of customers, list of owners, charter requests, completed trip details, aircraft information, pilot and crew information, and expense information. The service provider allows for generation of reports that contain this information. The service provider confirms booking and receive payment from user.