Itinerary Change Processing System Using Pre-stored Tolerance Parameters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for changing travel itineraries are inefficient and burdensome, requiring manual trial-and-error processes that involve multiple reservation systems, leading to inconvenience and increased costs due to the loss of information about the range of parameters defining possible itineraries.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a database to store travel itineraries, traveler preferences, and change parameters, along with a scheduler and optimizer to evaluate and optimize itinerary changes, automatically processing changes by anticipating and storing information necessary for future modifications, thereby reducing transactional interactions and costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual trial-and-error process is used to process itinerary changes, then flexibility in handling complex itinerary modifications is improved, but processing time and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing change tolerance parameters and related itineraries when the original itinerary is created. This advance preparation enables rapid processing of future change requests without requiring manual trial-and-error evaluation, thus reducing processing time while maintaining flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary computational layer that automatically evaluates change requests against pre-stored tolerance parameters and related itineraries. This intermediary process replaces manual agent evaluation, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining the flexibility to handle complex modifications through automated optimization algorithms.
2Measurement precision
If manual query process is used to validate proposed itineraries, then accuracy in assessing itinerary changes is improved, but information loss occurs due to sequential reconstruction of itinerary aspects
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by capturing and storing complete itinerary parameter information, including change tolerance parameters and related itineraries, at the time of original booking. This preserves the full information set about possible itinerary variations, eliminating information loss that occurs when itineraries are reconstructed sequentially during manual validation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by automatically comparing proposed changes against pre-stored tolerance parameters and evaluating results through optimization algorithms. This automated feedback loop maintains measurement precision by systematically assessing all itinerary aspects simultaneously rather than sequentially, preventing information loss about parameter relationships.
3Productivity
If automated system is implemented to process itinerary changes, then processing speed and efficiency are improved, but system complexity increases due to multiple reservation systems integration
Solution Approach 1:
The system reduces complexity by performing preliminary action during itinerary creation, where all change tolerance parameters and related itineraries are pre-calculated and stored. This advance preparation enables simple, fast automated processing of change requests without requiring complex real-time integration with multiple reservation systems, thus improving processing speed while managing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts and stores essential change evaluation information (tolerance parameters, related itineraries) at the time of original booking. By taking out this critical information and storing it separately, the system simplifies the automated change processing mechanism, enabling fast processing without requiring complex real-time access to multiple external reservation systems.
4Measurement precision
If comprehensive itinerary parameter information is stored in advance, then processing accuracy is improved, but data storage requirements and initial processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the most critical information (change tolerance parameters and related itineraries) and stores it in a condensed format during original booking. This selective extraction maintains processing accuracy by preserving essential parameter relationships while minimizing data storage requirements compared to storing complete itinerary details for all possible variations.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for processing changes to travel itineraries are provided. A system can comprise a database, a scheduler, and an optimizer. The database stores travel itineraries, traveler preferences, and itinerary change parameters. The scheduler exchanges information with travel supply networks and is operable to receive a travel itinerary, receive related travel itineraries, and optionally search the database for the related travel itineraries. The optimizer is operable to evaluate travel itinerary change tolerance parameters associated with the travel itinerary based on the traveler preferences, the itinerary change parameters, and the related travel itineraries; generate an optimized set of itinerary change tolerance parameters based on the evaluated itinerary change tolerance parameters and an optimization goal; and store the optimized set of itinerary change tolerance parameters for updating the travel itinerary.