Web-Based Travel Booking System for Granular Flight Segment Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing travel booking systems for corporate travelers lack the flexibility and granularity needed to efficiently search and combine flight options, as they are restricted to pre-assembled bundles, unlike traditional GDS systems which allow granular control over each leg of a trip.
Innovation Solution
A web-based travel booking system with a graphical user interface that allows simultaneous searches across multiple data sources, normalizes data elements, and enables agents to unbundle and recombine flight segments for optimal itinerary creation and modification, combining schedule-driven and fare-driven search results in a Trip Builder Workspace.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If pre-assembled flight bundles are used in agent GUIs, then low fare search functionality is improved, but flexibility and granularity to select specific legs is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments pre-assembled flight bundles into individual flight legs, allowing agents to select and combine specific legs rather than being restricted to complete pre-assembled itineraries. This segmentation enables both low fare search functionality and flexible leg selection by breaking down the flight options into manageable components that can be recombined according to traveler needs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If legacy GDS functionality is used, then granular control over each trip leg is achieved, but ease of operation and user-friendliness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a web-based graphical user interface as an intermediary layer between the complex legacy GDS backend and the user. This GUI mediator translates user-friendly selections into the granular GDS commands needed to achieve detailed trip control, thereby maintaining ease of operation while preserving granular control capabilities through the mediation of the interface layer.
3Productivity
If multiple simultaneous searches are launched, then search efficiency and productivity are improved, but system complexity and data normalization requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent standardizes search parameters and data formats across multiple simultaneous searches through a unified parameter set and normalization layer. This allows the system to launch multiple searches concurrently for different travel criteria while maintaining consistency through parameter standardization, thereby improving productivity without proportionally increasing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for searching for a travel product having one or more data elements associated therewith from a plurality of potentially suitable travel products in a system comprising a web based interface for receiving inputs from a user and from one or more sources of data, and for displaying results to a user based on the inputs; a business logic layer providing access to the sources of data in a predetermined manner, such as based on rules and preferences; and a database including data relating to the parties associated with the system; wherein the method comprises the steps of: entering one or more search parameters into the interface; launching multiple simultaneous searches based on the search criteria and one or more attribute of the travel product to the one or more sources of data to identify the potentially suitable travel products; displaying the potentially suitable travel products on the interface; selecting one or more of the potentially suitable travel products for further processing; further processing the potentially suitable travel products by normalizing the data elements associated with the potentially suitable travel products into a homogeneous display; determining a combination of data elements of the one or more potentially suitable travel products which in combination are the most suitable travel products for a customer based on customer preferences and attributes.