System and method for booking international multiple-stop tickets

• US 20020016724A1
• Filed: 07/03/2001
• Published: 02/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Intumit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intumit, Inc.
• Inventors: Yang, Yue-Heng, Hsieh, Chao-Chin
• Application Number:
  US09/897,125
• Publication Number:
  US 20020016724A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation

Abstract

The invention discloses a system and the corresponding method for booking international multiple-stop tickets. The system comprises at each node of an information network a global ticket reservation center which provides real-time information of global airlines and online booking and sale services, with at least one terminal device which provides customers an operating interface to book international tickets. The disclosed invention provides a method for at least one user who uses each terminal sale device distributed in the information network to accomplish the online operations of: inquiry and arrangement of flight schedules, inquiry of ticket prices, making reservations, canceling reservations, and changing the schedule for international tickets. Besides, the invention also provides travel plans that take the price and travel time as the prior consideration factors. The invention further includes an electronic monetary trading device to implement online ticket sale services.

Claims

1. An international airline ticket reservation system for providing at least one traveler who uses a terminal device distributed over the information network reservation services of international multiple-stop tickets, which system comprises:

a global ticket reservation and sales center, which provides real-time information of global airlines through the information network, accepts a reservation request made by the traveler through the information network and replies a valid response to the reservation request;

a sales interface, which allows the traveler to enter a request message relevant to the international reservation through the terminal device, and displays the resulting response to the request message;

an international multiple-stop reservation unit comprising;

a flight checking device, which checks whether the request message is valid and replies the check result to the sales interface;

an airfare calculation device, which calculates a final sales price for the air ticket according to the airfare information provided by the global ticket reservation and sales center and responds the final price to the sales interface; and

an online reservation, which sends out the request message to the global ticket reservation and sales center through the information network and responds the sales result to the sales interface.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the information provided by the global ticket reservation and sales center comprises reservation information for international multiple-stop tickets.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the global ticket reservation and sales center at least provides:

flight information including flight zones, departure and arrival cities, departure and arrival times and flight information;

ticket fare information including airfare calculation formulas, ticket face values, ticket face value coefficients, flight zone ticket information, stop city charge information, and promotion airfare information; and

sales information including airlines codes, reservation codes.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the flight information further comprises:

airlines companies;

airplane models; and

flight classes.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the request information relevant to international flight reservation entered by the traveler through the terminal device comprises:

the departure city, departure time and arrival city of at least one flight.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein at least the arrival city of one flight is the departure city of another flight in the multiple flights.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the request information relevant to international flight reservation entered by the traveler through the terminal device further comprises:

the number and identities of travelers and the classes thereof.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the flight check device checks whether the request message is consistent with the global flight information provided by the global ticket reservation and sales center so as to determine whether any flight service can satisfy the request message.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the flight check device checks whether the request message is consistent with the information provided by the internal database so as to determine whether any flight service can satisfy the request message.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the database comprises:

a direct flight city file, which stores all arrival cities that the flight services can reach;

a city code file, which stores all departure cities that provide the flight services; and

a flight file, which stores information such as the airlines companies, departure cities, arrival cities and transfer cities.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the online reservation device is a network modem.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is selected from the group comprising a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobile phone, and a notebook that can establish communication with the information network.

13. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a sales processing device to verify the identity security data of the trading party and to complete the ticket reservation in the global ticket reservation and sales center.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the sales processing device comprises a password input device for trading party.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the ticket reservation request message is obtained by converting the reservation request conditions entered by the traveler at one terminal device distributed over the information network into the request message.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the request message comprises:

the departure city, departure time, and arrival city of at least one flight.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the arrival city of at least one flight is the departure of another flight among the multiple flights in the travel plan.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein the request message further comprises the number and identities of travelers and the classes thereof.

20. The method according to claim 15, wherein the international flight information contains information regarding a plurality of multiple-stop flights that satisfy the request message.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the information of the plurality of multiple-stop flights includes the flight information, departure city, departure time, arrival city, and arrival time of each flight.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the arrival city of at least one flight is the departure of another flight among the multiple flights in the travel plan.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein the multiple-stop flight information is arranged according to the most economical airfare principle.

24. The method according to claim 20, wherein the multiple-stop flight information is arranged according to the least number of flights principle.

25. The method according to claim 15, wherein the database is obtained through an information network from a global ticket reservation and sales center connected to the information network.

26. The method according to claim 15, wherein the database comprises:

a direct flight city file, which stores all arrival cities that the flight services can reach;

a city code file, which stores all departure cities that provide the flight services; and

a flight file, which stores information such as the airlines companies, departure cities, arrival cities and transfer cities.

27. The system according to claim 15 further comprising a step of calculating a final price to obtain a final price according to the airfare information and airfare calculation formulas provided by the database.

28. The method according to claim 27 further comprising the calculation of stop city charges and promotion airfares.

29. The method according to claim 27, wherein the airfare information includes:

airfare calculation formulas;

ticket face values; and

ticket face value coefficients, which are used to determine the final sales price from the ticket face values.

30. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of keeping the ticket reservation request message when the request message contains a reservation message until the database has a service that satisfies the reservation request message, notifying the traveler through the information network in a wired or wireless method, and waiting until the traveler responds.

31. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of online purchase of an international airline ticket through the information network, which step includes security verification of the traveler'"'"'s identity and electronic monetary trading.

32. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of providing a suggestion to the traveler when the request message is invalid, the suggestion being providing the closet flights to the traveler'"'"'s original plan and slightly modifying the departure time of his plan so that the traveler'"'"'s plan can be completed thereby.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the suggestion further comprises suggesting the traveler to contact airlines companies to ask for their assistance.

15. An international ticket reservation method implemented through an information network comprising:

obtaining a ticket reservation request message of a travel plan that comprises a departure city, a departure time, and an arrival city through the information network;

checking the validity of the reservation request message by finding in a database whether there is a flight service that can satisfy the request message so as to determine the validity of the request message;

generating a reservation denial message when there is no such flight service in the database that can satisfy the ticket reservation request message; and

providing the flight and airfare information of an international flight that satisfies the reservation request message in the database.