System and method for providing an airline variable routed capacity management system
First Claim
1. A method, in a data processing system, for obtaining transportation services for traveling between a point of origin and a destination, comprising:
- receiving a request for transportation services from a client device;
receiving, from the client device, an identifier of an acceptable travel window, wherein the travel window identifies a maximum amount of time that a passenger is willing to spend traveling from the point of origin to the destination; and
providing a guarantee of transportation services from a transportation provider based on the identified acceptable travel window, wherein providing the guarantee of transportation services does not reserve a seat on any particular vehicle.
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Abstract
A system and method for providing an airline variable routed capacity management system. With the system and method, a user, at time of booking, identifies only the departure and arrival airports, the dates of departure and return flights, and the travel window, i.e. the amount of travel time the user is willing to endure to travel between the departure and arrival airports, or vice versa. At time of booking, there is no blocking of travel lanes since there is no reservation of seat assignments or flights but only the guarantee that the airline will provide some flight itinerary between the departure and arrival airports that meets the travel window on the departure and return dates. The particular flights or seat assignments are not identified and are not reserved. At some time prior to the departure date, the user may again access the system of the present invention to obtain a listing of flight itineraries that meet the travel window on the dates and between the cities identified by user at booking. Based on the listing of possible flight itineraries, a user may select one of the flight itineraries and then obtain their seat and flight assignments based on the flight itinerary selected.
56 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method, in a data processing system, for obtaining transportation services for traveling between a point of origin and a destination, comprising:
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receiving a request for transportation services from a client device;
receiving, from the client device, an identifier of an acceptable travel window, wherein the travel window identifies a maximum amount of time that a passenger is willing to spend traveling from the point of origin to the destination; and
providing a guarantee of transportation services from a transportation provider based on the identified acceptable travel window, wherein providing the guarantee of transportation services does not reserve a seat on any particular vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for obtaining transportation services for traveling between a point of origin and a destination, comprising:
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first instructions for receiving a request for transportation services from a client device;
second instructions for receiving, from the client device, an identifier of an acceptable travel window, wherein the travel window identifies a maximum amount of time that a passenger is willing to spend traveling from the point of origin to the destination; and
third instructions for providing a guarantee of transportation services from a transportation provider based on the identified acceptable travel window, wherein providing the guarantee of transportation services does not reserve a seat on any particular vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for obtaining transportation services for traveling between a point of origin and a destination, comprising:
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means for receiving a request for transportation services from a client device;
means for receiving, from the client device, an identifier of an acceptable travel window, wherein the travel window identifies a maximum amount of time that a passenger is willing to spend traveling from the point of origin to the destination; and
means for providing a guarantee of transportation services from a transportation provider based on the identified acceptable travel window, wherein providing the guarantee of transportation services does not reserve a seat on any particular vehicle.
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Specification