Automated Repricing of Revised Itineraries for Ticket Changes Requested After Issuance

• US 20080027768A1
• Filed: 07/16/2007
• Published: 01/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Travelport LP (Travelport Worldwide Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Travelport LP (Travelport Worldwide Ltd.)
• Inventors: Thurlow, Steve, Link, Kami, Welkey, Ruthie
• Application Number:
  US11/778,444
• Publication Number:
  US 20080027768A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for returning the different costs for multiple potential travel alternatives using a single travel change request. The itinerary information is analyzed to determine fare rules and requirements to follow in repricing a new ticket. The process builds alternative flight criteria based on the requested travel change. The alternative flight criteria are then matched with fare data that is associated with the markets for the new itinerary. When the available flight information has been accessed along with the best available fares, this information is used to query available seat inventory on the target flights. Using the information from the targeted flights, alternative itinerary solutions are driven through the repricing process to determine the cost of each proposed itinerary for the requested change. With multiple answers to the request, full alternative costs can be proposed to a customer to make a change decision that best meets the customer'"'"'s needs.

Claims

1. A method for automatic repricing of a revised travel itinerary, comprising:

receiving a ticket change request from a passenger;

analyzing a plurality of itinerary changes;

building a plurality of alternate flight selection criteria;

selecting target fares and determining classes of service criteria through interaction with a fares database;

building and automatically repricing alternate itineraries for a plurality of selected flight candidates;

displaying a plurality of results from the repriced alternate itineraries for selection by the passenger.

2. The method for automatic repricing of a revised travel itinerary of claim 1 further comprising:

selecting a list of potential flight candidates through interaction with a flight schedules and availability database; and

sorting the potential flight candidates for repricing based on target fares and available classes of service.

3. A method for pricing of alternate travel itineraries, comprising:

receiving a request to price a specific market without an itinerary;

analyzing a plurality of travel options requested including dates of travel, destinations, and times of departure or arrival;

selecting target fares and determining classes of service criteria through interaction with a fares database;

selecting a plurality of qualified flight candidates associated with the lowest target fares to build alternate itineraries;

repricing each alternate itinerary to determine a plurality of lowest fare results; and

displaying a plurality of the resulting lowest fare itineraries including a total price for each itinerary displayed.

4. The method for pricing of alternate travel itineraries of claim 3 further comprising constructing a lowest fare request for each alternate itinerary.

5. The method for pricing of alternate travel itineraries of claim 3 further comprising:

selecting a plurality of potential flight candidates through interaction with a flight schedules and availability database; and

qualifying the potential flight candidates through interaction with a fare rules database.

6. The method for pricing of alternate travel itineraries of claim 3 further comprising determining a strategy for sending the lowest fare itineraries through automatic repricing.

7. The method for pricing of alternate travel itineraries of claim 3 further comprising sorting the lowest fare results from a lowest fare to a highest fare.

8. A method for repricing a new itinerary, comprising:

comparing an originally ticketed itinerary to the new itinerary to determine the changes made by a passenger;

building a plurality of alternate flight selection criteria;

selecting a plurality of target fares and determining a plurality of available classes of service using a fares database;

building a plurality of alternate itineraries to submit for an automated recalculation of fares;

repricing each alternate itinerary based on a plurality of reissue provisions and any applicable waivers; and

displaying a plurality of alternate itineraries having the lowest fare results.

9. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 further comprising analyzing a fare ladder for the original ticket to determine an original fare construction.

10. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 further comprising determining if the changes were made before or after departure based on a flight coupon status from an original ticket.

11. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 further comprising:

selecting a plurality of potential flight candidates using a flight schedule and availability data;

sorting the flight candidates based on the target fares and available classes of service.

12. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 further comprising accessing a historical fares database to locate an original fare data and determining a plurality of reprice scenarios and restrictions based on the fare rule data associated with the originally ticketed fares.

13. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 12 further comprising building a repricing map with the plurality of repricing scenarios and restrictions.

14. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 13 further comprising determining an applicable penalty for each scenario.

15. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 13 further comprising comparing each repricing result to a previous repricing result and storing the repricing result having the lowest add collect or highest refund.

16. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the displayed lowest fare results include pricing data, a fare difference, fees, and an add/collect or refind due amount.

17. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises repricing the revised itinerary using the same fares as originally ticketed.

18. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises repricing the revised itinerary using the historical same fares for all unchanged fare components up to the beginning of the first change component, and using current fares beginning with the first changed fare component.

19. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises repricing the revised itinerary using the historical same fares for all flown fare components, and using current fares for all partially flown or unflown fare components.

20. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises repricing the revised itinerary using the historical new fares for all flown fare components, and using current fares for all partially flown or unflown fare components.

21. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises repricing the revised itinerary using the historical new fares.

22. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises repricing the revised itinerary using the current fares.

23. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises determining a residual value for the itinerary using historical fares for each flown portion, and applying the residual value to unflown portions that are priced using current fares.

24. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises repricing all flown segments using historical new fares, subtracting the flown repriced solution from the original ticket price, determining a residual value, repricing all unflown flight segments using current fares, and applying any residual value to the repriced segments.

25. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises repricing all unchanged fare components up to the beginning of the first changed fare component using historical same fares, and repricing all unflown fare components using historical new fares.

26. The method for repricing a new itinerary of claim 8 wherein the step of repricing comprises repricing the unflown segments of the revised itinerary using the current fares.

27. A system for automatic repricing of a revised travel itinerary, comprising:

a processor for executing a plurality of components for enabling automatic repricing of the revised itinerary including;

a component for receiving a ticket change request from a passenger;

a component for analyzing a plurality of itinerary changes;

a component for building a plurality of alternate flight selection criteria;

a component for selecting target fares and determining classes of service criteria through interaction with a fares database;

a component for building and automatically repricing alternate itineraries for a plurality of selected flight candidates;

a component for displaying a plurality of results from the repriced alternate itineraries for selection by the passenger.

28. The system for automatic repricing of a revised travel itinerary of claim 28 further comprising:

a component for selecting a list of potential flight candidates through interaction with a flight schedules and availability database; and

a component for sorting the potential flight candidates for repricing based on target fares and available classes of service.

29. A system for automatic repricing of alternate travel itineraries, comprising:

a processor for executing a plurality of components for enabling automatic repricing of alternate itineraries, the plurality of components including;

a component for receiving a request to price a specific market without an itinerary;

a component for analyzing a plurality of travel options requested including dates of travel, destinations, and times of departure or arrival;

a component for selecting target fares and determining classes of service criteria through interaction with a fares database;

a component for selecting a plurality of qualified flight candidates associated with the lowest target fares to build alternate itineraries;

a component for repricing each alternate itinerary to determine a plurality of lowest fare results; and

a component for displaying a plurality of the resulting lowest fare itineraries including a total price for each itinerary displayed.

30. The system for pricing of alternate travel itineraries of claim 29 further comprising:

a component for selecting a plurality of potential flight candidates through interaction with a flight schedules and availability database; and

a component for qualifying the potential flight candidates through interaction with a fare rules database.

31. A system for repricing a new itinerary, comprising:

a processor for executing a plurality of components for enabling automatic repricing of alternate itineraries, the plurality of components including;

a component for comparing an originally ticketed itinerary to the new itinerary to determine the changes made by a passenger;

a component for building a plurality of alternate flight selection criteria;

a component for selecting a plurality of target fares and determining a plurality of available classes of service using a fares database;

a component for building a plurality of alternate itineraries to submit for an automated recalculation of fares;

a component for repricing each alternate itinerary based on a plurality of reissue provisions and any applicable waivers; and

a component for displaying a plurality of alternate itineraries having the lowest fare results including pricing data, a fare difference, fees, and an add/collect or refund due amount.

32. The system for repricing a new itinerary of claim 31 further comprising:

a component for selecting a plurality of potential flight candidates using a flight schedule and availability data;

a component for sorting the flight candidates based on the target fares and available classes of service.

33. The system for repricing a new itinerary of claim 31 further comprising a component for accessing a historical fares database to locate an original fare data and determining a plurality of reprice scenarios and restrictions based on the fare rule data associated with the originally ticketed fares.

34. The system for repricing a new itinerary of claim 31 further comprising a component for comparing each repricing result to a previous repricing result and storing the repricing result having the lowest add collect or highest refund.

35. A computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to automatically reprice a revised travel itinerary, by:

receiving a ticket change request from a passenger;

analyzing a plurality of itinerary changes;

building a plurality of alternate flight selection criteria;

selecting target fares and determining classes of service criteria through interaction with a fares database;

building and automatically repricing alternate itineraries for a plurality of selected flight candidates;

displaying a plurality of results from the repriced alternate itineraries for selection by the passenger.

36. The computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to automatically reprice a revised travel itinerary of claim 35, by:

selecting a list of potential flight candidates through interaction with a flight schedules and availability database; and

sorting the potential flight candidates for repricing based on target fares and available classes of service.

37. A computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to automatically price alternate travel itineraries, by:

receiving a request to price a specific market without an itinerary;

analyzing a plurality of travel options requested including dates of travel, destinations, and times of departure or arrival;

selecting target fares and determining classes of service criteria through interaction with a fares database;

selecting a plurality of qualified flight candidates associated with the lowest target fares to build alternate itineraries;

repricing each alternate itinerary to determine a plurality of lowest fare results; and

displaying a plurality of the resulting lowest fare itineraries including a total price for each itinerary displayed.

38. The computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to automatically price alternate travel itineraries of claim 37, by:

selecting a plurality of potential flight candidates through interaction with a flight schedules and availability database; and

qualifying the potential flight candidates through interaction with a fare rules database.

39. A computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to reprice a new itinerary, by:

comparing an originally ticketed itinerary to the new itinerary to determine the changes made by a passenger;

building a plurality of alternate flight selection criteria;

selecting a plurality of target fares and determining a plurality of available classes of service using a fares database;

building a plurality of alternate itineraries to submit for an automated recalculation of fares;

repricing each alternate itinerary based on a plurality of reissue provisions and any applicable waivers; and

displaying a plurality of alternate itineraries having the lowest fare results.

40. The computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to reprice a new itinerary of claim 39, by

selecting a plurality of potential flight candidates using a flight schedule and availability data;

sorting the flight candidates based on the target fares and available classes of service.

41. The computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to reprice a new itinerary of claim 39 by accessing a historical fares database to locate an original fare data and determining a plurality of reprice scenarios and restrictions based on the fare rule data associated with the originally ticketed fares.

42. The computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to reprice a new itinerary of claim 39 by comparing each repricing result to a previous repricing result and storing the repricing result having the lowest add collect or highest refund.