SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT FOR PERIODIC TRAVEL SERVICES

• US 20080077452A1
• Filed: 08/25/2006
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Crystal International Travel Group, Inc. (Crystal Finance LLC)
• Original Assignee: Crystal International Travel Group, Inc. (Crystal Finance LLC)
• Inventors: Dugan, Peter, Gallic, Peter
• Application Number:
  US11/467,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20080077452A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events

Abstract

Managing and distributing the right to obtain seats from a travel service vendor comprises contracting with the travel service vendor for a total number of seats at a bulk discount rate. A package is defined which includes the right to obtain a prescribed number of seats from the total number of seats in each of several intervals of time. A net present value of the package is computed. An offering amount for the package is defined at the net present value plus a transaction margin. A customer is subscribed to the offering. Any collected offering amounts are invested to generate a ticket payment for a seat claimed by the customer. The travel service vendor is then paid for a seat claimed by the customer using the ticket payment. Customers may also be periodically charged an activity margin. A spread may also be collected from the investment account.

Claims

1. A method for managing and distributing the right to obtain seats for travel on an airline, comprising the steps, in the order presented, of:

(a) defining a package which includes the right to obtain a prescribed number of seats in each of several intervals of time;

(b) computing a net present value of the package;

(c) defining an offering amount for the package at the net present value plus a transaction margin;

(d) subscribing a customer to the offering by;

(1) obtaining the customer'"'"'s commitment to pay the offering amount;

(2) collecting at least a portion of the offering amount from the customer, and

(3) enabling the customer to claim the prescribed number of seats in at least one of the several intervals;

(e) investing any collected offering amounts in an investment account; and

(f) paying the airline for any seats claimed by the customer using funds from at least the investment account.

2. The method of claim 1, including the additional step of augmenting the transaction margin collected from a particular customer by selling one or more of any unclaimed seats of that customer.

3. The method of claim 1, including the additional steps of obtaining an instruction from a particular customer to sell the one or more unclaimed seats and compensating the customer for that sale.

4. The method of claim 3, including the additional step of augmenting the transaction margin associated with that particular customer using the proceeds of the sale.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising contracting for the package with the airline at a price for each of the prescribed number of seats

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising collecting a spread from the investment account.

7. A method for managing and distributing the right to obtain seats from a travel service vendor, comprising:

(a) contracting with the travel service vendor for a total number of seats at a bulk discount rate;

(b) defining a package which includes the right to obtain a prescribed number of seats from the total number of seats in each of several intervals of time;

(c) computing a net present value of the package;

(d) defining an offering amount for the package at the net present value plus a transaction margin;

(e) subscribing a customer to the offering;

(f) investing any collected amounts for the offering to generate a ticket payment for a claimed seat; and

(g) paying the travel service vendor for a seat claimed by the customer using the ticket payment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein investing the any collected amounts comprises investing to earn a rate of return at at least a discount rate for the net present value of the package.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising predicting the ticket payment for a claimed seat based on an annual increase in cost.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising obtaining additional rights to another prescribed number of seats for providing to customers, if a demand for seats exceeds the total number of seats.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the right to obtain the prescribed number of seats is associated with a start location, a destination location, a geographical zone, a number of customers utilizing the seats, a season, a time of year, or a time-frame associated with a contractual right to occupy a location.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising periodically charging a customer an activity margin for a right to claim the prescribed number of seats.