TRAVEL FORECASTING AND ALLOCATING SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20080133284A1
• Filed: 12/03/2007
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Grant Davon Birch, Shawn Ivor Schubotz
• Original Assignee: Grant Davon Birch, Shawn Ivor Schubotz
• Inventors: BIRCH, GRANT DAVON, SCHUBOTZ, SHAWN IVOR
• Application Number:
  US11/949,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20080133284A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering

Abstract

A travel forecast and allocation computing system and method for prospective and other travel purchasers to access for requesting, receiving, and re-allocating rights to travel on passenger transportation vehicles, whereby a travel purchaser may have an opportunity of re-allocating its purchased right to travel to one or another of travel purchasers by trading it, and whereby a travel provider may have an opportunity of efficiently allocating transport to service binding travel requests and have further opportunity of relief from providing changes to reservations. The present invention makes possible economic incentive for travellers to forecast their own travel behaviour, and enable economic incentive for travellers to commit far into the future to specific travel so that airlines need not rely on their own forecasting of demand to plan their operations.

Claims

1. A travel forecast and allocation computing system for prospective and other travel purchasers to access for requesting, receiving, and re-allocating rights to travel on passenger transportation vehicles, comprising:

(a) forecasting means for multiple travel purchasers each to register requests in the computing system, wherein a first request, of said requests, records a binding offer to purchase travel on a mooted first journey having criteria chosen by a first travel purchaser at a fare price predetermined by said first travel purchaser, and wherein said first request provides that it may or may not be accepted, and if accepted shall be converted to a respective first right to travel, whereby, if accepted, said first request shall be serviced by said first right to travel on said first journey, and

(b) trading means for a second travel purchaser to facilitate selling of a second right of travel to a third travel purchaser, who in turn may sell said second right to travel to a fourth travel purchaser, and so forth, wherein said second right to travel was supplied as acceptance of a second request, by a travel provider, for travel on a second journey,

whereby a travel purchaser may have an opportunity of re-allocating its purchased right to travel to one or another of travel purchasers by trading it, and whereby a travel provider may have an opportunity of efficiently allocating transport to service binding travel requests and have further opportunity of relief from providing changes to reservations.

2. A travel forecast and allocation computing system of claim 1 wherein the transportation vehicles are transportation aircraft.

3. A method of forecasting, allocating, and re-allocating traveller demand for travel services comprising:

(a) providing a computing system that is accessible to prospective and other travel purchasers by remote end user terminals in a distributed network, and

(b) providing forecasting means for multiple travel purchasers each to register requests in said computing system, wherein a first request, of said requests, records a binding offer to purchase travel on a first journey having criteria chosen by a first travel purchaser at a fare price predetermined by said first travel purchaser, and wherein said first request provides that it may or may not be accepted by a first travel provider supplying a first right to travel on said first journey, and

(c) providing said first right to travel as acceptance of one of said requests, wherein said first right to travel is an assignable record of a right, registered in said computing system, provided by said first travel provider to said first travel purchaser for passenger travel on said journey of predetermined criteria, and

(d) providing trading means for said first travel purchaser to facilitate trading of said first right of travel on said computing system, to a second travel purchaser,

whereby a travel purchaser may have an opportunity of re-allocating its purchased right to travel to one or another of travel purchasers by trading it and whereby a travel provider may have an opportunity of efficiently allocating transport to service binding travel requests and have further opportunity of relief from providing changes to reservations.

4. A method of claim 3 wherein the travel services are air travel services.

5. A method of forecasting and allocating traveller demand for travel services comprising:

(a) providing a computing system that is accessible to prospective and other travel purchasers by remote end user terminals in a distributed network, and

(b) providing forecasting means for multiple travel purchasers each to register requests, wherein a first request, of said requests, records a binding offer to purchase travel on a mooted first journey having criteria chosen by said first travel purchaser at a fare price predetermined by said first travel purchaser, and where said first request provides that one travel provider, of a number of providers, may choose whether or not to put a mooted journey into service to fulfil the request, and

(c) providing a decision means for selecting some of said requests into a grouping of requests which form an economically viable scenario of travellers that may be serviced if a number of transport journeys are put into service, and

(d) accepting said grouping of requests conforming to said economically viable scenario, and

(e) providing a group of rights to travel as respective acceptance of said grouping of requests, wherein each right to travel of the group is an assignable record provided by a travel provider to a travel purchaser for a passenger right to travel on a journey of predetermined criteria,

whereby a travel provider may have an opportunity of efficiently allocating transport to service binding travel requests.

6. A method of claim 5 wherein the travel services are air travel services.

7. A method of forecasting and allocating traveller demand for travel services comprising:

(a) providing a computing system that is accessible to prospective and other travel purchasers by remote end user terminals in a distributed network, and

(b) providing forecasting means for multiple travel purchasers each to register requests, wherein a first request, of said requests, records a binding offer to purchase travel on a mooted first journey having criteria chosen by said first travel purchaser at a fare price predetermined by said first travel purchaser, and where said first request provides that one travel provider, of a number of providers, may choose whether or not to put a mooted journey into service, for the request, and

(c) providing a decision means for selecting some of said requests into a grouping of requests which form an economically viable scenario of travellers who may be serviced if a number of transport journeys are put into service, and

(d) accepting said grouping of requests conforming to said economically viable scenario, and

(e) providing a group of rights to travel as respective acceptance of said grouping of requests, wherein each right to travel of the group is an assignable record provided by a travel provider to a travel purchaser for a passenger right to travel on a journey of predetermined criteria, and

(f) providing trading means for a first travel purchaser to facilitate trading of a right of travel on said computing system to a second travel purchaser,

whereby a travel purchaser may have an opportunity of re-allocating its purchased right to travel to other travel purchasers by trading it and whereby a travel provider may have an opportunity of efficiently allocating transport to service binding travel requests and have further opportunity of relief from providing changes to reservations.

8. A method of claim 7 wherein the travel services are air travel services.