Travel information fare history graph

• US 8,392,224 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2007
• Issued: 03/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Crean, Hugh, Bartot, Jay, Fridgen, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, George
• Application Number:
  US11/675,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20070198309A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,210 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 method and system for presenting travel information in a way that facilitates identifying travel plans that satisfy objectives is provided. A travel information system collects travel information for the travel items on various observation dates including the current date and presents the travel information to a user in a way that facilitates travel planning and travel shopping. The travel information system stores the travel information in an observation store. To provide travel information that satisfies a search criterion, the travel information system retrieves the travel information that satisfies the search criterion either from flight information of the observation store or from current flight information provided in real time from a source of travel information. The flight information system provides the travel information in various formats to facilitate travel planning. These formats include a fare history graph, an interval grid, a route map, a future fare graph, and/or a departure date/duration grid.

Claims

1. A method in a computer system with a processor and a memory for presenting airline fare information, the method comprising:

receiving by the computer system from a user on a current date a search request having a search criterion, the search criterion including a combination of a departure location and date and a return location and date for airline flights for which the user is seeking to purchase a ticket;

retrieving by the computer system, for various past observation dates, past flight information for airline flights that match the search criterion, the past flight information for an airline flight including a fare for that airline flight on that past observation date, the past observation dates including at least four consecutive dates immediately prior to a current date;

retrieving by the computer system as search results current flight information for airline flights that match the search criterion, the current flight information for an airline flight including a current fare for that airline flight on the current observation date, the current observation date being the current date;

generating by the computer system a fare history graph from the retrieved flight information that illustrates the history of fares for the airline flights that match the search criterion over the observation dates that include the past observation dates and the current observation date, wherein the fare history graph includes an observation date axis and a fare axis and indicates a representative fare for the airline flights on the corresponding observation date;

sending by the computer system for presentation to the user the search results along with the generated fare history graph; and

receiving from the user a request to purchase a ticket for an airline flight selected from the search results by the user.

2. The method of claim 1 including collecting on observation dates flight information for airline flights.

3. The method of claim 2 including generating trip information by aggregating the flight information for airline flights associated with a trip.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the fare history graph illustrates the lowest fare available on an observation date for airline flights that match the search criterion.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the search criterion includes a maximum fare.

6. The method of claim 1 including displaying fares of the current flight information at different time intervals of the departure date.

7. The method of claim 1 including displaying fares of the current flight information at different time intervals of the return date.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the search criterion specifies a one-way trip.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the search criterion specifies a round trip.

10. A computer-readable medium that is not a data transmission medium embedded with instructions for controlling a computing device to generate a presentation of airline fare information, by a method comprising:

receiving from a user a search request having a search criterion, the search criterion specifying a departure date that is in the future;

retrieving previously observed flight information for airline flights that match the search criterion, the previously observed flight information being observed at various past observation dates including at least four consecutive dates immediately prior to a current date;

retrieving currently observed flight information for airline flights that match the search criterion for a current observation date, the currently observed flight information indicating current fare for airline flights that match the search criterion,

generating a fare history graph from the retrieved flight information that illustrates the history of fares for the airline flights that match the search criterion over the past observation dates and the current observation date, wherein the fare history graph includes an observation date axis and a fare axis and indicates a representative fare for the airline flights on the corresponding observation date; and

sending for presentation to the user the search results along with the generated fare history graph.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 including collecting on observation dates flight information for airline flights.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 including generating trip information by aggregating the flight information for airline flights associated with a trip.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein the fare history graph illustrates the lowest fare available on an observation date for airline flights that match the search criterion.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein the search criterion identifies a trip, wherein a trip is a combination of departure location and date and return location and date.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 including displaying fares of the current flight information at different time intervals of the departure date.

16. A computing device for generating a presentation of airline fare information, comprising:

an observation store storing, for each of a plurality of observation dates, fares for airline flights as of that observation date, each airline flight having a departure location and date, the past observation dates including at least four consecutive dates immediately prior to a current date;

a memory storing computer-executable instructions of

a component that receives a user search request having a search criterion, the search criterion comprising a departure location and date and a return location and date;

a component that retrieves from observation store, for various past observation dates, fares for airline flights that match the search criterion;

a component that retrieves for a current observation date a current fare for airline flights that match the search criterion;

a component that generates a fare history graph from the retrieved fares that illustrates the history of fares for the airline flights that match the search criterion over the past observation dates and the current observation date, wherein the fare history graph includes an observation date axis and a fare axis and indicates a representative fare for the airline flights on the corresponding observation date; and

a component that sends for presentation to the user the search results along with the generated fare history graph; and

a processor for executing the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory.

17. The computing device of claim 16 wherein the fare history graph illustrates the lowest fare available on an observation date for airline flights that match the search criterion.