Competitive Availability Tools

• US 20110191127A1
• Filed: 02/01/2011
• Published: 08/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ITA Software, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: DeMarcken, Carl G., Wertheimer, Jeremy
• Granted Patent: US 8,543,432 B2
• 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 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities

Abstract

A competitive, availability prediction system for predicting relative, competitive availability of seating on an airline flight is described. The system includes an availability predictor that predicts seating availability on a competitive flight, an availability system that produces an actual availability response for a flight and decision logic that compares the predicted answer from the availability predictor and the potential answer from the availability system to establish a decision with respect to actual availability.

Claims

1. A system comprises:

an availability system that receives an availability query for seating availability for a flight and that produces a potential availability response for the flight specified in the availability query;

an availability predictor system that predicts seating availability and provides a prediction of seating availability of a second, different flight that is a competitive flight to the flight in the availability query; and

decision logic that compares the predicted answer from the availability predictor system and the potential answer from the availability system to determine whether the potential answer from the availability system should be modified, before the potential answer is sent as an actual availability answer from the availability system.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the decision logic is a bias that determines whether the potential answer should be modified based upon the relative competitive position of the competitor represented by the availability predictor.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

modifying logic responsive to the predicted seat availability answer and from the decision logic to modify the actual availability answer.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the decision logic determines whether the prediction from the availability predictor indicates that a competitor is in a more favorable or less favorable competitive position than the answer produced by the availability system.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the decision is a message generated from the decision logic.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the message from the decision logic can have a plurality of states.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein one of the states is a neutral state that does not modify the potential answer received from the availability system.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein one of the states biases a potential answer towards answering that a seat is available.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein one of the states biases a potential answer towards answering that a seat is not available.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the state depends upon the relative competitive position of the competitor represented by the availability predictor.

11. The system of claim 3 wherein the decision logic determines whether in the predicted seat availability answer booking codes having available seats are at a lower price than booking codes having available seats that the availability system indicates are available in the potential availability answer.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein if the predicted seat availability answer has available booking codes are not at a lower price, then the system can return a bias towards making the seat unavailable.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein if the predicted seat availability answer has available booking codes are not at a lower price, then the system tests the seat availability query was for a low cost fare and return a bias towards making the seat not available if the seat availability query was for a low fare.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein if the predicted seat availability answer has available booking codes are at a lower price than booking codes having available seats that the availability system indicates are available in the potential availability answer.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein if the predicted seat availability answer has available booking codes are at a lower price than booking codes having available seats that the availability system indicates are available in the potential availability answer, the system determines whether the query was for a high cost fare, and returns a bias towards making the seat available if for a high cost fare.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the messages that are returned change the availability message from the availability system.

17. A method of predicting relative, competitive availability of seating on an airline flight comprises:

providing by a seating availability system that includes a computer, a potential availability answer for a query for seat availability information for a flight;

producing by an availability predictor, a prediction of seating availability for a second, different flight that is a competitive flight to the flight in the availability query; and

comparing the predicted answer from the availability predictor and the potential answer from the availability system and based on the comparison, producing an actual seat availability answer from the seating availability system.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein comparing produces a decision that is a bias that determines whether the potential answer should be modified based upon the relative competitive position of the competitor represented by the availability predictor.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

modifying the actual availability answer in accordance with the bias.

20. The system of claim 17 further comprising:

determining whether the competitor'"'"'s available booking codes are at a lower price than those which the availability system indicates the user of the system can offer.

21. A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer readable storage medium for modify seat availability answer, the computer program product comprises instructions for causing a computer to:

receives an availability query for seating availability for a flight and produce an potential availability answer for the flight;

predicts seating availability of a second, different flight that is a competitive flight to the flight in the availability query; and

compare the predicted answer from the availability predictor system and the potential answer from the availability system to determine whether the potential answer from the availability system should be modified, before the potential answer is sent as an actual availability answer from the availability system.

22. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein the instructions to compare bias the potential answer based upon the relative competitive position of the competitor represented by the availability predictor.

23. The computer program product of claim 21 further comprising instructions to:

modify the actual availability answer based on the predicted seat availability answer and from the comparison.