Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PURCHASING COLLECTIONS OF AIR
TRAVELPASSES
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The described technology relates generally to conducting electronic
commerce and, more particularly, to purchasing collections of air travel
segments.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Because it facilitates electronic communications between vendors and
purchasers, the Internet is increasingly being used to conduct "electronic
commerce."
The Internet comprises a vast number of computers and computer networks that
are
interconnected through communication channels. Electronic commerce refers
generally to commercial transactions that are at least partially conducted
using the
computer systems of the parties to the transactions. For example, a purchaser
can use
a personal computer to connect via the Internet to a vendor's computer. The
purchaser can then interact with the vendor's computer to conduct the
transaction.
The World Wide Web portion of the Internet is especially conducive to
conducting
electronic commerce. Many web servers have been developed through which
vendors
can provide and sell services. A user, who is a potential purchaser, may
browse
through a catalog using a browser and select various services that are then
purchased.
When the user has completed selecting the serJces to be purchased, the server
computer system then prompts the user for information to complete the ordering
of the
services. The order information may include the purchaser's name, the
purchaser's
credit card number, and other identifying information, such as a username. The
server
computer system then typically confirms the order by sending a confirming web
page to
the client computer system and schedules the service to be provided to the
user.
[0003] Many travel service providers (e.g., airlines and travel agencies)
offer their
travel services via web servers. The services may include selecting and
booking
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flights, checking departure and arrival times, reviewing mileage award status,
and so
on. To book a flight with an airline via the web, a user visits the
reservation web page
of the airline. The user then enters a departure city, destination city,
departure date,
and optionally other criteria such as class of service. The airline's web
server
identifies the airline's flights that match the criteria and presents the
flights to the user.
The flight information provided to the user typically includes the departure
and arrival
times, price, restrictions, number of stops, and so on. The user can then book
a flight
by selecting it and paying for the flight (e.g., charging it to a credit card
account).
Alternatively, a user may book a flight using a flight clearinghouse service
in much the
same way, except that the web server may identify flights of different
airlines. Many
users will compare flights from competing air travel service providers and
purchase air
travel based on which flights best meet their needs.
[0004] Many people travel frequently between a certain set of locations. For
example, a retired person may travel many times during the cold season between
their
home in a cold climate and their home in warm climate. Such a retired person
may
want to spend most of the cold season at their home in the warm climate, but
may want
to spend scheduled time such as holidays and birthdays and unscheduled time
such
as the birth of a new grandchild at their home in the cold climate. Thus, the
retired
person will travel between both locations many times throughout the cold
season. As
another example, a business person may need to travel between the company's
home
office and one or more satellite offices on a weekly basis. Such travel by the
business
person may also be on a scheduled or unscheduled basis.
[0005] Travel service providers would like to attract and retain the business
of
such frequent travelers. Although web-based reservation systems have
simplified the
process of finding and booking flights, it can still be time-consuming for a
frequent
traveler to find and book the correct flights. Although a frequent traveler
may have
some incentive (e.g., award miles and schedules) to select one airline over
another,
many frequent travelers may simply select the flight based solely on cost. It
would be
desirable for a travel service provider to provide a system so that frequent
travelers
can more flexibly and easily book travel. Such a system would provide the
traveler
with an incentive to travel with that travel service provider.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Figure 1 illustrates a display page where a user selects a travel pass
and
travel terms.
[0007] Figure 2A illustrates a display page of possible travel segments for a
selected pass.
[0008] Figure 2B illustrates a display page where a user can select travel
segments for a user-specified pass.
[0009] Figure 3 illustrates a display page where a user can purchase a
selected
pass and travel terms.
[0010] Figure 4 illustrates a display page of a user's flight wallet where a
user can
book a flight.
[0011] Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating the system architecture of the
travel
system.
[0012] Figure 6 illustrates a display page prompting a user to select an
associated
pass.
[0013] Figure 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the purchasing of a travel
pass.
[0014] Figure 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the booking of a flight in the
travel
system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] A method and system for providing air travel services by which a
traveler
can purchase a collection of air travel segments and then book flights and
travel on
those segments in accordance with travel terms is provided. In one embodiment,
the
travel system provides travel passes that define a collection of air travel
segments and
travel terms. Each collection includes a set of air travel segments. For
example, a
"winter getaway" collection may include air travel segments between northern
locations
(e.g., Montreal) and southern locations (e.g., Miami). The travel terms define
the terms
of use of a collection of air travel segments. The travel terms may specify
the number
of times that a traveler is allowed to travel on segments of a collection in a
specified
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period. The travel terms may also specify the start date of the travel. For
example, the
travel terms may specify that a traveler can travel six segments of a
collection during a
one-month period starting on January 1. The travel system allows a traveler to
purchase a travel pass online by selecting a collection and travel terms and
providing
payment. After the traveler purchases the travel pass, the traveler can then
book
flights online by selecting a scheduled flight that corresponds to the
collection of air
travel segments. If the selected flight is within the travel terms of the
pass, the flight is
automatically booked. Since the flights that can be purchased under the travel
pass
are limited to the collection and no additional purchase needs to be made, the
booking
of flights using a travel pass is simpler than the booking of flights using
conventional
selection and booking. In addition, the travel service provider may provide a
pricing
structure for the travel passes that provides an incentive for frequent
travelers to
purchase travel passes, rather than individual flights. In exchange for a
traveler-
friendly pricing structure, the traveler may be charged the same purchase
price
whether the traveler travels the allotted number of times or a lesser number
of times.
In addition, the travel system may provide a variable pricing structure
depending on the
number of air travel segments of a travel pass that are actually flown. For
example, if
the traveler travels more times than allowed under a travel pass, the travel
system may
charge a reduced price for each additional flight in excess of the allowed
number as an
incentive to use the same travel service provider.
[0016] In one embodiment, the travel system allows a traveler flexibility in
creating
a travel pass. The travel system may provide a predefined set of collections
of travel
segments or may allow a traveler to define their own collection of travel
segments. A
predefined collection may, for example, specify air travel segments between
various
locations, such as Montreal and Phoenix, Montreal and Miami, Vancouver and
Phoenix, and Vancouver and Miami. A traveler may define their own collection
of
travel segments between various locations such as Montreal and New York and
Montreal and Boston. The travel system may also provide a predefined set of
travel
terms or may allow a traveler to define their own travel terms. A predefined
travel set
of terms may be, for example, 10, 20, or an unlimited number of flights within
one,
three, or six months. A traveler may define their own travel terms such as six
flights
within two months. The travel service provider may allow the traveler to fly
on any
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scheduled flight that complies with the travel pass. A flight complies with
the travel
pass when it is one of the air travel segments of the collection, within the
number of
allowed flights and within the time period of the travel pass. The travel
system tracks
the flights booked by a traveler under the travel system so that it can
determine
whether subsequent bookings comply with the travel pass.
[0017] Figure 1 illustrates a display page 100 where a user selects a travel
pass
in one embodiment. A traveler uses the display page 100 to select a
collection, travel
terms, and a start date for the travel pass. The display page 100 includes a
list of
travel terms 110, a list of collections 120, a start date field 130, and a
submit button
140. The travel terms define the maximum number of air travel segments that
can be
traveled and the time period in which the travel is to take place. The number
of
segments provided may be fixed (e.g., 6, 10, or 20), user-defined, or
unlimited. The
time periods provided may be fixed (e.g., 30 days or 365 days) or user-defined
(e.g.,
45 days). Each predefined collection (e.g., "Sun Pass") or type of pass
defines a
specific set of air travel segments. To purchase a travel pass, the traveler
selects the
time period such as 60 days, selects a number of flights such as 10, selects a
type of
pass such as Sun Pass 122, selects a start date such as January 1, 2006, and
selects
the submit button 140. The travel system then displays a web page that allows
the
traveler to purchase the travel pass.
[0018] When a traveler selects a type of pass, such as Sun Pass, the travel
system displays the travel segments of that type of pass. Figure 2A
illustrates a
display page of possible air travel segments 201 for a certain type of pass.
When the
traveler selects the Sun Pass 122 of Figure 1, the travel system displays
display page
200. The display page lists the air travel segments 201 for a travel pass of
that type.
For example, the display page indicates that the Sun Pass includes air travel
segments
between Toronto and Miami, Toronto and Los Angeles, Toronto and Phoenix, and
so
on.
[0019] Referring again to Figure 1, the travel system may allow the user to
define
the air travel segments of their travel pass. When the traveler selects the
"choose your
own" option of Figure 1, the travel system allows the traveler to select the
air travel
segments of the travel pass. Figure 2B illustrates a display page 210 where a
traveler
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can select air travel segments 211 for a traveler-defined collection. The
traveler can
select one or more of the air travel segments.
[0020] Figure 3 illustrates a display page where a traveler can purchase a
selected pass and travel terms. Upon the traveler's selection of a pass type,
travel
terms, and start date from display page 100, the travel system presents a
display page
300 to the traveler. The display page shows selected travel terms 310, a
selected
pass type 320, a start date 370, and a calculated price 330 for the travel
pass. The
travel system calculates the price based on the number of segments, the time
period,
the start date, and the type of pass. The traveler can then decide to purchase
the
travel pass by selecting a purchase button 340 or can decide to go back and
redefine
the travel pass by selecting a button 350. Also, the traveler may wish to name
the
travel pass being purchased for easy reference in case the traveler purchases
multiple
travel passes. Before purchasing, the traveler may enter the travel pass name
in a
field 360 such as "Summer Trips."
[0021] The travel system may allow the traveler to purchase the travel pass
using
standard e-commerce techniques. The traveler may be asked for traveler
information
(e.g., name and address) and payment information (e.g., credit card number).
Upon
successful purchase of a travel pass, the traveler system then assigns the
travel pass
to the traveler and maintains information about the travel pass including pass
type,
travel terms, and usage.
[0022] Figure 4 illustrates a display page of a traveler's information through
which
a traveler can book a flight using a travel pass in one embodiment. A display
page 400
shows the information associated with a travel pass that the traveler has
purchased.
The display page 400 contains traveler information 410, traveler flight
information 420,
travel terms information 430, and a flight booking function 440. The traveler
information contains the traveler's name 411, type of pass 412, and travel
terms 413.
The traveler flight information 420 contains currently booked flights 421, a
history of
previously traveled flights 422, and a function to change a previously booked
flight
423. The travel terms information 430 contains an indication of credits used
(i.e., air
travel segments flown) 431, credits remaining (i.e., air travel segments
remaining) 432,
and a start date 433 and an end date 434 of the time period for the pass.
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[0023] The flight booking function 440 allows the user to book a flight on the
travel
pass. The function displays available city pairs 441 and specific flight
information 442
for a selected city pair. Alternatively, the travel system may use a
conventional. user
interface for a selection of flights limited to the available city pairs and,
after a flight is
selected, automatically recording that a flight has been booked and updating
the travel
pass information accordingly.
[0024] Figure 5 is a block diagram 500 illustrating the system architecture of
the
travel system in one embodiment. Client computers 501 and a travel system 520
are
interconnected via communication link 510, such as the Internet. The computers
may
include a central processing unit, memory, input devices (e.g., keyboard and
pointing
device), output devices (e.g., display devices), and storage devices (e.g.,
disk drive).
The memory and storage devices are computer-readable media that may contain
computer instructions that implement the travel system. The travel system may
include
web pages 521, a pass purchase component 522, a web engine 523, a travel
booking
component 524, a traveler database 525, a travel pass database 526, and a
flight
database 527. In addition, the data structures and message structures may be
stored
or transmitted via a computer readable medium, such as a communication link
510.
[0025] The client computers may use browsers to access display pages of the
travel system via the Internet. The web engine receives requests for display
pages
from the client computers, coordinates the generation of the requested display
page,
and provides the requested display page to the requesting client computer. The
pass
purchase component provides the functions through which a traveler can
purchase a
travel pass. The travel booking component 524 provides the functions through
which a
traveler can book a flight on a travel pass. The traveler database identifies
information
about the travelers. The travel pass database identifies previous travel
passes that
have been purchased by the travelers and may contain information describing
the
predefined pass types, travel terms, and so on. The flight database may
correspond to
a conventional database containing flight schedule and flight booking
information. In
one embodiment, the travel system may interface to a conventional flight
booking
system so that flights booked using a travel pass are handled like flights
booked via a
conventional flight booking system.
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[0026] Embodiments of the travel system may be implemented in various
operating environments that include personal computers, server computers, hand-
held
or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems,
programmable consumer electronics, digital cameras, network PCs,
minicomputers,
mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of
the
above systems or devices, and so on. The computer systems may be cell phones,
personal digital assistants, smart phones, personal computers, programmable
consumer electronics, digital cameras, and so on.
[0027] The travel system may be described in the general context of computer-
executable instructions, such as program modules, executed by one or more
computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines,
programs,
objects, components, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks
or
implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the
program
modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. One
skilled in the art will appreciate that the concepts of the travel system can
be used in
many different environments.
[0028] Figure 6 illustrates a display page 600 prompting a traveler to select
an
associated pass in one embodiment. A traveler may be associated with more than
one
travel pass such as one for business travel and one for personal travel. In
this
example, in order to book a flight, a traveler is first requested to select a
travel pass
610 to be used to purchase a business flight. Upon selection of the travel
pass 610,
the user can then proceed to book a flight by selecting a button 620.
[0029] Figure 7 is a flow diagram that illustrates the processing of the
purchasing
travel component of the travel system in one embodiment. The component is
passed
an indication of a traveler and coordinates purchasing of a travel pass. In
block 701,
the component displays collections of air travel segments that are available
to the
traveler. In one embodiment, some travelers may have different types of passes
available to them. For example, a corporation may negotiate with a travel
service
provider to provide certain collections for its employees. In block 702, the
component
displays a list of travel terms that the traveler can select to go with the
selected
collection. In block 703, the component receives a selection of a collection
and a
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selection of travel terms from the traveler that define the travel pass. In
block 704, the
component requests payment information from the traveler for the selected
collection
and travel terms. In decision block 705, if the payment information is valid,
then the
component continues at block 707, else the component reports an error in block
706
and loops to block 704 to allow the traveler to re-enter payment information.
In block
707, the component assigns a travel pass to the traveler identifying the
collection of air
travel segments and travel terms and then completes.
[0030] Figure 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates the processing of the book
travel
component of the travel system in one embodiment. The component is passed an
indication of the traveler and coordinates booking of a flight for that
traveler using a
travel pass that the traveler previously purchased. In block 801, the
component
displays the travel passes that the traveler has purchased. In block 802, the
component system receives the selection of a travel pass from the traveler. In
block
803, the component receives a selection of a flight from the traveler for an
air travel
segment of the travel pass. In decision block 804, if the selected flight
complies with
the travel pass, then the component continues at block 806, else the component
reports an error in block 805 and loops to block 803 to allow the traveler to
select
another flight. In block 806 the component books the selected flight for the
traveler. In
block 807, the component adjusts the information of the travel pass to
indicate that the
traveler has booked the flight. In block 808, the component displays a
confirmation of
the booking to the traveler and then completes.
[0031] The travel system may be modified to provide different incentives to
different classes of travelers. In one embodiment, the travel system provides
travel
terms with a fixed number of flights. For example, a traveler may purchase a
10-flight
travel pass for air travel segments between three city pairs, to be used
within one year.
For each flight taken, the travel system deducts flights from the travel pass.
In
addition, the traveler may be eligible for class upgrades and may receive
bonus miles
for the initial purchase of the travel pass.
[0032] In another embodiment, the travel system provides a travel pass with an
unlimited number of flights on air travel segments of the collection (e.g.,
all pairs of
cities in a country) for a single traveler within a certain time period. The
traveler can
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travel on any air travel segment at any time within the time period. The
traveler may
also choose a class of travel, or may be eligible to upgrade at a later time.
[0033] In another embodiment, the travel system provides a travel pass that
allows anyone in a family to travel on the travel pass. The pass could have a
fixed
amount of flights for a certain time period.
[0034] In another embodiment, the travel system allows the traveler to
determine
the number of flights and time period a travel pass is good for. For example,
the
traveler may purchase 25 flights for the following year. The travel system may
allow
the traveler to purchase additional flights for a travel pass.
[0035] In another embodiment, the travel system may provide a corporate pass
type that allows various employees (of the corporation or other organization)
to travel
under the same travel pass. The company could modify the list of travelers and
could
purchase additional flights. The cost of the additional flights may vary based
on the
time remaining in the travel terms. The travel system may also allow a
traveler to
purchase more time on a travel pass.
[0036] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of
the
travel system have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but
that various
modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the
invention.
Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
