Patent ID: 8694345
Filing Date: 2014-04-08
Classification: G06F,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method for allowing searching travelers and proposing travelers to directly negotiate a shared flight itinerary for on-demand charter aircraft service over the Internet, the method comprising the steps of: permitting access to a web-based shared flight itinerary computer software application to proposing travelers and searching travelers, the software application being executed by a processor on one or more computers; displaying a user interface to a proposing traveler and receiving a proposed flight itinerary to be directly negotiated and shared with one or more searching travelers, the proposed flight itinerary having associated therewith a plurality of proposed flight parameters, wherein one of the plurality of proposed flight parameters is the proposed departure time of day, and wherein the software application does not enable the proposing traveler to enter the proposed departure time of day as an exact numerical value; associating, by the processor, the proposed flight itinerary with the proposing traveler who proposed the flight itinerary; uniquely identifying, by the processor, the proposed flight itinerary and associated plurality of proposed flight parameters in a computer searchable database associated with the software application, the database storing a plurality of proposed flight itineraries, each having associated proposed flight parameters; receiving, by the processor, at least one of a plurality of search parameters and searching the database for proposed flight itineraries having associated flight parameters that match at least some of the search parameters; displaying to the searching traveler all proposed flight itineraries having at least some matching proposed flight parameters; receiving, by the processor, one or more inputs from the searching traveler selecting one or more of the displayed matching proposed flight itineraries in order to enter into a direct negotiation with one or more of the proposing travelers who have proposed the displayed matching flight itineraries; and whereby the software application requires the searching traveler to enter a numerical value for a specific desired departure time of day in order to initiate the negotiation for a shared flight itinerary with the one or more proposing travelers; receiving, by the processor, one or more inputs from the searching traveler and the one or more proposing travelers directed at the negotiation of one or more of the plurality of proposed flight parameters of the proposed flight itinerary directly between the searching traveler and the one or more proposing travelers; and receiving, by the processor, one or more inputs indicating an agreement between the searching traveler and the one or more proposing travelers with respect to every one of the plurality of proposed flight parameters causing the negotiated proposed flight itinerary to become a common shared flight itinerary, whereby the common shared flight itinerary is negotiated between the searching traveler and the one or more proposing travelers prior to submitting the common shared flight itinerary to an air charter brokerage service for subsequent booking and scheduling of a charter aircraft service corresponding to the common shared flight itinerary.