Patent ID: 7921022
Filing Date: 2011-04-05
Classification: G01C,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method executed over a computer network for finding travel solutions each travel solution comprising a set of one or more units of transportation and one or more fares useable with the set of units of transportation in response to travel planning queries for multiple routes for multiple passenger groups, the method comprising: receiving, by a computer, joint travel requirements/preferences for multiple passenger groups, the joint travel requirements/preferences specifying a shared unit of transportation for a common travel segment corresponding to co-dependent portions of travel routes that are common for the passenger groups, with at least one of the routes for at least one of the passenger groups having plural segments of travel between an origin airport and a destination airport, the joint travel requirements/preferences being at least one of a common origin airport for an initial outbound portion of a trip, a common destination airport for a return portion of the trip, and a common segment of travel for an intermediate portion of the trip; sending by a computer to a scheduler system, multiple, individual queries to produce individual solutions that meet the received joint travel requirements/preferences; merging, by a computer system, individual solutions from the multiple, individual queries to produce joint solutions for the passenger groups according to the received joint travel requirements/preferences.