Abstract:
A method of using travel-related information is disclosed. The method monitors a travel plan for a travel path to a desired destination and determines a magnitude and likelihood of a disruption at each potential disruption point. The method also includes the detection of triggering disruption events at one of the disruption points and determines an alternate travel plan to reach the desired destination.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)  
       [0001]    The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/405,938, filed Aug. 26, 2002, entitled “Monitoring The Status and Situation of National Air Space Stakeholders”, by Maycotte et al., which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
         [0002]    This application is related to co-pending U.S. application filed concurrently with the present application and having attorney docket number 1003-0003, entitled “Automated Collection of Flight Reservation System Data,” by Maycotte et al.  
         [0003]    This application is related to co-pending U.S. application filed concurrently with the present application and having attorney docket number 1003-0002, entitled “Passenger Status Based on Flight Status Information,” by Maycotte et al. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND  
         [0004]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0005]    The present invention relates generally to systems and methods involving travel disruption notification and alternative travel solutions.  
           [0006]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0007]    Imagine you are on your way to the airport about one hour before your flight is scheduled to depart. Unknown to you, the flight has been cancelled, but you continue to rush, park your car and sprint through security only to arrive at a 20-person line at the gate. By the time you get to the gate agent, the next available flight has been booked full and you&#39;ve missed the next two connections. Your trip has now been delayed 4-5 hours.  
           [0008]    Currently, flight data is monitored and distributed to airlines by the FAA while passenger data is aggregated by Customer Reservation Systems (CRS) such as SABRE and Galileo, and utilized by travel agents. Today there is no efficient integration of the two independent systems. For instance, when the FAA makes decisions about flights to be cancelled, neither the FAA nor the airlines have any requirement (nor is there any automatic notice) to provide this data to a travel agent or its customers. It is usually the passenger who notifies the travel agent after the airlines has had sufficient time to re-book and re-schedule passengers at their will.  
           [0009]    Airline delays are at an all time high. Over a quarter of flights were delayed in the year 2000. The traveling public loses over $2 billion due to the chronic flight delays that plague the domestic air travel industry.  
           [0010]    Now imagine the desirability of a new service where you are on your way to the airport and you receive a phone or electronic message from your travel agent informing you of the flight cancellation and your subsequent re-booking on another airline just 30 minutes after your original departure time. You are able to make your connecting flight and no trip time has been lost due to flight delays.  
           [0011]    Travel agents distribute a significant portion of tickets for the air travel market. Due to airline commission reductions these agents are seeking additional value added services.  
           [0012]    As a result, it would be desirable for travelers to receive a maximum level of alternate travel options when a delay occurs, and have their problem resolved automatically by their travel agent. While the travel disruption problem has been described by way of an airline example, travel disruptions occur in many different transportation industries. Accordingly, there is a need for improved system and method for providing travel disruption notification and for responding to such disruptions.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0013]    In a particular embodiment, a method of using travel-related information is disclosed. The method includes monitoring a travel plan for a travel path to a desired destination and determining a magnitude and likelihood of a disruption at each potential disruption point. The method also includes the detection of triggering disruption events at one of the disruption points and determining an alternate travel plan to reach the desired destination.  
           [0014]    In another embodiment, a travel related method is provided. This method includes determining travel reservation data associated with travel reservations of a set of traveling items; determining travel status data for at least one transportation vehicle associated with the reservations of the set of traveling items; and determining a status for each traveling item in the set of traveling items based on the travel reservation data and based on the travel status data. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 shows a general process that illustrates transportation paths.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is an illustrative end-to-end trip lifecycle.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a plurality of potential disruption points along a travel path.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is an illustrative system for monitoring travel paths.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is an illustrative system to monitor flight travel.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method of determining and responding to a travel disruption.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram that illustrates the method for monitoring the status and situation of any National Air Space (NAS) stakeholder.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 8 is a passenger situational display interface (PSDI) that is used to display status and situation of any National Air Space (NAS) stakeholder.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 9 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for responding to a travel disruption.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 10 is a detailed example of a system to provide monitoring and communication of disruption events.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 11 is a flow chart that further illustrates a method of providing alternative travel arrangements. 
     
    
       [0026]    The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0027]    Referring to FIG. 1, a general process that illustrates transportation paths is shown. A predetermined set of transportation rules are generated at  100  and input to a process for scheduling/planning of travel, at  102 . The scheduling/planning function  102  includes determining appropriate travel route, scheduling and budget allocations. The output of the scheduling/planning function  102  is a travel plan which is received as an input into the travel implantation process  104 .  
         [0028]    During the travel implementation process, physical travel, such as airplane flights or other transportation beginning at  106 . During the physical travel path, various disruptive events may affect the travel. A prediction engine  108  may be used to determine and predict the probability of disruptions at various points along the travel path based on a state of transportation, at  110 . In the case where a travel disruption is predicted with a high degree of certainty, a viable alternative to travel is created to respond to the disruption event, at  112 . The alternative travel path is provided and an alternative route/schedule may be executed to minimize or at least reduce the disruption from the original travel plan, at  114 .  
         [0029]    Referring to FIG. 2, an illustrative end-to-end trip lifecycle is shown. The lifecycle includes an original need for a flight, such as a need determined by a passenger arranging a trip. The flight need is input to a set of flight policy and rules determination, at  204 , and a flight is arranged, at  206 . The arranging step  206  includes pricing and availability determination. As part of the flight arrangement, other factors may be considered such as the probability of a flight disruption based on historical and other disruption predication information. The arranged flight is then booked, at  208 , and physical travel for that flight occurs, at  210 . After booking a flight, at  208 , a computer-based system  212  may be used to automatically retrieve and store, as well as standardize travel plans. As part of the automated retrieval and standardizing process, a passenger name record, itinerary passenger information, and billing information is received, stored, and then standardized for further analysis. The standard format for passenger flight information is then transferred by the system  212  to a database  214 .  
         [0030]    Real-time passenger status during the trip is continually determined and updated through a physical travel life cycle at  216 . One output of the real-time passenger status is a probability and magnitude of a potential flight disruption  218 . The probability and magnitude data  218  is fed to a communication and alternate travel solution module  220 . Output from the communication and alternate travel solution module  220 , such as a notification of a disruption event accompanied by alternate travel plans, is sent to a reporting system  230 . The reporting system  230  may be used to communicate with passengers, airlines, and travel agents.  
         [0031]    Referring to FIG. 3, a plurality of potential disruption points along a travel path is illustrated. A first potential disruption point is the point when the flight scheduled with the FAA, at  302 . The next potential disruption event point is the ground travel to airport point  304 . Additional potential disruption points include flight plan  306 , inbound aircraft arrival  308 , gate assigned point  310 , security clearance point  312 , flight boarding point  314 , gate departure  316 , take-off position  318 , cancellation  320 , wheels up  322 , flight position  324 , en-route changes  326 , boundary cross  328 , arrival/wheels down  330 , gate arrival  332 , and luggage available  334 . At each of the disruption points, such as those illustrated in FIG. 3, a measurement may be taken comparing real-time actual location versus the travel plan and target. In the case where a flight is delayed, cancelled or where a disruption occurs, such as weather condition, maintenance issue, or any other scenario affecting travel plans, a disruption condition or a high probability of a disruption condition occurring may be determined. By determining disruption condition events at each of a plurality of potential disruption points, an early indication of disruption may be determined.  
         [0032]    Referring to FIG. 4, an illustrative system for monitoring travel paths, determining disruption events, and for providing communications with travel industry stakeholders is illustrated. The system includes a customer reservation system  402 , a disruption prediction logic subsystem  404 , an external communication subsystem  406 , alternate travel solutions system  408 , and external systems  410 , including travel agent systems, airlines and those used by passengers. The customer reservation system (CRS)  402  includes passenger name records and may be an automated airline system, such as that provided by Sabre. The disruption prediction logic  404  retrieves the passenger name records (PNR) from the customer reservation system  402  and processes those passenger name records. In the case where a disruption event is detected by prediction logic  404 , an alternative travel solution is determined by the alternate solution system  408  and notification of the disruption event as well as the alternate solution is provided by the external communication system  406 . Such communication provides notification of disruption events, such as notice of delay condition to travel agents, airlines, and flight passengers  410 .  
         [0033]    Referring to FIG. 5, an illustrative system to monitor flight travel is shown. The system includes a travel agency system  502 , airline systems  504 , customer reservation system  506 , automated record retrieval standardization module  508 , and an optional second customer reservation system  516 . The automated record retrieval and standardization system  508  receives a travel agency ID  510 , date/time range of traveling passengers  512 , and user input such as received via email, internet, and voice recognized user input  514 . The illustrated system also includes data storage  214  that includes the formatted and encrypted/standardized data which is ready for analysis.  
         [0034]    The travel agency computer system  502  may include a travel agency terminal, an internet booking engine, and a client software module. The travel agency computer system  502  is also connected to the airline customer reservation system (CRS)  506 , so that a travel agent at a terminal may schedule and book flights. The term travel agent includes any advocate of a potential passenger that has authority to create or modify a travel plan. The customer reservation system  506  may be used to create and modify passenger name records (PNR) and receives information, including modified PNRs, from the airlines  504 . The illustrated system may also be used with additional customer reservation systems, such as the second customer reservation system  516 . The travel agency computer system  502  also has a direct data feed  518  to the automated record retrieval and standardization system  508 . The direct data feed  518 , in a particular example may be a direct or remote communication path, such as a local or wide area network. The automated record retrieval and standardization system  508  may be used to retrieve and pull flight records by using various searching methods, may determine passenger detail such as name and various record numbers, and may reformat text and data to provide for a standardized format of information.  
         [0035]    The automated record retrieval and standardization system  508  receives a travel agency ID  510  and a time range of traveling passengers  512  including date of travel information. With the travel agency ID  510  and the date and time range of traveling passengers  512 , a subset of the records from the CRS  506  and/or CRS  516  may be searched through to pull a defined and filtered set of selected passenger records. This subset of passengers based on a particular travel agency defined criteria is then standardized and may optionally be encrypted for subsequent analysis after storage in the database  214 . The automated record retrieval and standardization system  508  also may receive user input such as via certain internet travel sites, email, and alternative user input, such as via voice recognition. The automated record retrieval and standardization system  508  utilizes all such received information to produce a set of passenger information that may be easily analyzed for various record requests.  
         [0036]    Referring to FIG. 6, a method of determining and responding to a travel disruption is illustrated. In a particular disruption point along a travel path, the schedule data, also referred to as target data, is compared to actual monitored real time data to determine a difference measurement, at  602 . The difference measurement is then compared to a disruption threshold, at  604 . A passenger state is then generated, at  606 . The passenger state may be a particular disruption activity level. One method of indicating disruption potential is by providing a set of three different disruption levels. In this example, a green status indicates little or no disruption, a yellow status would indicate a warning of potential disruption, and a red indication would mean a determined or very high likelihood disruption event condition. While the illustrated method uses three different disruption levels, it should be understood that a set of two or many more different disruption levels may be used to indicate a disruption condition. The passenger state information is monitored, at  608 , and if a problem is detected, an alternate solution using a rules-based analysis is determined, at  610 . An example of an alternate solution could be taking a different flight or may be scheduling alternate means of transportation, such as a bus, train rental car, etc. The alternate solution in response to the disruption event is then communicated, at  612 .  
         [0037]    Referring to FIG. 7, a method for monitoring the status and situation of any National Air Space (NAS) stakeholder, including any passenger, before, during and after that stakeholder enters NAS is illustrated. The stakeholder status is determined by aggregating Travel Agency (TA) passenger reservation data at  702 , central reservation system (CRS) data at,  701 , real-time enhanced traffic management system (ETMS), air traffic data from the FAA, at  703 , and other data including real-time weather data, airport status, etc. at,  704 .  
         [0038]    This data is aggregated across public and private networks  713   b  and received into the system network, at  705 . All data is then collected, parsed, sorted and stored at  706 . This data is then combined with various algorithms  710 , profile data  712 , and warehoused historical data  709 , to yield a stakeholder status. Based on the stored algorithms  710  and the stakeholder status, certain reactions take place in an execution engine, at  707 . The execution engine then disseminates the appropriate data either automatically or in response to a client request, at  714 , via the data distribution system, at  708 . This data is then distributed across public and private networks  713   a  to a client for presentation, at  715 .  
         [0039]    Referring to FIG. 8, the passenger situational display interface (PSDI) is a client system used to display status and situation of any National Air Space (NAS) stakeholder. The Java client displays passenger location  804 , airport status  805 , flight status list  806 , selected flight information  807 , flight passenger list  801 , selected passenger information  802 , and the alternate flight options  803 . This information is also available for any computing platform via Microsoft Windows Client, HTML, XML, WAPI and others. This PSDI will allow additional windows and information to be displayed such as weather, news, pricing information and others.  
         [0040]    Referring to FIG. 9, when a passenger has an active reservation, a method for determining whether alternate flights should be booked for that particular passenger is illustrated. If the flight status is available, at  901 , then flight status is recorded, at  903 . If the flight status is not available, a predicted flight status is calculated, at  902 . If the determined status indicates a disruption event, such as a flight cancellation or delay, at  904 , then an alternate travel plan is arranged, at  906 . If the status does not indicate a disruption, then the probability of a disruption is calculated, at  905 . If the calculated probability is greater than a predetermined threshold value  907 , then an alternate travel plan for the passenger is determined and executed, at  906 . An example of a method of determining and executing an alternate travel plan is illustrated below with reference to FIG. 11. If the probability threshold is less than the predetermined threshold value, then the process is complete, at  908 .  
         [0041]    Referring to FIG. 10, a detailed example of a system to provide monitoring and communication of disruption events is shown. The system includes a real-time state information logic module  1020 , and an updated real-time status system  1022 . The real-time state information logic routine  1020  may be embedded within a data server. The real-time state information logic receives input from various data parsers/distributors, such as data parser/distributors  1010 ,  1012 , and  1014 . The first data parser/distributor  1010  receives trip data  1002 , the second data parser/distributor  1012  receives flight reservation information  1004 , and the third data parser/distributor  1014  receives historical data  1008 . The flight reservation information  1004  may be retrieved from customer reservation system data  1006 . The trip data  1002  may be received from various sources including FAA data, weather data, airport status data, airline schedule data, and other data that can affect on the travel. A data logger and backup function is also implemented and receives data from the various parsers  1010 ,  1012 , and  1014 . The data logger/backup also includes and may be implemented using a database  1024  to store needed information. A pool of client servers may be used in a particular implementation to perform the real-time update function  1022 . During a real-time update, when a change in passenger state disruption level is determined, a notification and/or communication event may be triggered. Such communication may be a proprietary system handled over the internet  1024  using a client application program interface (API)  1026  and displayed on a particular client device  1028 . Alternatively, a communication of the disruption event may be handled via external communication system  1030 , such as using email or other notification technology.  
         [0042]    Referring to FIG. 11, in the event of a flight disruption, the system generates an alternate travel arrangement. When a flight disruption event occurs, at  1102 , the system may generate possible alternate travel arrangements, at  1104 , from the primary travel source (i.e. airline flights) and then check these options against a set of rules, at  1106 , determined by the traveler, such as a corporate travel policy. The alternate options are also checked against a set of rules  1106 , created by the transporting entity, such as a list of fare/class rules or airline ticketing policies. The system should then determine the likely probability of success, at  1108 , of an alternate travel solution, based on these rules. If no viable options meet or exceed a predetermined probability of success from the primary transportation options, an alternate subset of transportation options may then be explored, at  1110 , such as private charters, car rentals, or hotel reservations. The resulting alternate travel solutions are communicated to affected parties, such as the traveling entity or travel agent, at  1112 .  
         [0043]    According to the foregoing description, various embodiments of the present invention have been described with particularity. The above-disclosed subject matter has been described in reference to particular illustrative embodiments and by way of example. The appended claims are intended to cover all modifications, variations, and other implementations which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.