Patent Publication Number: US-7720630-B1

Title: Personalized transportation information system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/686,687, filed Jun. 2, 2005, and entitled Weather-based Personalized Transportation Information System, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     This application is related to co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/445,759, entitled System and Method for Suggesting Transportation Routes, filed Jun. 2, 2006; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/445,562, entitled Visualization of Transportation Information, filed Jun. 2, 2006; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/445,814, entitled Customized Travel Briefings, filed Jun. 2, 2006; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/445,547, entitled Customized Transportation Alerts, filed Jun. 2, 2006; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/446,101, entitled Evaluation of Transportation-Related Business Objectives, filed Jun. 2, 2006; and U.S. application Ser. No. 11/445,666, entitled System and Method of Marketing Services by a Transportation Service Provider, filed Jun. 2, 2006, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE AND AUTHORIZATION 
     Portions of the documentation in this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The following detailed description will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which there is shown one or more of the multiple embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the various embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings. 
       The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee. 
         FIG. 1  is a Unified Modeling Language (“UML”) diagram of the personalized transportation information system according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a UML diagram of the personalization database of the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a representation of user profile tables in accordance with the personalization database of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an example of a user interface in accordance with the personalization database of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an example of a user interface in accordance with the personalization database of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an example of a user interface in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is an example of a user interface in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram of the plan operations feature of the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a UML diagram of the geographical-navigational database of the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 10  is an example of operational parameters tables in accordance with the geographical-navigational database of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is an example of an operational parameters table in accordance with the geographical-navigational database of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 12  is an example of a user interface in accordance with the plan operations feature of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 13  is a first example of suggested routes in accordance with the plan operations feature of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a second example of suggested routes in accordance with the plan operations feature of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 15  is a third example of suggested routes in accordance with the plan operations feature of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 16  is an example of a visualization of a selected route in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 17  is an example of a travel briefing in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 18  is an example of a travel briefing in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 19  is an example of a visualized alert in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 20  is an example of a visualized alert in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 21  is an example of a visualized alert in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 22  is a UML diagram of the alert generator of the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 23  is an example of an FBO aircraft tracking map in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 24  is an example of an FBO aircraft information screen in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 25  is an example of an FBO aircraft tracking map in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 26  is a visualization of an FBO aircraft reservation screen in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 27  is an example of an FBO passenger information display in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 28  is an example of an FBO multimedia presentation in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 29  is an example of determining an arriving flight holding pattern in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 30  is an example of determining runway configuration and utilization in accordance with the personalized transportation information system of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 31  is a system diagram of an implementation in accordance with one embodiment of the personalized transportation system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings, the same reference letters are employed for designating the same elements throughout the several figures. 
     The words “right”, “left”, “lower” and “upper” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the personalized transportation information system and designated parts thereof. The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. 
     Unified Modeling Language (“UML”) can be used to model and/or describe methods and systems and provide the basis for better understanding their functionality and internal operation as well as describing interfaces with external components, systems and people using standardized notation. When used herein, UML diagrams including, but not limited to, use case diagrams, class diagrams and activity diagrams, are meant to serve as an aid in describing the embodiments of the present invention, but do not constrain implementation thereof to any particular hardware or software embodiments. Unless otherwise noted, the notation used with respect to the UML diagrams contained herein is consistent with the UML 2.0 specification or variants thereof and is understood by those skilled in the art. 
     The personalized transportation information system  100  combines and processes route, weather, traffic, operation, business and other transportation-related information collected from different sources to generate a visualized transportation plan that is based on current weather conditions and/or predictions and which is personalized to the user. The transportation plan obtained through the personalized transportation information system  100  may be used to assist in transportation planning for one or a group of transportation vehicles prior to departure. Alternatively, a transportation plan may be obtained from the personalized transportation information system  100  while the vehicle is en route to a destination for the purposes of revising the route or transportation plan, altering future transportation plans, or for informational purposes. The relevant transportation plan may also be obtained, generated or altered based on achieving desired business objectives or goals or marketing strategies. 
     The personalized transportation information system  100  is described herein generally with reference to aviation, air transportation, the airline industry, airline travelers and/or airline pilots. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the personalized transportation information system  100  is applicable to other forms of transportation including auto and marine transportation and drivers and navigators, and generally to any other form of transportation and/or traveler or operator. 
       FIG. 1  is a UML use-case diagram for the personalized transportation information system  100  and associated systems and actors according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the personalized transportation information system  100  comprises multiple software applications and databases and includes a transportation information engine  105 . A traveler, navigator, operator, user or pilot  110  interacts with the transportation information engine  105  to receive a customized, weather-based, visualized transportation plan. The personalized transportation information system  100  may include and the transportation information engine  105  may interface with a personalization database  200 , a geographical-navigational reference database  300 , a weather data and prediction system  400  and an alert generation system  500 . Each of these systems is described in greater detail below. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the traveler or user  110  interacts with the transportation information engine  105  through a monitor or keyboard (not shown) to obtain weather-based personalized travel information. Human-machine interfaces and display mechanisms are generally known in the art, and a description thereof is omitted herein for convenience only, and should not be considered limiting. A login or authorization feature  112  allows the traveler  110  to access the personalized transportation information system  100 . The transportation information engine  105  may include an access personal information use case  114 , such that upon login, personal information or profile(s) are accessed from a personalization database  200 . As noted above the traveler or user  110  may be a traveler, navigator, operator, user, dispatcher, pilot or any other person or entity involved in planning or making decisions about a transportation plan or seeking information about a transportation plan. For example, the traveler or user  100  may be a representative commercial airline (e.g., a dispatcher or planner) or other transportation company or entity or may be the actual operator of the transportation vehicle in question (e.g., a pilot or truck driver). Those skilled in the art will recognize that the traveler or user  110  may be an entity or computer system or network designed to interact with the personalized transportation system  100 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the personalization database  200  stores personalized information and preferences corresponding to the users (e.g., the traveler or pilot  110 ) or operators (e.g., a commercial airline or transportation company) of the personalized transportation information system  100 . The personalization database  200  stores personal preferences of an individual user or pilot, such as the manner in which interface screens are configured and a pilot&#39;s individual preferences for flight routes. The personalization database  200  also stores preferences of an operator, such as preferred operating procedures and constraints of a pilot&#39;s airline, including business goals, objectives and preferences of the operator. Information is stored in the personalization database  200  in the form of a user profile  250  that includes numerous tables, each of which stores a type of information about a user (see  FIG. 3 ). The user profile  250  is preferably stored in a read/write storage unit  220  that is generally known in the art. Upon receiving login information  210 , the personalization database  200  utilizes an access profile feature  212  that retrieves from storage  220  the user profile  250  that is associated with the login information  210 . The access profile feature  212  also returns the user profile  250  to the transportation information engine  105 . 
     The user profile  250  preferably includes CustomerInfo and AddressInfo tables  252 ,  254  that store basic information about a particular user. The Subscription and UserInfo tables  256 ,  258  include information related to the user&#39;s subscription to the personalized transportation information system  100 . The UserOptions table  266  includes information that the user may use to customize the “look and feel” of the user interface with personalized transportation information system  100 . For example, the UserOptions table  266  includes fields for the HomeBase (i.e., the user&#39;s preferred or home airport) and RouteFilter, which enables the user to set a default type of route, as will be explained in greater detail below. The DisplayOptions, DisplayDefinition, DisplayElementDefinition and DisplayElements tables  268 ,  270 ,  272 ,  274 , respectively, further define the customization and personalization of the user&#39;s interaction with the personalized transportation information system  100  and/or the transportation information engine  105 . 
     The user profile  250  links all of the personalized information together through the use of various ID fields (e.g., “CustomerID”, “UserID” “AddressID”, etc.). The FlightPlan table  260  stores various attributes of a designated flight plan or route in the user profile  250 . For example, the FlightPlan table  260  includes fields for altitude, airspeed, fuel, etc. Preferably, the flight plan table  260  stores multiple flight plans or routes, each identified by the “FlightPlanID” field. Thus, a user or operator of the personalized transportation information system  100  could store one or more known routes and some or all of the transportation information related to those routes within the user profile  250 . Furthermore, the PilotInfo table  262  includes information that identifies a particular pilot or pilot&#39;s certificate within that particular user&#39;s profile (a user may hold more than one certificate). Therefore, since each user is able to store information for multiple pilots, a single user profile  250  may contain multiple flight plans (identified through the FlightPlan table  260 ) for each pilot of pilot&#39;s certificate identified by the PilotInfo table  262 . In this manner, an operator such as a commercial airline could personalize the user profile  250  for each of its pilots while still maintaining consistency of customized company operating procedures for all pilots in the personalization database  200 . 
     The user profile  250  further preferably includes a UserRoutes table  264  that includes one or more routes for a given location pair (i.e., departure and destination points) that are associated with and/or customized to the user profile  250 . For example, if the traveler  110  desires to fly from Boston to Orlando, there are numerous different routes or flight paths that could be flown to actually reach Orlando. Which route is actually utilized depends on a variety of factors and parameters, including weather, air traffic, fuel, safety, business objectives, etc. Thus, the UserRoutes table  264  may include a listing of one or more of such routes for one or more city pairs. The routes that are included in the UserRoutes table  264  may be selected and stored by the user and/or pre-loaded by the personalized transportation information system  100 , and may originate from multiple sources. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the routes in the UserRoutes table  264  may be assigned to one or more classes. Examples of such classes include the following:
         Preferred Routes—Routes that are published preferred as designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”);   User Routes—Routes that are determined, accepted, desired or otherwise characterized by a traveler  110 ;   Cleared Routes—Routes that have been previously cleared by the FAA or other applicable regulatory agency;   CDR—Coded Departure Routes that are published by the FAA or other applicable regulatory agency;   Re-Routes—Routes that are assigned by the FAA or applicable regulatory agency;   Corporate Route—Routes that are preferred by corporate users. Such routes may be a sub-set of User Routes, and/or be optimized for corporate interests, such as fuel; and   Optimized Routes—Routes that have been optimized according to one or more categories, such as fuel, time, safety, etc.       

     Other route classes may also be designated according to a user or operator&#39;s preferences. Those skilled in the art will understand that a route for a particular location pair may be assigned to one or more classes. Furthermore, the user routes could be stored all together in the UserRoutes table  264  or be stored in individual tables corresponding to the particular route classification. The UserRoutes table  264  may refer to UserAlternates and UserPoints tables  265 ,  267  in obtaining information relevant to the stored routes for a particular location pair. 
     The user profile  250  may also include an Aircraft and AircraftType tables  276 ,  277  that include data, such as size, fuel consumption, type, etc., related to one or more specific aircraft that the user may utilize. Additionally, a FlightPreference table  278  allows the user to store information related to general route or flight characteristics and tolerances, such as preferred types of routes, length, time, turbulence, etc. The user profile  250  may include other tables not specifically noted herein that would allow related personalized information about a user or traveler to be stored by the personalized transportation information system  100 , without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will also understand that some of the foregoing tables identified as part of the user profile  250  will be different depending on the type of transportation involved in the personalized transportation information system  100 , and further that the similar tables may be employed but include information that corresponds to the particular type of travel. For example, if the desired travel information relates to automotive travel, then the user profile  250  would include tables corresponding to automotive and traffic features instead of the airline industry. For example, the FlightPlan table  260  would include data fields related automotive travel and not air travel (i.e., altitude would not be necessary), and the Aircraft and AircraftType tables  276 ,  277  would include data relevant to automobiles instead of aircraft. 
     The personalization database  200  further includes an update profile feature  214  that allows the traveler  110  to update the user profile  250  with changes or additional personalized information supplied by the traveler  110 . The personalization database  200  records the updated profile  250  by storing data  216  in the storage unit  220 . For example, the traveler  110  may view and/or update his personal information that is stored in the CustomerInfo, AddressInfo, Subscription and UserInfo tables  252 ,  254 ,  256 ,  258 , among others.  FIG. 4  shows an example of a traveler interface screen  251  through which the traveler  110  may enter or change information to update the user profile  250 .  FIG. 5  shows another user preference selection screen  253  through which the traveler  110  may set default items of information for text and map displays related to generated route information, discussed in greater detail below. Selecting default display conditions as shown in  FIG. 5  does not preclude the traveler  110  from viewing the unselected features in the actual display, but rather allows the personalized transportation information system  100  to provide the traveler  110  with an initially customized display of travel information. It is understood that the type and manner of interface preference selection screen(s) displayed to the traveler  110  will vary according to the type of transportation for which information is sought. 
     In one embodiment, operational parameters are received by the transportation information engine  105  of the personalized transportation information system  100  via a receive operational parameters use case  116 . Operational parameters may be directly input by the traveler or user  110  or may be retrieved from the personalization database  200  and/or the geographical-navigational reference database  300  and/or any other database(s) or system associated with the personalized transportation system  100 . In general, operational parameters include any non-weather related parameters relevant or corresponding to the type of transportation for which travel information or a transportation plan is sought. Thus, operational parameters may include vehicle transportation characteristics for air, ground, and water based vehicles. Such parameters include, but are not limited to, vehicle type, make, and model, performance characteristics, fuel efficiency, passenger capacity, sensitivity to certain types of weather, or any other parameter that characterizes a vehicle. Operational parameters may also include transportation environment characteristics. For example, for air travel, operational parameters might include airport or runway configuration, airport acceptance rate (AAR), airport departure rate (ADR), air traffic congestion, airspace restrictions, etc. For automotive travel, such operational parameters include, but are not limited to, traffic congestion and delays, road construction, road closures, or accidents. The operational parameters may also include information such as accepted flight plans, manifest data (e.g., cargo, passengers and crew), costs related to particular routes or aircraft, fuel prices, landing fees or over-flight charges, harbor fees, business goals or objectives, starting locations, ending locations, intermediate locations, alternate locations, etc. 
     Although the operational parameters are generally non-weather parameters or criteria, the operational parameters may be weather dependent. For example, the utilization of runways for a particular configuration at an airport may be determined based on the prevailing winds. In another example, the AAR may decrease or be lower during a disruptive weather event, such as a thunderstorm or winter storm. 
     In one embodiment, upon login to the personalized transportation information system  100 , the transportation information engine  105  receives operational parameters that include at least a desired location pair, or start and end points, of the travel for which personalized information is sought. As previously noted, the receive operational parameters use case  116  may receive the various operational parameters by direct input from the traveler or user  110  or receive the information from the personalization database  200  and/or the geographical-navigational reference database  300 . 
     In the case of air travel, for example, the location pair may be in the form of the three-character airport code (e.g., MCO for Orlando International Airport), four-character airport code or actual city names.  FIG. 6  shows an example of a traveler interface screen  160  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that includes location pair entry fields  162 . The interface screen  160  may be presented for interaction with the traveler or user  110  on a display/monitor system  115 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that the location pair may be identified by any manner of identifying geographic origin and destination points, including city names, navigational markers, landmarks and/or latitude and longitude. In one embodiment, the location pair is entered or selected directly from the interface screen  160  by pointing and clicking on a location on a map display and/or selecting one or more locations from a list, such as a pull-down menu. The location pair is similarly entered for other types of travel. The traveler  110  may also be presented with an option to enter one or more other operational parameters, such as alternate destination points  163  for which corresponding routes may also be generated. An alternate destination point may be entered in the case that the destination point for the entered location pair is not reachable or simply to provide the traveler  110  with a secondary list of available routes leading to the same region. The traveler  110  may also be presented with an option to enter one or more intermediate location points which are locations that the transportation route must pass through between the staring point and the ending point. 
     In one embodiment, the traveler interface screen  160  includes a map viewer  170  depicting a geographically accurate color-coded map of a default area on which may be displayed certain features of interest to the traveler, including weather (e.g., radar, satellite images), air traffic, airports, areas of concern, restricted airspace, alerts and other types of operational parameters or information that may be desired by the traveler  110  prior to or during travel. The map viewer  170  preferably includes a display options panel  176  through which the traveler  110  may select different features for display, as discussed in greater detail below. It is understood that the type and manner of traveler interface screen(s) will vary according to the type of transportation for which information is sought. 
     To provide more accurate and detailed personalized travel information, the operational parameters received by the operational parameters use case  116  may include the desired departure and/or arrival time (or a time range) entered by the traveler  110  (or from another source) in addition to the location pair. That is, since the personalized transportation information system  100  provides weather and/or traffic-based travel information, it may be desirable to know the traveler&#39;s proposed departure or arrival time so that accurate weather predictions, airspace events and other relevant factors are considered when generating the travel information for each en route segment. Additionally, other operational parameters, such as the type of equipment (i.e., aircraft type) may be entered by the traveler  110 , since such information also affects the weather-based travel information provided by the personalized transportation information system  100 . 
     The personalized transportation information system  100  includes a propose routes feature  118  in which routes corresponding to the location pair or other operational parameters entered by the traveler  110  are presented to the traveler  110 . In one embodiment, the personalization database  200 , based on the operational parameters received by the receive operational parameters use case  116 , retrieves routes stored in the UserRoutes table  264  of the user profile  250 . The traveler  110  is thus presented with a route list  164  corresponding to the location pair that was entered (see  FIG. 6 ). The route list  164  may thus include one or more classes of routes as previously discussed. Referring to  FIG. 7 , the traveler  110  may also create a new route by entering a location pair and manually entering the route of the flight  166 . New routes may then be stored as part of the user profile  250 . The traveler  110  may also view, sort and/or select routes from a list of saved routes  168 . The saved route list  168  may display all of the routes stored in the UserRoutes table  264  regardless of the entered location pair, or only a subset thereof. The saved routes list  168  may be sorted or filtered according to criteria such as departure or destination location, actual route flown or alternate destination. Additionally, the traveler  110  may edit an existing route by selecting a route from the route list  164  or the saved route list  168  and changing portions of the selected route. Such route changes may also be stored in the user profile  250 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 8-13 , in one embodiment, the propose routes feature  118  of the personalized transportation information system  100  suggests routes and/or transportation plans to the traveler  110  as determined by a plan operations feature  140 . The plan operations feature  140  determines and ranks available routes based on preferences stored in the user profile  250 , current operational parameters and current and forecast weather data.  FIG. 8  summarizes one implementation of the process through which the plan operations feature  140  proposes routes to the traveler  110 . After the traveler  110  has logged on and entered a location pair, the traveler  110  may be requested to enter additional operational parameters of information, such as type of aircraft and departure time. The plan operations feature  140  accesses the user profile  250  from the personalization database  200  (through the access personal information feature  114 ) so that the traveler&#39;s preferences and tolerances may be considered when suggesting a route. The user profile  250  provides the plan operations feature  140  with criteria that the traveler  110  prefers to use when planning and selecting a route. The plan operations feature  140  also obtains operational parameters (i.e., as received through the receive operational parameters use case  116 ) as well as references operational parameters and other information stored in the geographical-navigational reference database  300 . 
       FIG. 9  is a UML diagram of the geographical-navigational reference database  300 , which includes a route-related predictions feature  302  for output to the transportation information engine  105  of the personalized transportation information system  100 . The route-related predictions feature  302  generates non-weather predictions about travel between the entered location pair. The route-related predictions  302  are based on current and/or historical information features  304 ,  306 . Examples of route-related predictions  302  include predictions or analysis of whether a route between the entered location pair will have an air traffic delay or the probability of whether one or more of the routes for that location pair will be approved (i.e., cleared) for flight. Factors affecting the route-related predictions  302  include, for example, volume of air traffic desiring or utilizing that route, airport configurations associated with that route, flight restrictions along or near that route, and knowledge of a special event occurring along that route. 
     The historical information feature  306  (retrieved from the storage unit  220 ) retrieves historical route data, aircraft traffic data, and any other previously collected data related to route prediction. One or more categories of these data may be utilized by the route-related predictions feature  302 . The geographical-navigational reference database  300  may also include a validation and verification feature  308  that compares route predictions with actual, observed route data, and/or with stored information in the storage unit  220  for analysis with historical information in making future route predictions. Stated differently, the geographical-navigational reference database  300  considers historical data, predictive data and the accuracy of historical predictive data when generating route-related predictions  302  for output to the plan operations feature  140 . 
     The geographical-navigational reference database  300  also retrieves current information  304  for generation of the route-related predictions  302 , output to the plan operations feature  140  and output to the storage unit  220  for future analysis. The current information obtains transportation and other data that generally defines the non-weather environment in which the traveler  110  will travel or navigate, and any other general operating criteria related to the transportation for which travel information is sought. Thus, operational parameters obtained through the geographical-navigational reference database  300  may include transportation vehicle data  310 , such as aircraft type, make, and model, aircraft performance characteristics, as well as sensitivity to certain types of weather. For example, if a particular type of aircraft is especially sensitive to lightning, an appropriate indication would be made in the transportation vehicle data  310  provided to the receive operational parameters use case  116  and/or the plan operations use case  140  by the geographical-navigational reference database  300 . Referring to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , the geographical-navigational reference database  300  further includes several tables to organize various aspects of the current information obtained through the retrieve current information use case  304 . In the present example of air travel, a unique flight table  312  preferably includes the basic information input to the personalized transportation information system  100  by the traveler  110 : location pair, departure time and flight equipment. Through the unique flight table  312 , each entry is assigned a specific “key” with which the entry may be tracked with respect to other operational parameters. 
     A flight event table  314  includes data related to whether a route has been assigned to the entered location pair, and whether such route has been submitted, cleared, amended, denied, etc. The flight event table  314  also records the time at which the flight event occurred. A flight position table  316  records actual, observable positional and environmental flight information for the corresponding location pair, including current position (latitude and longitude), time, altitude, airspeed, weather parameters, and flight parameters. The flight information may be obtained from aircraft sensors (e.g., “on-board weather”), including Aircraft Communications and Reporting System (“ACARS”), Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Report (“TAMDAR”), satellite communications (“SATCOM”) systems, and other such system that are generally known in the art. A cleared routes table  318  includes the route, distance, frequency that the route is used, the number of times that route has been amended, the date on which that route was last cleared for flight and the equipment used on that route. 
     The current information obtained through the retrieve current information use case  304  may also include other non-weather transportation data  315  such as manifest data (cargo, passengers and crew), costs related to particular routes or aircraft, fuel prices, landing fees or over-flight charges. 
     The flight tables  312 ,  314 ,  316 ,  318  provide a comprehensive history for a particular route, both for purposes of suggesting and selecting future routes and amending or assessing routes currently underway. That is, the information contained in the flight tables  312 ,  314 ,  316 ,  318  helps generate the route-related predictions  302 , but is also input directly to the operation planning engine  140  to directly influence the suggested routes provided to the traveler  110 . The geographical-navigational reference database  300  may include other and/or different tables to organize the current information (e.g., the transportation vehicle information  310 , non-weather transportation data  315 , etc.), depending on the relevant type of transportation. 
     The current information retrieved by the geographical-navigational reference database  300  also preferably includes navigational data  320  related to the type of transportation. In the present air travel example, navigational data  320  generally defines flight paths and navigational parameters of the national airspace. Examples include route structures, routes, permanent or temporary flight or air space restrictions, special use airspace, re-routes and other relevant airspace Notices to Airmen (“NOTAMs”). Navigational data  320  also preferably includes information about navigational aides and references points (e.g., location and type). Additionally, geo-political data, such as international airspace, international flight routes or other geographic based parameters that are politically defined may also be included in the navigational data  320 . For automotive transportation, navigational data  320  may include, for example, one or more map or road systems as well as restricted or limited access roads, etc. 
     The current information retrieved by the geographical-navigational reference database  300  also includes air traffic control (“ATC”) data  330 . ATC data  330  includes data related to current aircraft operations as officially known to or reported by the FAA. Thus, ATC data  330  includes current aircraft positional information, airport arrival rates, aircraft acceptance rates, airport departure rates, airport runway configurations, air traffic control programs in place (e.g., closures, ground-stops, ground delays, etc.) and airport or facility NOTAMs. The ATC data  330  is not limited to data related to the entered location pair or a selected route. Rather, the ATC data  330  may include data for some or all of the aircraft, airports and routes known to the FAA at the time the ATC data  330  is requested. For example, the aircraft positional information may include all airborne aircraft known to the FAA when the ATC data  330  is requested. Thus, any aircraft positional obtained from the ATC data  330  may be in addition to and different from the positional information contained in the flight position table  316 . The ATC data  330  also may include aspects that impact flight restrictions or constrained airspace, such as capacity and demand on a particular route or region. Those skilled in the art will recognize that if the personalized transportation information system  100  is utilized outside of the United States, then the ATC data  330  would be obtained from a source(s) other then the FAA, such as the appropriate governmental (or commercial) entity responsible for monitoring or providing such data. 
     The current information retrieved by the geographical-navigational reference database  300  further includes government source data  340 . Government source data is publicly available data (i.e., not supplied by the personalized transportation information system  100  or the traveler  110 ) related to air travel, such as weather alerts and advisories issued by the National Weather Service. Examples of government source data  340  include Significant Meteorological Information (“SIGMETs”), Convective SIGMETs and Airman&#39;s Meteorological Information (“AIRMETS”). Since these weather alerts and advisories are generally known to those skilled in the art, and therefore, a description thereof is omitted here for convenience only, and should not be considered limiting. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the retrieve current information feature  304  may also receive other weather data  350  that is similar to the government source data  340 , but which is supplied by an independent, private system or organization. For example, the other weather data  350  may include SIGMETs and Flight Plan Guidance that are generated independently of the government source data  340 , and which, by their nature, have different parameters or criteria than the corresponding data in the government source data  340 . The other weather data  350  may be proprietary to the personalized transportation information system  100  or be simply from a private third-party, such that the weather data  350  is not publicly available. 
     The retrieve current information feature  304  need not receive all of the types of information from all of the sources described above for the route-related predictions feature  302  to operate or for the plan operations feature  140  to suggest routes to the traveler  110 . Rather, some of the data included in the current information may not be available depending on the sources available to the personalized transportation information system  100  at any given time, or depending on other factors. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the more data, including current information, that the system has available, the greater ability for the personalized transportation information system  100  to formulate more complete and precise route or transportation plan suggestions. Moreover, the retrieve current information feature  304  may receive different types of data than that described above, depending on the type of transportation. For example, if the personalized transportation information system  100  is generating information related to marine travel, the current information would not include ATC data  330 , but may, instead, include Coast Guard data. 
     In addition to receiving operational parameters and/or current information from the geographical-navigational reference database  300 , the plan operations feature  140  receives a weather data set from the weather data and prediction database  400 . The weather data set includes weather data for both the departure and destination locations and regions, as well as weather data for areas in between or along the general route of the entered location pair. The weather data set includes current weather data, including satellite imagery, Doppler radar, terrestrial weather information, storm data, temperatures, winds aloft, etc., and any other current weather data that may be of interest in planning a flight route. The current weather data may be gathered from one or more sources, and may be reported to the plan operations feature  140  as multiple current weather data sets. The predictive weather data supplied by the weather data and prediction database  400  includes similar information, but by definition is predictive in nature of future weather conditions, events or data. The predictive weather data may include the translation of forecast weather conditions into forecast traffic flow conditions using methods that are proprietary to the personalized transportation information system. The predictive weather data is obtained in any manner, including methods generally known to those skilled in the art of weather prediction. A detailed description of collecting and predicting weather and related events is omitted here for convenience only and should not be considered limiting. The predictive weather data may be supplied by a single source or may be obtained from multiple sources. Moreover, the predictive weather data may include diverging predictions in some embodiments. 
     After the plan operations feature  140  receives the relevant data related to the entered location pair, including the weather data set and the operational parameters, the personalized transportation information system  100  may query the traveler or user  110  to determine how the plan operations feature  140  should analyze and synthesize the retrieved data to suggest routes to the traveler  110 . Accordingly, the traveler  110  may be presented with a list of ranking parameters or preferences that instruct the plan operations feature  140  how to suggest or list the possible routes applicable to the entered location pair. The traveler  110  may choose multiple ranking preferences, such that the available routes are weighted according to multiple factors, and be presented with a ranked list and/or ranking interface screen  150  (see  FIG. 12 ). For example, in  FIG. 12  the traveler  110  may be most interested in routes that have been cleared, while routes that are fastest or having low fuel economy are of lesser importance. Therefore, the operation planning engine  140  will rank routes, such that if a route has been cleared, it receives a relatively high weight factor compared to other available routes that have not been cleared. In  FIG. 12 , routes that have relatively low turbulence would also receive a weighting factor, but one which is lower than the weighting factor applied to cleared routes. In many cases, operator (i.e., a commercial airline) policy or business objectives or goals may restrict flight into an area of severe turbulence. Accordingly, such criteria would obviously have a higher weighting factor than, for example, cleared routes. Another example considers current aircraft equipment configuration which may be prohibited by government regulation(s) from flying through areas of particular weather (e.g., icing). The routes may be ranked based on various criteria, including:
         cleared routes;   route duration (i.e., speed);   route length (i.e., distance);   operator policy or business objectives (i.e., avoidance of severe turbulence);   government regulations (i.e., Minimum Equipment Lists);   low turbulence;   fuel economy;   total route cost; and   safety.       

     In one embodiment, the plan operations feature  140  presents a default order of ranking parameters based on preferred conditions set in the user profile  250 . The traveler  110  then has the opportunity to re-select or verify the preferred order. Alternatively, the plan operations feature  140  could be configured to simply rank the available routes based on pre-set default conditions without any input from the traveler  110 . 
     Assuming that there are routes available between the entered location pair, the plan operations feature  140  analyzes and synthesizes the information received from the personalization database  200 , the geographical-navigational database  300  and the weather database  400  to generate a list of potential routes between the location pair entered by the traveler  110 . The plan operations feature  140  then ranks the available routes (according to the preferences set by the traveler  110 ) based on criteria including:
         current weather conditions;   current airspace conditions;   predicted weather conditions;   external criteria or filters (e.g., business objectives, aircraft availability or crew scheduling);   other current operational parameters;   user profile; and   projected airspace conditions (including weather events).       

     In one embodiment, the plan operations feature  140  includes a statistical and/or historical analysis of relevant factors when ranking the available routes. In particular, statistical analysis is preferably used to determine or predict a future change in playbook (e.g., departure routes, approach, runway configuration, etc.) based on current conditions and/or current predictions. Stated differently, the plan operations feature  140  considers a statistically significant sample of what occurs in response to certain events locally or nationally in order to generate an appropriate ranking for the entered location pair. Such a statistical analysis could include the following:
         flow analysis of demand and capacity at the departure or destination airport(s) or other airports in the region;   predicted traffic flow at arrival and departure points;   historical delay generally at arrival and departure airports in view of the projected weather conditions;   historical impact of changing a flight plan (e.g., cost analysis), such that a comparison is made between, for example, routes flown and routes cleared;   analysis of airport acceptance and departure rate(s);   route frequency flown by specific classes of equipment;   the frequency a particular route is flown when certain weather is predicted for that route;   historical and projected routing options (i.e., re-routes) and delays associated therewith;   projected change in runway, departure and/or arrival configurations;   projected change in operational traffic flow;   ensemble considerations based on re-routing;   traffic spill-over impacts; and   flow-constrained airspace restrictions.       

     The statistical analysis may be applied directly to the route ranking, such that the listed routes are also weighted based on the statistical results. Alternatively, the statistical results may be presented to the traveler  100  as additional information regarding the route selection. That is, the plan operations feature  140  may present a ranked list of routes, filtered according to the input criteria, along with some form of visual statistical indication about one or more of the route listings as obtained from the performed statistical analysis. 
     In one embodiment, the plan operations feature  140  does not exclude any potential route or flight path for any reason. The routes generated by the plan operations feature  140  may or may not be listed in the UserRoutes table  264  in the user profile  250 . In the event that there are no acceptable routes to present to the traveler  110 , the plan operations feature  140  will request that the traveler either re-select the ranking preferences and/or enter a different location pair (see  FIG. 8 ). 
     Once the plan operations feature  140  has generated and ranked the routes, the propose routes feature  118  presents the traveler  110  with the ranked list on the display  115 . The routes may be presented to the traveler  110  in a graphical format, text format (such as a list) or a combination of both. In one embodiment, the propose routes feature  118  may also propose one or more flight routes that include operational or business information (such as flight speed, projected fuel consumption or “business executive/VIP on board”) in addition to the basic route information. The graphical display may show the proposed routes on a geographically accurate map and may include a summary visualization of events along the ranked routes. Through the select routes feature  122 , the traveler  110  is able to select one or more of the routes to obtain additional weather, operational, business or other information, such as flight time or fuel consumption, about that particular route. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the propose routes feature  118  could propose routes or transportation plans (or changes thereto) to the traveler  110  prior to departure or after departure, while the traveler  110  is en route. The route suggestions or alterations may be proposed to the traveler  110  in real-time, near real-time or with a delay, depending on the availability and status of the data obtained by the plan operations feature  140  from the relevant databases. 
     In one embodiment, the personalized transportation information system  100  permits higher-level transportation decisions to be made that account for a multitude of transportation plans or routes for numerous different transportation vehicles. For example, a commercial airline dispatcher or planner may want to determine which flights are the highest priority out of a certain group of flights based on a number of different criteria, including, for example, business objectives and weather data. That is, for example, if a dispatcher is notified that there is a limited window of time to land inbound flights to a particular airport (e.g., because that airport will soon institute a ground stop), the personalized transportation information system  100 , using the route ranking process described above, provides the dispatcher with a prioritized list of the flights that the dispatcher should attempt to land first based on the relevant applicable business criteria. 
     Referring to  FIG. 13 , one or more of the routes proposed by the plan operations feature  140  may be displayed in a graphical or semi-graphical manner so that the traveler  110  may visually identify features of the route(s). For example, in  FIG. 13 , three routes have been presented from Boston to Orlando, A, B and C. The route display  142  indicates that routes A and C pass thorough areas that have active or projected SIGMETS, turbulence and icing, respectively. There do not appear to be any restrictions or events identified for route B. In  FIG. 13 , the routes generated by the plan operations feature  140  are also displayed in a text or list format  145 , along with corresponding characteristics of the different routes or flight plans. 
     In one embodiment, the propose routes feature  118  allows the traveler  110  to adjust the departure time and/or altitude of the proposed flight plan. For example, in  FIG. 13 , the departure time adjuster  143  and altitude adjuster  144  permit the traveler  110  to visually alter these parameters. In doing so, the plan operations feature  140  re-calculates the routes A, B and C and determines if the time and/or altitude adjustment(s) entered by the traveler  110  also have an effect on the proposed routes or flight plans. For example, the icing SIGMET identified in route C is likely based on the projected time at which the aircraft would reach that region of route C. However, if the departure time from Boston is changed (either later or earlier) it is possible that the icing SIGMET for route C no longer exists and is therefore not a concern. Such a flight plan adjustment may be valuable, since route C may be the most cost effective route to fly on the basis of time or fuel. Alternatively, the traveler  110  may realize that flights departing Boston historically incur a delay, and that, route C may be selected because the actual departure time will be later than desired anyway. Moreover, adjusting the departure time and/or altitude may completely alter the suggested route list in that additional or different routes may now qualify (i.e., added) or be removed from the suggested route list. 
     Two additional exemplary implementations of the propose routes feature  118  are shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 . In  FIG. 14 , the traveler desires to fly from Dallas (DFW) to Boston (BOS). The plan operations feature  140  has proposed a ranked list of routes (not shown) and the traveler  110  has selected ‘Route G’.  FIG. 14  shows that the traveler has selected additional information about Route G, but that an event (weather or otherwise)  146  has been identified as projected to occur within the flight path of Route G. The plan operations feature  140  has further determined that the event  146  has an 80% chance of occurring along Route G within the same time period of the traveler  110  departing from DFW along Route G. Therefore, the plan operations feature  140  has also determined, based on current conditions, predicted conditions, operational parameters and statistical/historical analysis that Routes G 1  and G 2  have a 90% and 10% chance, respectively, of receiving air traffic diverted from Route G as a result of the event  146 . Accordingly, the traveler or user  110 , knowing ahead of time (a) the likely occurrence of event  146 ; and (b) the likely re-routes if the event  146  actually does occur, can make an informed and timely decision about departure time, flight plan, fuel, and desired destination, among other factors. Such information and corresponding decision(s) resulting therefrom could be made by the traveler or user  110  en route. 
     Similarly, in  FIG. 15 , the traveler  110  is en route and approaching Boston along Route K. Unfortunately, Routes H, J and K will intersect a SIGMET  148  that covers a relatively large area. The plan operations feature  140  receives all of the relevant inputs, and, based on current conditions, predicted conditions and statistical/historical analysis, determines that Routes K 1 , K 2 , K 3  and K 4  have a 60%, 20%, 5% and 15% chance, respectively, of receiving air traffic diverted from Route K as a result of the SIGMET  148 . However, because Routes H and J are also affected by the SIGMET  148 , it is likely, based on historical analysis and current conditions, that alternate Routes K 1 , K 2  and K 4  will incur significant additional traffic from Routes H and J, as well as from Route K. Therefore, the plan operations feature  140 , would recommend that the traveler  110  utilize Route K 3 , even though it is significantly farther out of the way than Route K 1  or K 2 . 
     Once the traveler  110  selects a route corresponding to the entered location pair (either from the UserRoute table  264  or a route suggested by the plan operations feature  140 ), the select routes feature  122  of the personalized transportation information system  100  preferably forwards the selected route information to a create visualization feature  124 . Additionally, the selected route information may be provided to the access personal information feature  114 , such that the user profile  250  is updated to store the selected route in the UserRoutes table  264 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 16 , the create visualization feature  124  presents a map viewer  170  that depicts a geographically accurate map corresponding to the selected route and showing one or more attributes related to the selected route. The create visualization feature  124  presents the map viewer  170  or other visualization to the traveler  110  on the display  115 . The map viewer  170  may include a display options panel  176  for the traveler  110  to designate which features are shown on the map viewer  170 . In the example of  FIG. 16 , a route path  172  from ORL to DFW is shown, including one or more of the route identifiers  174  along the route path  172 . The map viewer  170  also identifies other airports  171  within the view of the map  170 , radar status and summary  173 , weather radar  175  and a temporary flight restriction  177 . The map viewer  170  thus allows the traveler  110  to visually identify the location of (and thus relationship to the selected flight path  172 ) any existing and/or predicted weather events, air traffic, or any other item of information that may have an effect on the selected flight path  172 . In  FIG. 16 , features such as Jet and Victor Airways, turbulence, icing and airspace boundary have not been selected from the display options panel  176 , and thus would not be shown in the map viewer  170 , should such conditions exist. The traveler  110  may zoom in or out on the map viewer  170  and may also geographically navigate within the map viewer  170  to visualize different portions of the surrounding area, as is generally known in the art. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  17  and  18 , the personalized transportation information system  100  includes a generate briefings feature  126  that generates a travel briefing corresponding to the entered location pair and/or the selected route. The generate briefings feature  126  compiles the information generated by the transportation information engine  105  and provides composite transportation information customized according to the relevant weather and operational parameters, including business objectives as discussed above, to the traveler or user  100 . Travel briefings may include the weather-related information supplied to a pilot or operator prior to departure and/or during flight, including weather in and around the departure point, current and predicted weather and events en route along the selected flight path and weather conditions and predictions for the destination and alternate points. The travel briefing is displayed to the traveler  110  in a briefing viewer  180  that allows the traveler  110  expand and collapse different portions of the briefing for quick access to and review of desired sections (see  FIG. 18 ). The travel briefing preferably includes composite geographical images  182  of the departure and destination regions corresponding to the selected route displayed together the text of the briefing. The composite images  182  preferably include some of the features included in display of the route path  172  in the map viewer  170 . As discussed above, preferences set by the traveler  110  will cause the briefing viewer  180  to initially display certain aspects of the briefing and on the composite images  182 . Thus, the travel briefing obtained by the traveler  110  is customized to the selected route and destination, as well as to the traveler&#39;s preferences, including business objectives, predictive weather data and relevant operational parameters. However, the traveler  110  may alter those preferences to create a display of additional or different aspects of the travel briefing. The map viewer  170  may be displayed together with all or a portion of the briefing viewer  180 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , the personalized transportation information system  100  preferably also includes a local briefing feature  184  that allows the traveler  100  to enter only one geographical point (and not a complete location pair) and obtain a localized travel briefing for that geographic area. When obtaining a local briefing, a route need not be selected by the traveler  110 . Therefore, any text, images or information displayed by the briefing viewer  180  do not reflect a particular route. 
     The personalized transportation information system  100  further includes a generate alerts feature  130  that determines, based on default and/or traveler preferences, if and when alerts regarding weather or other events associated with a selected or potential flight path should be issued. The user profile  250  may include threshold preferences for different types of weather and non-weather event conditions. That is, since every traveler, pilot, company, etc., has a different tolerance for different types of events, the generate alerts feature  130  will examine the threshold(s) set in the user profile  250  in determining whether to issue an alert for a given event for the traveler  110 . Accordingly, the traveler  110  or user may also set individual alert thresholds for use by the generate alerts feature  130 . For example, a user of the personalized transportation information system  100  may be a commercial airline, and therefore, be particularly sensitive to turbulence for the safety and comfort of its passengers. Therefore, the pilot for the airline (i.e., the traveler  110 ) may set a low turbulence alert threshold, desiring to be notified of any turbulence within a certain range of the pilot&#39;s selected route. The pilot, however, may not be especially interested in icing, and therefore set the alert threshold for such an event relatively high. Moreover, the generate alerts feature  130  may be implemented such that the traveler  110  is not directly notified by the personalized transportation information system  100 , but rather by an external source. For example, a commercial airline may have a dispatcher that notifies pilots of any necessary information, including alerts. In such a system, the generate alerts feature  130  would be configured to notify the dispatcher of the relevant alert. 
     In one embodiment, the generate briefings feature  126  and/or the generate alerts feature  130  reference operational parameters, such as business objectives, from the personalization database  200  or the geographical-navigational reference database  300 , to determine the contents of a travel briefing or the trigger or notification of an alert. For example, depending on particular business objectives or goals of a commercial airline, a travel briefing may include a notice that a particular route is being given preference since it is known that a VIP is flying along that route. 
       FIGS. 19-21  illustrate several different implementations of the create visualization feature  124  in combination with the generate alerts feature  130 . In  FIG. 19 , the traveler  110  is provided with a warning area or hazard envelope  132  that surrounds the selected route  131  by an approximately equal distance in all directions (i.e., 3-dimensional) with respect to the present location of the aircraft on the route  131 . According to this implementation and visualization of the generate alerts feature  130 , the traveler  110  would be alerted if a designated event was predicted or occurred anywhere within the hazard envelope  132 . Those skilled in the art will understand that the hazard envelope  132  could be personalized for the traveler  110  or for the type of aircraft or vehicle. Moreover, an occurrence of any actual or predicted event could generate an alert; however, an alert would only be issued if the event surpassed the set threshold level. In an alternative embodiment, the generate alerts feature  130  may cooperate with the plan operations feature  140  to suggest an alternate routing to avoid the actual and/or predicted weather or non-weather event. 
       FIG. 20  is an example of an implementation of the generate alerts feature  130  where a dispatcher for an airline is able to select a flight within the context of an actual or predicted SIGMET to notify selected flights. In  FIG. 20 , the dispatcher has been notified of the SIGMET  134 , as well as its proximity to flights planned on Routes A, B, and C. The alert auto-generates a selectable flight list and concise alert message based on the dispatcher&#39;s or airline&#39;s stored preferences (i.e., generate an alert if moderate to severe turbulence, and flight entry and exit times coincide with event-valid times, etc.). When the dispatcher receives the alert, the dispatcher is able to select the flights on Routes A and B that should receive a SIGMET alert  135 , for which the appropriate alert boxes have been checked. The dispatcher can then send the SIGMET alert to the pilots on Routes A and B by any number of methods. In the example of  FIG. 20 , the dispatcher elected not to alert flights on Route C of the SIGMET  134 . 
       FIG. 21  is an example of an implementation of the generate alerts feature  130  for an automotive traveler  110 . In  FIG. 21 , the traveler  110  is traveling along route  136 , with the intention of turning onto route  138 . However, the traveler  110  is alerted to a predicted flow restriction  137  along route  138  due to heavy rain. Additionally, the traveler  110  is alerted to an accident  139  prior to exit  12  on route  136 , also resulting in a predicted flow restriction. Accordingly, based on these predictions and alerts, the traveler  110  may opt to depart route  136  at exit  11 . In an alternative embodiment, the generate alerts feature  130  may cooperate with the plan operations feature  140  to suggest an alternate routing to avoid the predicted flow restriction(s). 
     In  FIG. 22  the alert generator  500 , receives alerts from the generate alerts feature  130  of the transportation information engine  105 , and dispatches the alerts using one or more forms of communication, including, in-flight communications with aircraft, e-mail, text message, mobile (i.e., some form of audio communications) and desktop computer. Additionally, all of the alerts are capable of being transmitted over a network  600  and are also archived in the storage unit  220 . 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the personalized transportation information system  100  is configured to be used by a service provider to enable the service provider to locate, target, track and/or market services to potential or existing customers. For example, a Fixed Base Operator (“FBO”) is an entity, generally located at an airport, that provides aircraft services to aircraft operators, such as fueling, cleaning, catering, etc. FBOs desire to target and market to both existing and potential customers to encourage the customers to land at their location (e.g., an airport) and utilize their services. To this end, FBOs often provide incentives for travelers and pilots to use their services, such as providing a round of golf at a nearby county club or having a pilot&#39;s favorite food available when his aircraft lands. 
     In connection with the personalized transportation information system  100 , the personalization database  200  may include operational parameters related to service provider or FBO customers, destinations, origins, aircraft size, travel habits, hobbies, eating habits, entertainment, rental vehicles and any other characteristic about a particular pilot, owner or flight crew that would assist an FBO in determining how to target that particular customer. Accordingly, the user profile  250  requests and stores additional information or operational parameters regarding traveler characteristics. An FBO may attempt to generate a profile for each customer or potential customer. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an FBO could track flights destined for or passing through the area in which the FBO is situated.  FIG. 23  shows a visualization  700  of the personalized transportation information system  100  that includes several aircraft en route to TEB airport in New Jersey. An FBO located nearby tracks the flights and identifies a particular flight  710  that may be of interest. As shown in  FIG. 24 , the FBO may obtain aircraft identification and status information  720  about the flight  710 . The identification information  720  could include any relevant operational parameters associated with the flight plan of the aircraft, including the tail number, the owner, pilot, as well as the destination and flight path. Based on such information, the FBO might update its profile (or create a new one) associated with that aircraft and/or pilot to target advertisements or future incentives or provide a higher level of customer service. 
     The FBO could also utilize the plan operations feature  140  of the personalized transportation information system  100  to determine if and how current and/or predicted weather or events might impact the flight plans and/or operational parameters of aircraft passing through its region. For example, an FBO, knowing the present location of an aircraft and its flight plan (i.e., destination), could determine its likely flight path and determine if there are any potential operational parameters or weather conditions that would divert or alter the flight path of the aircraft, thereby necessitating the aircraft in question to land for additional fuel. Alternatively, the FBO could obtain briefings from the generate briefings feature  126  specific to the aircraft&#39;s destination or flight plan and make additional assumptions about the aircraft&#39;s needs. 
     In an alternative embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 25 , the personalized transportation information system  100  is configured to provide a visualization and determination of the aircraft in the FBOs region and their potential fuel consumption  730  or historical fuel demand. In  FIG. 25 , the FBO can compare the different aircraft and attempt to contact and market to those requiring the potentially largest fuel purchase. Such fuel calculations could be provided by the personalized transportation information system  100  in view of current and predicted weather end events along the flight paths of the known aircraft. 
       FIG. 26  illustrates an embodiment that includes a reservation request  740  generated by a customer to an FBO. In  FIG. 26 , using the personalized transportation information system  100 , the FBO obtains operational parameters (e.g., flight plan, predicted delays and other information) related to the incoming aircraft. With such knowledge the FBO servicing this aircraft has the ability to better address the needs of the aircraft and crew upon arrival. 
       FIG. 27  illustrates an example of a passenger transportation form  750  that might be used by an FBO to arrange for transportation needs or requests by an arriving pilot or passenger. The passenger transportation form  750  might be used in conjunction with the reservation request  740  of  FIG. 26  and/or the aircraft identification information  720  or aircraft fuel consumption of  FIGS. 24 and 25 . Such an information display or form includes detailed personalized passenger information  752  that may be of interest to the FBO or the person or entity fulfilling the FBO requirements. For example, in  FIG. 27 , it is known that VIP passenger John Smith “likes chicken salad . . . . ” Thus, the FBO would attempt to make such food available to John Smith upon arrival. Additionally, as shown in  FIG. 27 , an FBO may incorporate advertising  754  into the displays or forms that are available to the pilot, passenger or crew. 
     In another embodiment, an FBO preferably purchases advertisement space to target at customers based on the predicted flight paths and changes thereto obtained from the personalized transportation information system  100 . 
     In another embodiment shown in  FIG. 28 , an FBO develops a multimedia presentation, display, feed or stream  760  for viewing by an arriving pilot or passenger. The multimedia presentation  760  provides the FBO with additionally opportunity to sell advertising space and/or provide customized services for an arriving pilot or passenger. The multimedia presentation  760  may be customized to the passenger based on data known to the FBO and/or obtained from the personalization database  200  of the personalized transportation information system  100 . More specifically, the multimedia presentation  760  may include items of information (e.g., news, stock, current and predicted weather, current and predicted delays, etc.) pertinent to the arriving aircraft or the people on it. For example, if the FBO knows that the arriving aircraft is owned by company X, the multimedia presentation  760  may include news and/or stock information that may be of interest to senior officials of company X. The FBO may also assume, from the aircraft and flight plan data, that the aircraft (and therefore, the pilot or passengers) are destined for a particular destination(s), and therefore, provide weather and travel information for those destinations as generated by the personalized transportation information system  100 . The multimedia presentation  760  may include real-time or delayed media streams  762  (including cable, video, satellite and broadcast), including news, weather and sports information that is incorporated with the personalized travel information from the personalized transportation information system  100 . The FBO is preferably able to instantaneously change the channel of the integrated media stream  762  according to the arriving customer. The multimedia presentation  760  may also include customized alerts, text messages or news clips  768  generated by the FBO and/or the personalized transportation information system  100 . In the example of  FIG. 28 , the multimedia presentation  760  includes a live news stream  762 , a weather forecast  764  for corresponding to the final destination of the arriving aircraft, a stock ticker display  766  that includes advertisement and stock information of particular interest to the arriving aircraft, and a textual news and alert display  768  that is customized to the arriving aircraft. 
     Although described above with reference to the FBOs and the aviation industry generally, those skilled in the art will recognize that the principles of locating, targeting, tracking and/or marketing services to potential or existing customers described herein are applicable to service providers generally. For example, with respect to land-based transportation, service providers such as convenience stores, gas stations or other typical en route service locations could employ the features of the personalized transportation system  100  to market services to auto travelers based on a stored profile and/or an assessment of the auto traveler&#39;s needs or wants. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the personalized transportation information system  100  is used to evaluate aviation or transportation-related business objectives. Examples of business objectives include, but are not limited to, on-time arrival, on-time performance, passenger comfort, minimized fuel consumption, regulatory compliance, least number of passengers missing connecting flights, cost of a flight, special treatment for VIP passengers, etc. The business objectives may be different for each operator, and, as noted above, may be entered or selected by the traveler or user  110 , reflected in a profile or stored preferences for that traveler or user  110  or be obtained from the geographical-navigational reference database  300 . For example, commercial carrier A may consider minimizing the number of passengers missing connecting flights as its most important business objective and passenger comfort level as a secondary business objective, whereas commercial carrier B may consider minimizing fuel consumption as most important, and the passenger comfort level as unimportant. Furthermore, the most important business objective can change for a single carrier depending on the flight/route or group of flights/routes. For example, a private carrier may consider shortest flight time as most important for one flight, and passenger comfort most as important for another flight, depending on the needs of the passengers on each of the flights. 
     Since weather conditions, predicted weather conditions or changes in operational parameters may have an impact on the flight plans of one or more aircraft, the personalized transportation and information system  100  can predict deviations from the business objectives incurred by impact of weather conditions or changes in operational parameters on one or more of the flights plans. Furthermore, the personalized transportation and information system  100  can suggest altered operational parameters or flight plans, or prioritize a sequence of departures and/or arrivals, that minimize the deviations from the business objectives or help achieve the desired business objectives for the relevant flights. The impacted aircraft may be on the ground awaiting departure or already en route to their destination. In one example, a dispatcher for a carrier has ten aircraft on the ground in Boston for a scheduled departure close to the time when a storm system is projected to be approaching the airport. The carrier&#39;s primary business objective is to minimize missed passenger connections. Based on the operational parameters, including the business objectives, as well as the current and/or predicted weather conditions, the personalized transportation and information system  100  predicts that the airport departure rate will be reduced by 50% as a result of the incoming storm, thus allowing only five of those ten aircraft to depart on schedule. The personalized transportation and information system  100  (e.g., in the form of a travel briefing in a briefing viewer  180 , a map viewer  170 , interface screen  160  or ranking interface screen  150 ) presents a suggested ordering for departure and updated flight plans based on minimizing the number of passengers who will miss connections if their flight cannot depart on schedule. 
     In another example, an airline may be cost conscious regarding fuel expenditures. From the weather data, it is predicted that all westbound, trans-continental flights during a certain time period will experience high headwinds, thereby decreasing fuel efficiency. The personalized transportation and information system  100  may determine that on a cross-country route listed non-stop, it is more cost effective to lighten the aircraft by reducing the fuel loaded at the departure airport, land at an intermediate destination, refuel and continue to the destination airport, even though the flight is listed as non-stop and such an intermediate stop would inconvenience many of the passengers. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the personalized transportation information system  100  is configured to provide an indicator of changes to operational parameters that are occurring or have occurred at an airport. Examples of changes to operational parameters with respect to a particular airport include runway configuration, runway utilization, ground delays, and ground stops, all of which affect the AAR for that airport. In one embodiment, by tracking the actual flight routes used by arriving aircraft and comparing against standard arrival routes into the airport, common aircraft holding patterns can be detected for arriving flights, potentially in advance of official notification by the airport (or other entity) that delays are occurring or a ground stop is or will be implemented. 
     Referring to  FIG. 29 , three standard arrival routes  802 ,  804 ,  806  into airport  800  are shown. In general, the standard arrival routes into an airport are dependent on a number of factors (e.g., the orientation of the airport runways, present runway configuration, weather, restricted airspaces, noise abatement concerns, geographic or topographic features, etc). The approved flight plan of an aircraft arriving into airport  800  includes one of the standard arrival routes  802 ,  804 ,  806 . In the event of air traffic congestion, ground delays or stoppages at airport  800 , arriving aircraft may be placed in a holding pattern as is well know by those skilled in the art.  FIG. 29  shows two common holding patterns, an S-pattern  810  and oval  808 , where the dashed lines indicate a deviation from one of the standard arrival routes (the solid lines). By monitoring the actual flight route of incoming aircraft and comparing it with the standard arrival routes, the occurrence of the delay patterns  808 ,  810  can be detected by the personalized transportation information system  100 . Such detection may be accomplished by using computer-based or automatic pattern recognition, pattern matching or algorithmic detection. That is, in this embodiment, detected or observed radar data or other tracking (e.g., Global Positioning System) data indicating the position of an aircraft is tracked and analyzed to determine whether the position of the aircraft at certain points in time are consistent with an on-going flight path (either specific to that aircraft or in general) or whether a particular set of readings indicates that the aircraft has deviated from that flight path and perhaps entered a holding pattern. 
     The personalized transportation information system  100  may indicate to the traveler or user  110  that it has detected one or more aircraft entering a holding pattern by providing an alert through the generate alerts use case  130  and/or the alert generator  500  as discussed herein. Even if the pattern recognition detects a deviation from an established flight path, but does not determine that the aircraft has entered a standard holding pattern, the personalized transportation system  100  may nonetheless determine or alert the traveler or user  110  that the aircraft has deviated more than a pre-determined amount from the appropriate flight path, thereby indicating the need for potential corrective action. 
     For example, if an aircraft on arrival route  802  starts to deviate into an oval  808 , the personalized transportation information system  100  determines that a potential hold is starting to build on arrival route  802 . In order to increase the confidence of this prediction, the hold may not be reported until the aircraft executes a second oval or until another aircraft along the same route also shows evidence of initiating the oval holding pattern  808 . This early indication of potential holds on one or more arrival routes into an airport can be useful to a operator in selecting a flight route of an aircraft into airport  800  that has not departed from it location of origin, or in altering a flight route for an aircraft already en route to airport  800 . If arrival routes  802  and  806  are determined to have significant delays, but arrival route  804  is showing no delay, a flight plan that includes arrival route  804  might be the best choice for an on-time arrival, even if it requires a flight route that is not optimal with respect to flight distance or fuel consumption. 
     In another example, a flight already en route to airport  800  with arrival route  806  included in its flight plan, was not expecting any in-flight delays, and therefore does not have sufficient fuel for an extended hold into airport  800 . Rather than divert to another airport at considerable cost to the airline, the arriving flight may have sufficient fuel to land safely by altering the flight plan to include the non-delayed arrival route  804 . 
     In an alternate embodiment, the personalized transportation information system  100  predicts changes in AAR or ADR by looking for changes in the operational parameters associated with an airport. Referring to  FIG. 30 , airport  800  contains four runways  820 ,  822 ,  824 , and  826 . One possible runway configuration for airport  800  is departures on runways  824  and  826  to the upper right and arrivals on runways  820  and  822  from the upper left. A possible utilization A for this configuration is shown in  FIG. 30  by the solid lines, where two runways  824 ,  826  are used for departure, and two runways  820 ,  822  are used for arrivals. Another possible configuration is that runways  820 ,  822  are used for arrivals from the upper left and departures to the lower right, and runways  824  and  826  are not in use. A possible utilization B, shown in  FIG. 30  by the dotted lines, is that runway  822  is used only for arrivals and runway  820  is used only for departures. In a third example of a possible runway configuration for airport  800 , departures on runways  824  and  826  are to the lower left and arrivals on runways  820  and  822  from the lower right. A possible utilization C for this configuration is shown in  FIG. 30  by the dashed lines, where two runways  824 ,  826  are used for departure, and one runway  822  is used for arrivals. By monitoring the actual flight routes of arriving and departing aircraft or changed thereto (i.e., through pattern recognition discussed above), the personalized transportation information system  100  can determine the configuration and utilization of the airport and predict the AAR based on the operational parameters and the weather data. 
     In addition, if the personalized transportation information system  100  detects changes in the configuration and utilization for an airport, a prediction of the AAR at future times based on these changes, potentially before official notice has been given by the airport of such changes, may be given to the traveler or user  110  through an appropriate briefing, alert or viewing function in connection with the personalized transportation information system  100 . Early realization of changes in airport configuration and utilization may allow an airline to make decisions relevant to business objectives, for example, releasing or holding flights at an airport of origin based on information about a predicted future state of an AAR at a destination airport, or selecting routes based on projected destination airport runway availability or utilization that maximize the probability of an on-time arrival, or minimize fuel consumption. 
     Referring to  FIG. 31 , in one embodiment, the personalized transportation system  100  collects data related to weather phenomena and other ground and atmospheric conditions at various locations including, among other systems, satellite imagery centers  604  that receive data from satellites  605 , surface weather observation stations  606 , lightning detection systems  608 , and/or radar processing stations  614 . Such weather related data may be transferred over a variety of public and/or private wired and wireless networks  600  generally known in the art, including the Internet, to the relevant portions of the personalized transportation system  100 . Subsets of these data collection apparatuses may provide particular data relevant to characterizing of one or more storms, weather events or objects  602 . 
     Previously gathered and/or analyzed data may be present in one or more weather databases  610 . Additional data may also be gathered from vehicles or mobile transmitters/receivers, including aircraft  692 , ships  694  and ground transportation  696 , along with information regarding their locations. Vehicles may transmit, receive, or transmit and receive to and from one of a system of transmitters and receivers  690 . The system may also collect some types of data from mobile users  684  using handheld or portable devices  682  via a wireless network  680 . Such data may include one or more of weather-related data, imagery, video, audio, or related position information. Data from each source may be produced in different formats. 
     In one embodiment, the personalized transportation system  100  (e.g., the weather data and prediction system or database  400 ) processes collected weather data and identifies particular weather events or storms  602  and their characteristics, attributes and parameters. The personalized transportation system  100  applies forecasting and other prediction techniques, including predictive models to predict future weather data and parameters of predicted weather conditions, events and storms, including location, wind velocity, hail size, lightning flash rate, flood potential, or any other weather or storm related attribute generally known in the art. Moreover any relevant, known forecasting or weather prediction method, system or mechanism may be used to obtain predicted future weather conditions, data, characteristics or events. Results of the weather data analysis and prediction(s) may be stored in the weather data and prediction database  400 . 
     In one embodiment, one or more data sources, including the weather data collection sources noted above, the weather databases  610 , the personalization database  200 , the geographical-navigation reference database  300  and the weather data and prediction system or database  400 , provide information, including relevant weather data and predictions and operational parameters, over the network  600  to the transportation information engine  105 . Such information may be provided in any format or protocol generally known in the art, including an extensible markup language format. The transportation information engine  105  provides personalized transportation information as previously described to the traveler or user  110  as previously described. 
     The personalized transportation information or other data or information produced by the transportation information engine  105  may reside on a PC or server, or distributed servers (not shown). It could use commercial or open source database platforms such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, or PostgreSQL. The transportation information engine  105  may provide external communication through database connections, custom interfaces, or a web application server, or any other communications medium or system generally known in the art. 
     Portions or all of the personalized transportation information may be transferred to an Internet or networked personalized transportation server  664 . The personalized transportation server  664  may be a simple PC, a web server, a combination of separate web server, application server, and database server, or other arrangement of server resources. The Internet personalized transportation server  664  could provide personalized transportation information over the network  600  to other network systems or to PCs  666  with attached monitors  669  displaying Internet browsers or other applications operated by users  668 . The users  668  may be similar to the traveler or user  110  previously described. In another embodiment, the Internet personalized transportation server  664  is accessed by mobile users  684  of portable devices  682  via the wireless communication network  680 . 
     The Internet personalized transportation server  664  could serve a web page containing both HTML and JavaScript code. The JavaScript code could periodically, or upon user interaction, obtain additional or more up-to-date transportation information from the personalized transportation server  664  without reloading the web page. In one embodiment, the data is in extensible markup language form. 
     Personalized transportation information may also be provided by the transportation information engine  105  to a third-party server  674 . In one embodiment, the traveler or user  100  of the personalized transportation information system  100  could provide data to third-parties, who would then provide value-added analysis or repackaging of the data. 
     In one embodiment, data from the personalized transportation information system  100  is used by third-parties to provide value-added services. For example, a search engine operator may provide recent transportation results in response to transportation-related keywords. For instance, an Internet search for “flight-plan Orlando” could produce a near current map of suggested flight routs and relevant operational parameters en route to Orlando. The graphical results could be provided with regions responsive to further user input, allowing the user to trigger display of additional information about a selected storm. Similarly, a search for “flight delays tomorrow” could trigger access to a forecast portion of the personalized transportation server  664  to provide predicted aviation-related delays for particular geographic areas. In each case, the search could be conducted on data transmitted to the search engine provider&#39;s database, or via calls to the personalized transportation server  664  or similar resource provided on the network  600 . 
     In one embodiment, the transportation information engine  105  provides personalized transportation information and/or updates thereto to airports  650  or other types of transportation hubs or centers (not shown) or other similar locations or devices previously described. The personalized transportation information transfers could be full or incremental and, in one embodiment, could be accomplished using the transfer of extensible markup language (XML) data. For example, airports  650  (or associated databases or systems) could send relevant personalized transportation information to one or more en route aircraft  660 , one or more non-airborne aircraft  662 , or some combination thereof. Such transmissions could be via wireless data transfer or any other mechanism generally known in the art. A traffic or land-based transportation hub or dispatcher could send such personalized transportation information to, for example, a fleet of vehicles  670 , such as taxis or buses. 
     In one embodiment, the transportation information engine  105  provides personalized transportation information and/or updates thereto to user terminals or kiosks  652 . A pilot  654  or other traveler or user  110  may utilize the kiosk  652  to interface with the personalized transportation system  100 , including to input relevant or desired preferences or operational parameters and/or to receive desired or corresponding personalized transportation information. The kiosk  652  may provide the pilot with a travel briefing  653  or other output as previously described. 
     In one embodiment, a dispatcher or company representative  656  obtains personalized transportation information via a terminal, monitor or other computer interface  655 . The dispatcher  656  may similarly receive relevant travel briefings  653 . Information obtained by the dispatcher may be forwarded to airports  650  or other transportation hub or directly to the transportation vehicles  660 ,  662 ,  670 ,  692 ,  694 ,  696  themselves. 
     In one embodiment, the transportation information engine  105  provides alerts via alert devices  658  (e.g., horns, sirens, lights, etc.) to the pilot  654 , traveler or user  110 , dispatcher  656  or directly to the aircraft or other transportation vehicles  660 ,  662 ,  670 ,  692 ,  694 ,  696 . Alerts may be generated and transmitted electronically for display as e-mail, visual indications on a display containing the route, or be embodied as other audible alerts or messages. 
     In another embodiment, personalized transportation information from the personalized transportation system  100  and/or the transportation information engine  105  is also provided to Internet or network users  668 . The transportation information could be presented via a web-based interface through an Internet browser or customer application on the users&#39; PCs  666  to allow interactive exploration of current and forecasted transportation information and related operational parameters. A user could enter the URL of a personalized transportation server  664 . The server could attempt to distinguish the user&#39;s location from IP address information, from a previously stored browser cookie, or from user input. The user could also enter different operational parameters for which he wishes to obtain personalized transportation information. 
     The personalized transportation information system  100  and the associated sub-systems communicate with a vehicle or aircraft  660 ,  662 ,  670 ,  692 ,  694 ,  696  associated with the traveler or user  110  through a navigation and communication system  120  (see  FIG. 1 ) connected to the network  600 . The navigation and communication system  120  preferably comprises one or more methods of communication and/or communication media generally known to those skilled in the art. In the case of communication with aircraft, such communication links include data-radio (ACARS), VHF (audio), radio-satellite phone, Internet Protocol and/or a data link (INflight). As discussed, communication with the personalized transportation information system  100  may be directly with the aircraft or other transportation vehicle  660 ,  662 ,  670 ,  692 ,  694 ,  696 , traveler or user  110  or pilot  654 , or may be effected through one or more third parties, including, for example, a dispatcher  656  having full access and interface capabilities with the personalized transportation information system  100 . Thus, a pilot  654  may access the personalized transportation information system  100  directly from the cockpit of an aircraft  660 ,  662 , through the network of the commercial airline company or through an airport network. In an alternative embodiment, a traveler or user  110  or pilot  654  may access the personalized transportation information system  100  through a stand-alone travel kiosk  652  that is networked to the personalized transportation information system  100  through one of the aforementioned communication protocols, as described above. 
     For automotive or boating travel, communication may be directly with the automobile  696  or ship  694 , with a personal data assistant  682  local to the driver or directly with a driver&#39;s home computer system. Thus, the personalized transportation system  100  and the information associated therewith may also be accessed through a traveler or user  110  in a house  683  via either a wireless or wired connection. 
     In contrast, in planning routes for trucking, it is likely, although not required, communication to the driver is effected through a dispatcher  656 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that any of the aforementioned communication means or any others generally known in the art may be utilized by the navigation and communication system  120  to communication between the personalized transportation information system  100  and the traveler  110 , no matter what the vehicle type. 
     The personalized transportation information system  100  thus provides transportation and weather information based on user profiles and transportation route information. Visualized transportation and weather information can be presented such that the impact of a weather or transportation condition along the route is displayed. In one embodiment, personalized transportation information may be obtained prior to departure to assist in transportation planning and/or after departure (i.e., en route) to assist in re-routing or altering transportation plans. 
     As previously discussed, the personalized transportation information system is applicable forms of transportation other that the air travel. For example, the personalized transportation information system could be utilized to provide route and briefing information to the driver of an automobile, taking into account traffic and weather, as well as predicted congestion, accidents or other incidents along the projected route. 
     The embodiments of the present invention may be implemented with any combination of hardware and software. If implemented as a computer-implemented apparatus, the present invention is implemented using means for performing all of the steps and functions described above. 
     The embodiments of the present invention can be included in an article of manufacture (e.g., one or more computer program products) having, for instance, computer useable media. The media has embodied therein, for instance, computer readable program code means for providing and facilitating the mechanisms of the present invention. The article of manufacture can be included as part of a computer system or sold separately. 
     While specific embodiments have been described in detail in the foregoing detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure and the broad inventive concepts thereof. It is understood, therefore, that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular examples and implementations disclosed herein, but is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope thereof as defined by the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.