Patent ID: 8392224

Claim:
A method in a computer system with a processor and a memory for presenting airline fare information, the method comprising: receiving by the computer system from a user on a current date a search request having a search criterion, the search criterion including a combination of a departure location and date and a return location and date for airline flights for which the user is seeking to purchase a ticket; retrieving by the computer system, for various past observation dates, past flight information for airline flights that match the search criterion, the past flight information for an airline flight including a fare for that airline flight on that past observation date, the past observation dates including at least four consecutive dates immediately prior to a current date; retrieving by the computer system as search results current flight information for airline flights that match the search criterion, the current flight information for an airline flight including a current fare for that airline flight on the current observation date, the current observation date being the current date; generating by the computer system a fare history graph from the retrieved flight information that illustrates the history of fares for the airline flights that match the search criterion over the observation dates that include the past observation dates and the current observation date, wherein the fare history graph includes an observation date axis and a fare axis and indicates a representative fare for the airline flights on the corresponding observation date; sending by the computer system for presentation to the user the search results along with the generated fare history graph; and receiving from the user a request to purchase a ticket for an airline flight selected from the search results by the user.