Patent ID: 7974863

Claim:
A method in a computer system with a processor for providing airline tickets at special fares, by a method comprising: providing historical information for actual airline flights, the historical information including observations made at observation times, each observation including airline, price information, departure location, arrival location, departure day, and return day; receiving from a customer a request for ticket information for an airline flight matching a criterion; receiving by the computer system current information for airline flights matching the criterion, the current information including price information with current ticket price, departure location, arrival location, departure day, and return day; based on analysis of the provided historical information and the received current information, offering by the computer system to sell to the customer an airline ticket for an airline flight matching the criterion at a special fare that is below the current ticket price indicated by the current information for the airline flights matching the criterion when the analysis indicates that the likely future ticket price for an airline flight matching the criterion will drop below the special fare; and when an offer is accepted by the customer, subsequently purchasing by the computer system a ticket at a ticket price below the special fare for an airline flight matching the criterion on behalf of the customer.