JP6037571B2 - Vacant seat sales system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacant seat sales system, and more particularly to a technique for promoting sales of vacant seats in an air ticket.

In the case of a product with a limited expiry date, such as an airline ticket, it is natural that the seller wishes to sell out by the expiry date even if the price is significantly reduced rather than remaining unsold. Sales will reduce the number of customers who purchase at regular rates and cause price system breakdown.
For this reason, there has been a search for ways to promote vacant seat sales without destroying the existing fee structure.

As one of the solutions, a service called “GetGoing” has appeared in the United States (see Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 and Patent Document 1).
Users of this service first access the GetGoing website, enter “Departure”, “Destination area or theme”, “Travel” and “Number of people” on the flight search screen, and click the search button. To do.

  As a result, a list of candidate destination locations that meet the user's wish is displayed on the screen. Price information is also written in each candidate site, and the user selects a flight at a desired time after narrowing down the destination candidates to two locations, keeping in mind each price.

As a result, a form for inputting traveler information and payment information is displayed. The user inputs necessary information and clicks a reservation button.
After that, after the system determines one of the destinations in the manner of throwing a coin, the purchase and settlement of the air ticket are automatically executed.

  In the case of this service, a discount is given to the user as a price for entrusting the final destination decision right to the system, thereby promoting sales of vacant seats and at the same time gaining the understanding of customers who pay regular fees I am planning.

Discount airline ticket reservation site to choose destination arbitrarily GetGoing.com Internet URL: http://blog.sanowlabs.jp/?p=4856 Search date: April 30, 2014 Deciding where to go by throwing coins? New Travel Value Internet URL Provided by Airline Ticket Reservation EC Site “GetGoing”: http://netconcierge.jp/blog/2013/06/ecgetgoing.html Search Date: April 30, 2014 WO2013 / 059688

  However, this “GetGoing” service is based on agency sales that provide users with air tickets purchased in advance from each airline. In most cases, the discount is only a few percent to a few dozen percent. In order to sell air tickets at the lowest possible price, it is essential to know at the time of the search the flights that are likely to be unsold at the time of the search. Since there is no mechanism for predicting the availability of seats at that time, a drastic discount cannot be realized as described above.

Also, in this “GetGoing” service, the price of the air ticket is fixed from the beginning to the amount presented by the site, and the room for controlling the amount by the user side must be evaluated as rigid at all.
Originally, the flexibility of the price is an indispensable point when matching the user's desire to travel as cheaply as possible with the airline's desire to buy as many unpopular tickets as possible. It is.

In addition, this method of determining the final destination by “in-place lottery by the system” functions only as “a convenience method to maintain a fairness with the normal fee by giving the user a demerit” There is no room to reflect the convenience of the sales company (airline, etc.).
Since the vacancy status of airline tickets changes from time to time, the sales strategy of the sales company is to be able to flexibly determine the airline tickets that are actually sold within a certain period from among more vacant seat candidates. It is convenient for the user, and it is possible to give further discounts to the user accordingly.

  The present invention has been devised in view of the current situation, and by reflecting the vacant seat probability at the time of departure of each flight in the search process, it is possible to give the user a flight that is likely to be unsold in the end. The first object is to provide a technology that can promote the sale of vacant seats by providing a certain degree of freedom in setting the price of airline tickets. A second object is to provide vacant seat sales technology that allows a seller to be given a flexible right to select air tickets to be sold.

In order to achieve the above object, the vacant seat sales system according to claim 1 stores airline inventory information that records at least the flight number, departure date and time, departure airport, destination airport, and the number of vacant seats at the present time. Search ticket inventory storage means, vacancy probability storage means for storing the vacancy probability at the time of departure of each flight, and client terminal operated by the user for at least the departure airport, multiple allowable destination airports, departure dates, and number of people Means for transmitting a search condition designation screen for designating as a condition, and when the search condition is transmitted from the client terminal, the departure airport designated by the user with reference to the airline ticket stock storage means and the vacant seat probability storage means Match the conditions for the allowable destination airport and departure date, and there are currently vacant seats for the specified number of people, and the vacancy probability on the departure date is less than the predetermined value. The flight candidate extraction means for extracting the airline flights as the outbound flight candidate, the price calculation means for calculating the price of each outbound flight candidate, and each outbound flight candidate for each allowable destination airport , Means for sending a search result screen describing each price to the client terminal, and application information including at least each outbound flight candidate, departure date, and price when an application is selected on this search result screen a vacant sales system comprising means for storing the application information storing means, said pricing means, above by substituting the regular price in a predetermined fixed date of at least the outward airmail candidates to a predetermined calculation formula The price is to be calculated. At this time, the more destination airports specified by the user, the lower the price, and the fewer destination airports specified by the user. Is characterized in that calculation formula throat price is high is used.

The vacant seat sales system according to claim 2 includes an air ticket inventory storage means for storing at least flight number, departure date and time, departure airport, destination airport, and air ticket inventory information recording the number of vacant seats at present, Search conditions for specifying at least a departure airport, a plurality of allowable destination airports, departure dates, and number of people as search conditions for a vacancy probability storage means for storing a vacancy probability at the time of departure of a flight and a client terminal operated by the user When the search condition is transmitted from the means for transmitting the designation screen and the client terminal, referring to the above air ticket inventory storage means and vacancy probability storage means, the departure airport, allowable destination airport and departure date designated by the user A flight that matches the conditions and has a vacant seat for the specified number of people at the present time, and the vacancy probability on the departure date is greater than or equal to the specified value. A candidate airline extraction means that extracts the same as the destination airport, a price calculation means that calculates a common price applied to each outbound flight candidate that has the same destination airport for each allowable destination airport, and each outbound airline for each allowable destination airport. Means for sending a search result screen describing the above-mentioned common price to the client terminal as well as a flight candidate, and when an application is selected on this search result screen, each outbound flight candidate and departure date A vacant seat sales system comprising means for storing application information including at least a common price in the application information storage means, wherein the price calculation means is a predetermined fixed date for each outbound flight candidate that has at least the same destination airport. The above common price is calculated by substituting the normal price at the given formula, and the number of allowed destination airports specified by the user is Ihodo price is cheaper, as price increases calculation formula less the number of acceptable destination airports specified by the user is characterized in that it is used.

The vacant seat sales system according to claim 3 includes an air ticket inventory storage means for storing at least flight number, departure date and time, departure airport, destination airport, air ticket inventory information recording the number of vacant seats at present, Search conditions for specifying at least a departure airport, a plurality of allowable destination airports, departure dates, and number of people as search conditions for a vacancy probability storage means for storing a vacancy probability at the time of departure of a flight and a client terminal operated by the user When the search condition is transmitted from the means for transmitting the designation screen and the client terminal, referring to the above air ticket inventory storage means and vacancy probability storage means, the departure airport, allowable destination airport and departure date designated by the user A flight that matches the conditions and has a vacant seat for the specified number of people at the present time, and the vacancy probability on the departure date is greater than or equal to the specified value. Air route candidate extracting means, a price calculating means for calculating a common price applied to each outbound flight candidate, and each outbound flight candidate for each allowable destination airport. A means to send a search result screen describing the price to the client terminal, and if application is selected on this search result screen, apply for application information including at least each outbound flight candidate, departure date, and common price a vacant sales system comprising means for storing in the information storage means, said pricing means is common the by substituting the regular price in a predetermined fixed date of at least the total outward airmail candidates to a predetermined calculation formula In this case, as the number of allowable destination airports specified by the user increases, the price decreases and the number of allowable destination airports specified by the user decreases. Higher price becomes higher calculation formula is characterized in that it is used.

  The vacant seat sales system according to claim 4 is the system according to claims 1 to 3, and further, when a fixed date that is a predetermined number of days before the departure date arrives, a plurality of outbound routes according to a preset rule. Means for confirming air ticket related to one outbound flight from among airline candidates as sales object, means for transmitting screen showing specific information of air ticket confirmed as sales object to client terminal and the same information Is provided with at least one of means for transmitting an e-mail in which is described to a user's e-mail address.

  The vacant seat sales system according to claim 5 is the system according to claim 4, and further includes a screen on which the specific information of the air ticket determined as the sales target is described, and the e-mail on which the information is described A link for accessing the payment information input screen is set in at least one of the above, and when payment information is input through this payment information input screen, a means for completing the payment using this is provided. It is a feature.

  The vacant seat sales system according to claim 6 is the system according to claim 4, further comprising means for transmitting a settlement information input screen to the client terminal when an application is selected on the search result screen, and a client When the payment information is transmitted from the terminal, the means for storing the information as part of the application information in the application information storage means, and when the one ticket to be sold is confirmed, the payment information is used. And a means for completing the settlement.

  The vacant seat sales system according to claim 7 is the system according to claim 3, further comprising means for transmitting a settlement information input screen to the client terminal when an application is selected on the search result screen, and a client When payment information is transmitted from the terminal, a means for completing payment using the payment information, a means for storing payment completion information in the application information storage means as a part of the application information, and a predetermined value from the departure date When a fixed date before the number of days arrives, according to a preset rule, a means for determining a flight ticket related to one outbound flight from among a plurality of outbound flight candidates as a sales target, and a confirmed sales target At least a means for transmitting a screen on which specific information of the air ticket is described to the client terminal and a means for transmitting an e-mail including the information to the user's mail address It is characterized by having one.

The vacant seat sales system according to claim 8 is the system according to claims 4 to 7, and the search condition designation screen further includes an input field for designating a return date. When the search condition is transmitted from the client terminal, the candidate extracting unit refers to the airline ticket stock storage unit and the vacant seat probability storage unit and travels from each allowable destination airport on the return date designated by the user to the departure airport. in flights, there are vacant specified number of people at the present time, and vacant probability is extracted as return air services candidate air mail or greater than a predetermined value in the feedback date, the price calculating means, each outward airmail By substituting the normal price of the candidate and each return flight candidate on the above confirmed date and the vacancy probability on the departure date of each outbound flight candidate and each return flight candidate into the above formula, The price is calculated on the search result screen as the above price, and each permitted destination airport is displayed on the search result screen or other screen linked to the search result screen. When a return flight candidate is listed and the application is selected on this search result screen, each return flight candidate is also stored in the application information storage means as part of the application information, and the confirmation date has arrived. Sometimes, according to a preset rule, a set of outbound and inbound flight tickets is determined as a target for sale from among multiple outbound flight candidates and multiple outbound flights. Yes.
The “input field for designating the return date” is not limited to a format for inputting a specific date, but may be a format for designating the return date by inputting the number of stay days.

  The vacant seat sales system according to claim 9 is the system according to claims 1 to 8, and the price calculation means further applies an adjustment value reflecting a marketing factor, based on the calculation formula. It is characterized by correcting the calculated price.

  The vacant seat sales system according to claim 10 is the system according to claim 1, wherein the price calculation means compares the price with the lowest price already released for each flight candidate, When the common price is higher than the lowest price, a process of reducing the price until the price becomes lower than the lowest price is executed.

In the case of the vacant seat sales system described in claims 1 to 3, in addition to the number of vacant seats at the present time, the possibility of vacant seats at the time of departure can also be taken into consideration, so that it is possible to extract outbound flight candidates, so that there is a high possibility that unsold flights A flight can be selected and presented to the user for sale. As a result, it is possible to give a significant discount compared to the normal price.
In addition, when calculating the price, the greater the number of allowed destination airports selected by the user, the greater the discount rate will be applied. Therefore, it is possible to give the user the option of suppressing the price by reducing the number of airports to be excluded as much as possible. . As a result, since the system can extract destination airport candidates from a wider range of airports, it is convenient for the seller who aims to promote sales of empty seats.

  In the case of the vacant seat sales system described in claim 3, unlike the “GetGoing” service described above, since a common price for a plurality of destination candidates is determined at the time of application, it is easy for the user to make a decision. . In particular, in the case of a trip of a plurality of people, the user convenience that the price is fixed at the time of application is great.

  In the case of the vacant seat sales system described in claim 4, the destination is not determined immediately by lottery at the application stage, but the final outbound flight is determined only when the confirmed date arrives. For this reason, there is room for selecting a specific air ticket in accordance with the circumstances that have occurred between the completion of settlement and the settlement date, resulting in a great merit for the seller.

  In the case of the vacant seat sales system described in claim 6, since the payment information is maintained on the system side at the application stage, the payment can be completed immediately when the air ticket to be sold is confirmed. .

  In the case of the vacant seat sales system described in claim 7, since it is a mechanism that completes the settlement at the time of application, it is possible to eliminate the credit risk on the seller side.

  In the case of the vacant seat sales system according to the eighth aspect, the return flight ticket can be secured at the time of application, which increases the convenience for the user. Further, since the seller can select the air ticket to be sold in consideration of the vacant seat situation of the return flight on the fixed date, it becomes possible to more effectively eliminate the vacant seat.

  In the case of the vacant seat sales system described in claim 9, the so-called theoretical price calculated based on the above calculation formula can be modified from the viewpoint of marketing. This can be reflected in the merchant, and benefits the seller.

  In the case of the vacant seat sales system described in claim 10, since the price is always the lowest compared to the price of the existing air ticket, it is possible to effectively vacate the air ticket.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a vacant seat sales system 10 according to the present invention includes a web server 12, a vacant seat search unit 14, a user preference specifying unit 18, a price calculation unit 20, a calculation standard storage unit 22, an air ticket. An inventory storage unit 26, a vacant seat probability storage unit 27, a boarding history storage unit 28, a user attribute storage unit 30, an application information storage unit 31, a web browsing history storage unit 32, and a TV viewing history storage unit 34 are provided. ing.

Among these, the vacant seat search unit 14, the user preference specifying unit 18, and the price calculation unit 20 are realized by the CPU of the computer 36 operating according to the OS and a dedicated application program.
The calculation reference storage unit 22 is provided in an external storage device of the computer 36.

The vacant seat search unit 14 is connected to the Web server 12 via a network.
A number of client terminals 38 operated by the user are connected to the Web server 12. Examples of the client terminal 38 include a tablet terminal and a smartphone in addition to the PC.

Further, the user preference specifying unit 18 is connected to the web browsing history storage unit 32 and the TV viewing history storage unit 34 via a network.
Furthermore, the vacant seat search unit 14 is connected to the airline ticket stock storage unit 26 and the vacant seat probability storage unit 27 via a network.

The airline ticket stock storage unit 26, the vacant seat probability storage unit 27, the boarding history storage unit 28, and the user attribute storage unit 30 are managed by an airline system 40 operated by an airline.
The airline system 40 is also connected to the Web server 12 via a network.

The airline ticket inventory storage unit 26 stores a large amount of inventory information of airline tickets sold by airlines.
Each stock information includes at least the flight number, the departure airport, the destination airport, the departure date and time, and the number of vacant seats at the present time.

  The vacant seat probability storage unit 27 stores vacant seat probability data (predicted value) at the departure time of each flight derived by statistically processing past performance data.

  The boarding history storage unit 28 stores boarding performance information (user ID, boarding date, airline code, etc.) of each user.

  The user attribute storage unit 30 stores attribute information (user ID, name, date of birth, sex, e-mail address, job title, job title, annual income, hobbies, etc.) regarding the registered member of the airline.

The web browsing history storage unit 32 is managed by a server of a company specializing in collection, processing, and sales of web browsing history. The cookie ID distributed to the web browser and the web page browsed by the web browser A large amount of browsing history data associated with categories is stored.
In other words, when a user browses a given web page with a web browser such as a PC or smartphone, the category (gourmet, historic site, hot spring, golf, etc.) and cookie ID set in advance on the web page deliver the web page. Is sent from the Web server to the server of the specialist and stored in the Web browsing history storage unit 32.

The TV viewing history storage unit 34 is managed by a server of a company or the like that manufactures and sells a specific TV (hereinafter referred to as “smart TV”) having an Internet connection function. A large amount of data indicating the correspondence between the cookie ID of the Web browser associated with the TV and the identification code of the TV program viewed on the smart TV is stored.
That is, when a user views a program on a predetermined TV on a smart TV, an identification code set for the program is transmitted to the server via the network, and the TV viewing history storage unit 34 is associated with the identification code of the smart TV. Stored in Further, when a user accesses a website related to his / her smart TV from a web browser such as a PC or a smartphone, the cookie ID of the web browser and the identification code of the smart TV are linked.

Next, a procedure for using the system 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, when the user accesses the website of the airline from the client terminal 38 and enters an ID and password to log in, a service selection screen (not shown) is transmitted from the Web server 12 (S10).
When the user selects “vacant seat search” on this screen, as shown in FIG. 3, a search condition designation screen 50 is transmitted from the Web server 12 to the client terminal 38 (S12).

In the left half of the search condition designation screen 50, an allowed destination airport selection field 52 is provided. A map of the Japanese archipelago is displayed in the selection column 52 of allowable destination airports, and airport buttons 54 corresponding to airports in various parts of Japan are provided on the map.
Here, the user selects an acceptable destination from these airports and clicks the airport button 54. As a result, a cross is displayed at the selected airport to clearly indicate that it has been designated as a search condition.
In the figure, a state in which four ports are selected from 35 airports is shown.
If you click the x mark again, the selected airport will return to the search target. Alternatively, all selections can be canceled by clicking the “Clear” button 55 times.

The right half of the search condition specification screen 50 includes a departure airport specification field 56, a departure date specification field 58, a departure time zone (am / pm / night etc.) specification field 60, a return date specification field 62, a return time zone (am / (Afternoon / Night etc.) A designation field 64 and a number of people designation field 66 are provided.
On the other hand, the user clicks the pull-down button (▼) in each column, specifies the necessary search conditions, and then clicks the search button 68.
As a result, the search condition designated by the user, the user ID, and the cookie ID are transmitted to the vacant seat search unit 14 via the Web server 12.

The vacant seat search unit 14 that has received the information (S14) refers to the airline ticket stock storage unit 26 and the vacant seat probability storage unit 27, and extracts the outbound flight candidate that matches the search condition designated by the user (S16). ).
Specifically, air flights that satisfy the following conditions are extracted as outbound air flight candidates.
(1) The flight is from the departure airport specified by the user to each permitted destination airport.
(2) The flight must meet the departure date and departure time specified by the user.
(3) At present, the flight must have seats for the number of seats specified by the user.
(4) The flight has a probability of vacancy on the departure date that is greater than or equal to the specified threshold.

In the determination of (4), vacant seat probability data stored in the vacant seat probability storage unit 27 is referred to.
Air flights whose vacancy probability on the departure date is less than a predetermined threshold are excluded from the sales target.

Next, the vacant seat search unit 14 refers to the airline ticket stock storage unit 26 and the vacant seat probability storage unit 27, and extracts a return flight candidate that matches the search condition designated by the user (S18).
Specifically, an airline that satisfies the following conditions is extracted as a return flight candidate.
(1) Air flights from each allowable destination airport specified by the user to the departure airport
(2) The flight must be within the return date and time specified by the user.
(3) At present, the flight must have seats for the number of seats specified by the user.
(4) The flight has a seat vacancy probability on the return date that is above the specified threshold.

However, since it is possible to travel by car or train after sightseeing at the site, the conditions of (1) are relaxed for the return route, and neighboring airports within a certain distance or within a certain travel time from the allowable destination airport. Can be recognized as a “return flight candidate”.
In the determination of (4), vacant seat probability data stored in the vacant seat probability storage unit 27 is referred to.
Then, an air mail whose seat availability probability on the return date is less than a predetermined threshold is excluded from the sales target.

  Next, the vacant seat search unit 14 recognizes each allowable destination airport where the outbound flight candidate and the return flight candidate have been secured as a destination airport candidate (S20).

  Next, the user preference specifying unit 18 that has received the user ID and cookie ID from the vacant seat search unit 14 searches the user attribute storage unit 30 using the user ID as a key, and attribute information (gender, age, hobby, occupation) of the user. , Annual income band, etc.) (S22).

  Next, the user preference specifying unit 18 searches the Web browsing history storage unit 32 using the cookie ID of the client terminal 38 as a key, and acquires the Web browsing history (Web page category) related to the user when it exists. (S24).

Next, the user preference specifying unit 18 searches the TV viewing history storage unit 34 using the cookie ID of the client terminal 38 as a key, and if there is a TV program viewing history related to the user, acquires it (S26).
Next, the user preference specifying unit 18 refers to the storage means that defines the correspondence between the identification code of each TV program and the category of the TV program (gourmet, historic spot, hot spring, golf, etc.) and specifies each category. (S28).

  Next, the user preference specifying unit 18 specifies a preference category related to the user's travel based on the category derived from the attribute information, Web browsing history information, and TV viewing history information of the user (S30).

For example, when “hobby: appreciation of Buddha statue” is registered as the attribute information of the user, the vacant seat search unit 14 specifies “historic landmark” as the preference category.
When “hobby: golf” is registered as the user attribute information, the vacant seat search unit 14 specifies “golf” as the preference category.
Alternatively, when the “gourmet” category is detected as the Web browsing history information of the user, the vacant seat search unit 14 identifies “gourmet” as the preference category.
Further, when the “ski” category is derived from the TV viewing history information of the user, the vacant seat search unit 14 identifies “ski” as the preference category.

When a plurality of preference categories match for one user, the user preference specifying unit 18 narrows down to a certain number of preference categories according to a preset rule.
For example, the following rules are assumed.
(1) When the “hobby” by the user's self-report is registered, the preference category based on this is preferentially applied.
(2) When preference categories derived from Web browsing history and TV viewing history compete with each other, priority is given to the newest date information.
(3) If there are duplicate preference categories derived from Web browsing history and TV viewing history, priority is given to those that do not overlap (majority principle).
(4) When three or more preference categories are applicable, the top two preference categories are adopted.

The above is only an example, and it is naturally possible to determine a user's preference category according to other rules.
For example, this corresponds to estimating the best matching preference category by comparing with statistical data based on personal attributes such as the user's age, gender, and annual income band.

Next, the vacant seat search unit 14 refers to a PR content table (not shown) that defines PR content (still image file, moving image file, text, etc.) corresponding to each combination of each airport and each preference category. Thus, each PR content is specified for each destination airport candidate (S32).
For example, if the user's preference category is “hot spring” and the destination airports where vacant seats for outbound and inbound flights can be secured include “Oita Airport” and “Matsuyama Airport”, the vacant seat search unit 14 is the Beppu Onsen. Sightseeing photos and sightseeing photos of Dogo Onsen are identified as PR content.
Alternatively, if the user's preference category is “golf” and one of the destination airports where vacant seats for outbound and return flights can be secured is “Sapporo Airport”, the vacant seat search unit 14 is a photograph of famous golf courses around Sapporo. Is identified as PR content.

  Next, the vacant seat search unit 14 designates a plurality of destination airport candidates that have secured vacant seats for the outbound flight and the return flight, and requests the price calculation unit 20 to calculate the price. Then, the common price of the round trip flight related to each destination airport is calculated (S34) and returned to the vacant seat search unit 14. The method for calculating the common price will be described in detail later.

  The vacant seat search unit 14 that has received the calculation result by the price calculation unit 20 transmits the search result to the Web server 12. This search result includes at least destination airport candidates that can secure round-trip air flights, respective PR contents, respective forward flight flight candidates and return flight flight candidates, and common prices.

Receiving these pieces of information from the vacant seat search unit 14, the Web server 12 generates a search result presentation screen and transmits it to the client terminal 38 (S36).
As shown in FIG. 4, the search result presentation screen 72 displays destination airport candidate names 74 of candidates 1 to 4, PR contents 76, air flight candidate list 78, and the like.

In addition, in the flight candidate list 78, a plurality of outbound flight candidates are listed for each destination airport candidate, and one of these is predicted to be finally sold.
By the way, the outbound flight candidate with “○” indicates that there are currently vacant seats, and the outbound flight candidate with “×” currently has no vacant seats, but belongs to the same time zone. Therefore, it is indicated that it can be sold when there is a vacancy due to cancellation or the like.

  When the user clicks the “sightseeing spot” button 80 prepared for each destination airport candidate, a web page describing sightseeing spot information around the airport is transmitted from the web server 12 (S38) and displayed on another window of the web browser. A sightseeing spot display screen is displayed (not shown).

When the user clicks the “return flight confirmation” button 82 prepared for each destination airport candidate, a web page listing the return flight candidates from the airport to the departure airport is transmitted from the web server 12 (S40). The return flight candidate display screen is displayed on another window of the Web browser (not shown).
As described above, on the return route, there are cases where the flights from the neighboring airports of the destination airport candidates to the departure airport are listed as the return flight candidates.

  In the upper part of the screen, “6,000 yen each” is clearly shown as a round-trip airfare, indicating that it is a common charge for all destination airport candidates.

As a result of examining the four destination airport candidates and the charges, the user who is motivated to purchase clicks the “apply” button 84.
Further, the user who is unsatisfied with the flight candidate or the amount described in the search result presentation screen 72 clicks the “return” button 86 and starts again from the specification of the search condition.

If the allowable destination airport selected by the user is a popular route and there is a low probability of seating on the departure date, a round-trip air flight cannot be secured and the message "Air flight cannot be secured" will be displayed on the search results screen. Is done.
Upon receiving this, the user clicks a “return” button 86 to return to the search condition designation screen 50 and designate another allowable destination airport.

When the user clicks the “apply” button 84, a payment-only screen is transmitted from the Web server 12 (S42) and displayed on the Web browser of the client terminal 38 (not shown).
Here, when the user inputs payment information such as a credit card number and expiration date and the payment is completed, a reservation confirmation e-mail is transmitted from the Web server 12 to the user's address (S44).

This e-mail contains at least the following contents.
・ Departure date ・ Four destination airport candidates and each flight candidate (○ and ×)
・ Return flight candidate ・ Fare and payment completion information ・ Final date (eg 3 days before departure)

Application information is transmitted from the Web server 12 to the airline system 40 simultaneously with completion of the settlement.
This application information includes at least a user ID, departure date, departure airport, four destination airport candidates, outbound flight candidate for each airport, return date, return flight candidate, and settlement completion flag.

  Upon receipt of this, the airline system 40 stores it in the application information storage unit 31 (S46), and selects one of the four destination airport candidates as the final destination airport when the fixed date arrives. At the same time, one of the plurality of outbound flight candidates related to the destination airport is selected as an official outbound flight, and one of the multiple return flight candidates is selected as an official return flight (S48). .

At this time, it is up to the airline to select one destination airport candidate using the logic. For example, refer to the air ticket inventory storage unit 26, and the outbound flight with the highest vacancy rate at that time. Alternatively, selecting a destination airport candidate for a return flight is applicable.
Alternatively, with reference to the vacant seat probability storage unit 27, a destination airport candidate for an outbound flight having the highest vacancy probability on the departure date can be selected.
Alternatively, referring to the boarding history storage unit 28, priority may be given to destination airport candidates that the user frequently visits, and conversely, destination airport candidates other than airports that the user frequently visits may be prioritized. it can.

Next, the airline system 40 generates an e-mail in which confirmation information including the selected destination airport, outbound air flight, inbound air flight, and confirmation number is described, and transmits it to the e-mail address of the user (S50). .
Since this confirmation information is also transmitted to the Web server 12, when the user accesses the website and logs in, the confirmation information is displayed on the My Page.

  The user receives the boarding pass by inputting the confirmation number described in the above e-mail into the automatic check-in machine in the airport.

Next, a method for calculating the common price by the price calculation unit 20 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 5, the price calculation unit 20 performs normal price data 90 on the final date of each outbound flight candidate and return flight candidate, and vacancy probability data 91 on the departure date (return date) of each flight candidate. The theoretical price is calculated based on (S34-1), and theoretical price data 93 is generated.

Here, “normal price” means the estimated value (time series data) of the price from the time of reservation to the departure date in the normal reservation method for each destination airport. It is requested from.
The “vacancy probability” means the probability (time series data) that there will be vacancies on the flight at each time point from the reservation time to the departure date, and is obtained from past statistical data.

In this way, the theoretical price is calculated based on the combination of each flight, the normal price, and the vacancy probability. The calculation of this theoretical price is, for example, the calculation of real options established in the financial field. Equations can be applied.
In other words, if “regular price” and “vacancy probability” are entered in the formula for calculating real options, the right to specify a destination uniquely and book a ticket in the usual way is waived (waives the right to choose) The monetary value is calculated, and the theoretical price is calculated by subtracting this monetary value from the probabilistic expected value of the “regular price”.
For this reason, the theoretical price decreases as the user excludes many airports from the allowable destination airport, and the discount price decreases accordingly, whereas the discount price increases as the number of excluded airports decreases. And the price will be cheaper.

However, the calculation method of the theoretical price is not limited to the method using the above-described real option calculation formula.
For example, add the average value of the normal price on the fixed date of each return flight candidate to the average value of the normal price on the fixed date of each outbound flight candidate, and apply the adjustment value according to the number of allowable destination airports By doing so, it is applicable to derive the theoretical price. In short, it is only necessary to derive a result that the common price decreases as the number of allowable destination airports increases, and the common price increases as the number of allowable destination airports decreases.
At this time, it is also possible to employ a calculation formula that reflects the vacancy probability on the departure date (return date) of each flight candidate in the price.

Next, the price calculation unit 20 applies the strategic adjustment value data 94 to the theoretical price data 93 to make corrections that reflect marketing elements (S34-2), and generates corrected price data 95.
Here, the “strategic adjustment value” is a value that is set flexibly in consideration of the airline's sales strategy, current performance, etc., for example, when there is an urgent need to reduce the vacancy rate throughout the company. In contrast, a further discount amount is applied, whereas an adjustment value that suppresses the discount amount is applied in the case where the improvement of the brand image is more important than the elimination of the vacancy rate.

Next, the price calculation unit 20 compares the revised price data 95 with the already-released minimum price data 96. If the revised price is higher than the already-released lowest price, the price calculation unit 20 determines that the price is lower than the already-released lowest price. The final sales price is determined by forcibly reducing the price until it reaches (S34-3), and sales price data 97 is generated.
Here, “the lowest price already on sale” means the price calculated by applying existing discount services such as “advance” and “early discount”. Controlled to be cheaper than any discounted price.

  The normal price data 90, the vacancy probability data 91, the strategic adjustment value data 94, and the already-released minimum price data 96 are stored in advance in the calculation reference storage unit 22, and are updated as necessary.

  As described above, by providing a mechanism in which the common price decreases as the number of allowable destination airports increases, and the common price increases as the number of allowable destination airports decreases, more allowable destination airports can be designated to the user. As a result, the seller can select air tickets to be sold from a wide range.

  In the above, an example is shown in which an outbound flight and an inbound flight are simultaneously sold, but it is naturally possible to configure the present invention as a system that sells only outbound flights.

Moreover, although the example where payment is completed simultaneously with the application is shown, the timing of application and payment can be separated.
For example, at the time of application, a payment information input screen is transmitted to the client terminal 38 to allow the user to input payment information such as a credit card number, which is stored in the application information storage unit 31 as part of the application information, and sold The settlement can be completed using these settlement information when the air ticket to be confirmed is confirmed.
Alternatively, when a ticket to be sold is confirmed, an e-mail or web page with a link (URL) for accessing the settlement information input screen is sent to the client terminal 38, and through this settlement information input screen You may make it complete payment immediately, when payment information is transmitted.

In the above, an example is shown in which a common price is presented for each destination airport candidate on the search result screen 72, but based on the normal price etc. on the confirmed date of each flight candidate, a different price for each flight candidate is shown. The system may be configured to present.
In this case, the price calculation unit 20 calculates each price based on the normal price on the final date of each forward flight flight candidate and the return flight flight candidate. In the search result screen, the prices of the outbound flight candidate and the outbound flight candidate are displayed separately.

  Even in this case, when calculating the price of each flight candidate, by applying a predetermined adjustment value according to the number of allowable destination airports selected by the user, the larger the number of allowable destination airports, the more individual flight candidate As a result, the price of each flight candidate increases as the number of allowed destination airports decreases.

  As described above, when the application button is clicked in a state where a different price is set for each flight on the search result screen, application information (user ID / departure date / each outbound flight candidate and its candidate) is stored in the application information storage unit 31. Price / each return flight candidate and its price / update date and time) are stored.

When the final date arrives and the air ticket to be sold is finalized, the payment (the price of the outbound flight + the price of the return flight) is settled.
Specifically, an e-mail or web page with a link (URL) for accessing the payment information input screen is sent to the client terminal 38, and payment is made when the payment information is sent through this payment information input screen. Is executed.
Of course, it is also possible to secure payment information through the payment information input screen at the time of application, and use this to immediately complete payment when the ticket to be sold is confirmed.

  Instead of calculating the price for each flight candidate unit, multiple outbound flight candidates with the same destination airport and time zone (am / pm / night, etc.) and belonging to the same time zone from the destination airport to the departure airport A common price may be calculated for each allowable destination airport based on the normal price on the confirmation date of a plurality of return flight candidates, and each price may be displayed on the search result screen.

  In this case as well, when calculating the price for each destination airport, by applying a predetermined adjustment value according to the number of allowable destination airports selected by the user, the larger the number of allowable destination airports, the more common price for each destination airport. As the number of destination airports decreases, the price increases.

  As described above, when the application button is clicked in a state where different prices are set for each allowable destination airport on the search result screen, the application information (user ID / departure date / price for each allowable destination airport) is stored in the application information storage unit 31. / Each forward flight candidate / each return flight candidate / update date / time etc.).

When the final date arrives and the air ticket to be sold is finalized, the payment (the price of the outbound flight + the price of the return flight) is settled.
That is, as described above, when an e-mail or web page with a link (URL) for accessing the payment information input screen is transmitted to the client terminal 38, and payment information is transmitted through this payment information input screen. Settlement is executed.
Alternatively, payment information may be secured through a payment information input screen at the time of application, and payment may be automatically executed when a ticket to be sold is confirmed.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the vacant seat sales system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the utilization procedure of this system. It is a figure which shows a search condition designation | designated screen. It is a figure which shows a search result presentation screen. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of price calculation.

10 Vacant seat sales system
12 Web server
14 Vacant seat search department
18 User preference identification section
20 Price Calculation Department
22 Calculation standard storage
26 Air ticket inventory storage
27 Vacancy probability storage
28 Boarding history storage
30 User attribute storage
31 Application information storage
32 Web browsing history storage
34 TV viewing history storage
36 computers
38 Client terminal
40 airline system
50 Search condition specification screen
52 Allowable destination airport selection field
54 Airport button
56 Departure airport designation field
58 Departure date designation field
60 Departure time zone designation field
62 Return date designation field
64 Return time zone specification field
66 Number of people designation column
68 Search button
72 Search result display screen
74 Candidate airport names
76 PR content
78 Flight candidate list
80 Sightseeing button
82 “Return flight confirmation” button
84 “Apply” button
86 Back button
90 Regular price data
91 Seat availability data
93 Theoretical price data
94 Strategic adjustment data
95 Modified price data
96 Lowest price data already released
97 Sales price data

Claims (10)

Airline ticket inventory storage means for storing at least flight number, departure date and time, departure airport, destination airport, airline inventory information recording the number of seats currently available,
Vacancy probability storage means for storing the vacancy probability at the departure time of each flight;
Means for transmitting a search condition designation screen for designating at least a departure airport, a plurality of allowable destination airports, a departure date, and the number of people as a search condition to a client terminal operated by the user;
When the search condition is transmitted from the client terminal, it matches the departure airport, allowable destination airport and departure date conditions specified by the user with reference to the above air ticket inventory storage means and vacancy probability storage means, and at the present time A flight candidate extraction means for extracting a flight having a predetermined number of vacant seats and having a vacancy probability on a departure date equal to or greater than a predetermined value as a forward flight flight candidate;
Price calculation means for calculating the price of each outbound flight candidate,
Each outbound flight candidate for each allowable destination airport is described, and a search result screen in which each price is described is transmitted to the client terminal,
Means for storing application information including at least each outbound flight candidate, departure date and price in the application information storage means when an application is selected on the search result screen;
A vacant seat sales system with
The above price calculation means shall calculate the above price by substituting at least the normal price of each outbound flight candidate on the predetermined fixed date into the predetermined calculation formula,
In this case, the vacant seat sales system is characterized in that a calculation formula is used in which the price decreases as the number of allowable destination airports specified by the user increases, and the price increases as the number of allowable destination airports specified by the user decreases. Airline ticket inventory storage means for storing at least flight number, departure date and time, departure airport, destination airport, airline inventory information recording the number of seats currently available,
Vacancy probability storage means for storing the vacancy probability at the departure time of each flight;
Means for transmitting a search condition designation screen for designating at least a departure airport, a plurality of allowable destination airports, a departure date, and the number of people as a search condition to a client terminal operated by the user;
When the search condition is transmitted from the client terminal, it matches the departure airport, allowable destination airport and departure date conditions specified by the user with reference to the above air ticket inventory storage means and vacancy probability storage means, and at the present time A flight candidate extraction means for extracting a flight having a predetermined number of vacant seats and having a vacancy probability on a departure date equal to or greater than a predetermined value as a forward flight flight candidate;
A price calculation means for calculating a common price applied to each outbound flight candidate having the same destination airport for each allowable destination airport;
A means for transmitting a search result screen in which the respective outbound flight candidates are described in permissible destination airport units and the common price is described to the client terminal;
Means for storing application information including at least each outbound flight candidate, departure date, and common price in the application information storage means when an application is selected on the search result screen;
A vacant seat sales system with
The pricing unit is intended to calculate the common price of the by substituting the regular price in a predetermined fixed date in each forward airmail candidates which have the same least destination airport to a predetermined calculation formula,
In this case, the vacant seat sales system is characterized in that a calculation formula is used in which the price decreases as the number of allowable destination airports specified by the user increases, and the price increases as the number of allowable destination airports specified by the user decreases. Airline ticket inventory storage means for storing at least flight number, departure date and time, departure airport, destination airport, airline inventory information recording the number of seats currently available,
Vacancy probability storage means for storing the vacancy probability at the departure time of each flight;
Means for transmitting a search condition designation screen for designating at least a departure airport, a plurality of allowable destination airports, a departure date, and the number of people as a search condition to a client terminal operated by the user;
When the search condition is transmitted from the client terminal, it matches the departure airport, allowable destination airport and departure date conditions specified by the user with reference to the above air ticket inventory storage means and vacancy probability storage means, and at the present time A flight candidate extraction means for extracting a flight having a predetermined number of vacant seats and having a vacancy probability on a departure date equal to or greater than a predetermined value as a forward flight flight candidate;
Price calculation means for calculating a common price applied to each outbound flight candidate;
A means for transmitting a search result screen in which the respective outbound flight candidates are described in permissible destination airport units and the common price is described to the client terminal;
Means for storing application information including at least each outbound flight candidate, departure date, and common price in the application information storage means when an application is selected on the search result screen;
A vacant seat sales system with
The pricing unit is intended to calculate the common price of the by substituting the regular price in a predetermined fixed date of at least the total outward airmail candidates to a predetermined calculation formula,
In this case, the vacant seat sales system is characterized in that a calculation formula is used in which the price decreases as the number of allowable destination airports specified by the user increases, and the price increases as the number of allowable destination airports specified by the user decreases. Means for confirming, as a subject of sale, an air ticket related to one outbound air flight from among a plurality of outbound air flight candidates according to a preset rule when a confirmed date a predetermined number of days before the departure date arrives;
At least one of means for transmitting to the client terminal a screen in which the specific information of the air ticket determined to be sold is described, and means for transmitting an e-mail in which the information is described to the user's e-mail address;
The vacant seat sales system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: A link for accessing the payment information input screen is set on at least one of the above-mentioned e-mail on which the specific information of the air ticket confirmed as the sales target is described and the above-described e-mail on which the information is described.
5. The vacant seat sales system according to claim 4, further comprising means for completing settlement when payment information is input through the payment information input screen. A means for sending a payment information input screen to the client terminal when an application is selected on the search result screen;
Means for storing the payment information from the client terminal in the application information storage means as a part of the application information,
Means for completing payment using the payment information when one ticket to be sold is confirmed;
The vacant seat sales system according to claim 4, further comprising: A means for sending a payment information input screen to the client terminal when an application is selected on the search result screen;
When payment information is transmitted from the client terminal, means for completing payment using this,
Means for storing payment completion information in the application information storage means as part of the application information;
Means for confirming, as a subject of sale, an air ticket related to one outbound air flight from among a plurality of outbound air flight candidates according to a preset rule when a confirmed date a predetermined number of days before the departure date arrives;
At least one of means for transmitting to the client terminal a screen in which the specific information of the air ticket determined to be sold is described, and means for transmitting an e-mail in which the information is described to the user's e-mail address;
The vacant seat sales system according to claim 3, further comprising: The search condition specification screen has an input field for specifying the return date.
The airline flight candidate extracting means departs from each allowable destination airport on the return date designated by the user with reference to the airline ticket stock storage means and the vacant seat probability storage means when a search condition is transmitted from the client terminal. Out of the flights to the airport, there are currently vacant seats for the specified number of people, and the flights with a seat vacancy probability on the return date that are more than the specified value are extracted as return flight candidates,
The above price calculation means substitutes the normal price of each outbound flight candidate and each return flight candidate on the above fixed date and the vacancy probability on the departure date of each outbound flight candidate and each return flight candidate into the above formula. To calculate the round-trip price,
On the search result screen, the round-trip amount is written as the above price. On the search result screen or other screen linked to the search result screen, the return flight for each allowable destination airport is displayed. Candidates are listed,
When an application is selected on this search result screen, each return flight candidate is also stored in the application information storage means as part of the application information,
When the above fixed date arrives, according to preset rules, a set of outbound and inbound flight tickets are confirmed for sale from among multiple outbound flight candidates and multiple outbound flights. The vacant seat sales system according to any one of claims 4 to 7.   The vacant seat according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the price calculation means corrects the price calculated based on the calculation formula by applying an adjustment value reflecting a marketing factor. Sales system.   The price calculation means compares the above price with the already released minimum price of each flight candidate, and if the price is higher than any of the minimum prices, the price calculation means reduces the price until the price is lower than the minimum price. The vacant seat sales system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, which is executed.

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