Systems, Methods, and Machine-Readable Storage Media for Interfacing with a Computer Flight System

Abstract

Provided herein are systems, methods and machine-readable media for interfacing with computer flight systems. For example, in one embodiment, a method includes: maintaining, via a data processing system, a pool of provisional flights; receiving a bid or a booking; and in response to receiving the bid or the booking, modifying at least one booking class inventory for at least one flight in the pool of provisional flights.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 maintaining, via a data processing system, a pool of provisional flights;   receiving a bid or a booking; and   in response to receiving the bid or the booking, modifying at least one booking class inventory for at least one flight in the pool of provisional flights.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each flight in the pool of provisional flights shares no physical flight leg with any other flight in the pool of provisional flights. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining, via the data processing system, a plurality of cost data based on the bid or the booking. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the modifying is performed based on the plurality of cost data. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one booking class inventory is at least two booking class inventories, which include a first booking class inventory for a first flight and a second booking class inventory for a second flight of the pool of provisional flights, and wherein the at least two booking class inventories are mutually dependent on an inventory of one or more available aircraft. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the at least two booking class inventories are mutually dependent because the modifying at least one booking class inventory may be performed based on a change in operating cost or availability of the inventory of one or more available aircraft. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a booking on a first flight of the pool of provisional flights affects physical operation of a second flight of the pool of provisional flights. 
     
     
         8 . A method, comprising:
 publishing a flight schedule containing a plurality of flights with a number of flights that is greater than a number of possible flights that may be flown by a plurality of aircraft;   receiving an indication of a newly-placed booking on a first aircraft flight;   determining, via a data processing system, that the booking causes a commitment to operate the first aircraft flight with an unknown aircraft of a plurality of aircraft for which bids have been received; and   instructing, based on the commitment to operate, a computer flight system to modify the operational status of a second aircraft flight such that the second aircraft flight will not operate.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first aircraft flight and the second aircraft flight are included in a flight schedule, the method further comprising:
 publishing the flight schedule with a flight publishing system before receiving the indication of the newly-placed booking of the first aircraft flight.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the determining is performed in response to the receiving the indication of the newly-placed booking. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the newly-placed booking is an initial booking on the first aircraft flight. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 calculating, via the data processing system, a cost to operate the second aircraft flight based on the commitment;   wherein the instructing is performed further based on the cost.