Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for accessing content in a travel management system. A request is received from an application to access a standard data element and a non-standard data element from an extended record data structure based at least in part upon access criteria. A plurality of attributes of a data container associated with the non-standard data element are filtered based at least in part upon a plurality of predefined filtering rules in order to generate filtered attributes. An abstract container is generated that includes the filtered attributes of the non-standard data element and that is assigned a unique abstract type.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for exchanging content with a content management system comprising an extended record data structure. A plurality of records are maintained at the travel management system in an extended record data structure that includes first data containers containing standard data elements and second data containers containing non-standard data elements. Each non-standard data element is associated with a respective structure description file defining a structure of the attributes of the non-standard data element. A first data exchange message is generated at the travel management system and includes the structure description file of one of the non-standard data elements and a set of values corresponding to values of the attributes of the one of the non-standard data elements. The first data exchange message is transmitted according to a first data exchange format from the travel management system to the client device.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for managing content in a travel management system. A standard data element and a non-standard data element comprising the content are received from one or more content providers. A first data container for the standard data element and a second data container for the non-standard data element are created in an extended record data structure. The first data container includes a common record identifier and first data values for first attributes corresponding to the standard data element. The second data container includes the common record identifier and second data values corresponding to second attributes for the non-standard data element. The travel management system manages access to the first container and the second container in the extended record data structure based on the common record identifier.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for assigning seats of passenger-transport vehicles to passengers. The passengers are subdivided into a plurality of groups. The passengers included in each group are connected by social-network relations and have less than a maximum number of social-network relations to other passengers outside of the group. Breaks of the social-network relations between the passengers are minimized when the passengers are subdivided into the groups. In response to one of the passengers being excluded from the groups, one of the groups is determined that includes at least one included passenger with at least one of the social-network relations to the excluded passenger to thereby increase the size of the group by adding the excluded passenger.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for managing an extended record data structure in a content management system. A plurality of records are stored in an extended record data structure that include first data containers containing standard data elements and second data containers containing non-standard data elements. A record identifier is assigned to each record in the extended data structure for which one or more of the standard data elements and one or more of the non-standard data elements are related. For each record, an entry is created in an auxiliary data structure. The entry shares the record identifier of the record and comprises an auxiliary data container. The auxiliary data container includes a set of attributes related to the first and second data containers sharing the same record identifier in the record data structure. The extended record data structure is managed based on the auxiliary data structures.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer program products for interacting with an interactive form. One or more values of a first control of the interactive form may be received at a server. Each value may represent a portion of a travel-related search query entered at the client device. At least one recommended value for a second control of the interactive form, which is different from the first control of the interactive form, may be determined and communicated from the server to the client device.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and system for processing a search request. A search request including a sequence of data strings and representing a plurality of search parameters is received. The strings are parsed and the search request is interpreted so as to define search parameters by recognizing items reflecting search criteria within the sequence of data strings. A query is built based on the result of the preceding process and at least one travel data service can be interrogated. This improves the search for information based on free-text input from the user. Application to methods for travel data service interrogation and to search engines.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and program product implement visual booking operations to search for travel products and/or present travel recommendations associated with travel products to users based upon visual elements in one or more digital images captured by a wearable or mobile device. Visual elements may be extracted and inferred to identify one or more travel destination locations that are geographically remote from a current location of a user, and the identified travel destination locations may be used to search a travel database to identify at least one travel product for travel from a travel origination location to a travel destination location.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for communicating between a travel service provider and a plurality of travelers using a virtual social network. A virtual forum is created in a virtual social network and associated with a travel service provided by a travel service provider. The virtual forum may be linked with user accounts in the social network belonging to travelers who have booked the travel service. The links may be defined in response to the traveler booking the travel service, or by the traveler requesting the link. The travel service provider may then provide information relating to the travel service to the traveler via the virtual forum. The virtual forum may further provide a communications medium for travelers to interact with other travelers. Interested parties who have not booked the travel service may be able to access a portion of the information available through the virtual forum.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for generating a payment solution. A request to generate a payment solution for a priced travel solution comprising at least one travel inventory item using a plurality of forms of payment may be received. Responsive to receiving the request, a payment amount may be allocated to each of the plurality of forms of payment based at least in part on a payment hierarchy that defines an order in which the plurality of forms of payment are to be used for payment of the priced travel solution and at least one payment constraint associated with at least one of the plurality of forms of payment. The payment solution may be generated based on the allocated payment amounts.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for managing an Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD). In response to receiving a request for an ancillary service, an aggregation module generates an aggregation record. The aggregation module may obtain passenger and segment data from a plurality of Passenger Name Records (PNRs), and add this data to the aggregation record. The aggregation record may thereby provide a database object including passenger and segment data from multiple PNRs associated with an itinerary. The aggregation record may be associated with an EMD, and may be configured so that a single EMD can be issued to a traveler for an ancillary service provided across an itinerary comprising multiple PNRs. A mapping record may also be generated that links the EMD, aggregation record, and PNRs. The mapping record may thereby provide an index that enables a database to quickly identify relationships between EMDs, aggregation records, and PNRs.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for handling electronic miscellaneous documents in response to voluntary modifications of services. A request, which includes first data for a passenger name record, is received for the airline reservation change. Second data for a first electronic miscellaneous document, which is linked to the first data for the passenger name record, is also received. A determination is made as to whether the first electronic miscellaneous document can be exchanged by applying at least one exchange eligibility rule to the first and second data. If the first electronic miscellaneous document can be exchanged, a fare for a service associated with the first electronic miscellaneous document is obtained from a pricing engine associated with the first electronic miscellaneous document. In response to receiving the fare for the service, the passenger name record is updated with a second electronic miscellaneous document including the fare for the service.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for generating travel proposals that satisfy traveler defined stopover and segment time and activity constraints. A travel planning module receives data relating to a travel request from a traveler. The travel request may include data defining an origin, a destination, and a trip constraint requiring a stopover. The travel planning module determines a minimum number of segments required to satisfy the trip constraints, and generates a set of routes with each route comprising a number of links greater than or equal to the minimum number of required segments. The travel planning module may then populate each of the routes with scheduled segments to generate a plurality of candidate travel proposals based on data received from a scheduling database. Candidate travel proposals that do not satisfy the trip constraints may be discarded, and the remaining candidate travel proposals displayed to the traveler.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for handling electronic miscellaneous documents in response to involuntary modifications of services. A request, which includes first data for a passenger name record, is received for a change to an airline reservation. Second data for an electronic miscellaneous document that is linked to the first data for the passenger name record is also received. A determination is made as to whether the electronic miscellaneous document can be exchanged by applying at least one exchange eligibility rule to the first data for the passenger name record and the second data for the electronic miscellaneous document. If the electronic miscellaneous document can be exchanged, an exchange of the electronic miscellaneous document is automatically processed.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer program products for determining at least one travel recommendation. The travel request that includes an origin and location data that indicates at least one location is received. The location data is analyzed to determine at least one traveling location corresponding to the at least one location indicated by the location data. The at least one travel recommendation is generated. The at least one travel recommendation comprises a travel route including the origin and the at least one traveling location, a determined number of days to stay at the at least one location, and bookable travel inventory items corresponding to the travel route and the determined number of days to stay at the at least one location.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products that enable a travel agent to selectively share information related to a plurality of travel products with a traveler. In response to a search query from the travel agent, an information sharing module receives information relating to the plurality of travel products from a travel database system. The information sharing module causes the information to be displayed to a travel agent on a first display of a travel agency system. In response to the travel agent selecting a subset of the travel products, the information sharing module displays information relating to the subset of travel products to the traveler on a second display separate from the first display. The information sharing module may be configured to reformat the information so that the information is adapted to the traveler, and to cause travel products selected by the traveler to be booked.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for generating journey options in response to a journey request from an origin to a destination. Routes from the origin to the destination are selected as candidates to fulfill the journey request. Delay-related statistical information is derived from delay-related data for past journeys. A minimum connecting time at a connection between first and second segments of each route is estimated based on the statistical information. Journey combinations are determined from the routes based on origin departure time, destination arrival time, and schedule information for the first and second segments of each route. For each route in each journey combination, a determination is made whether the schedule information for the first and second segments satisfies a condition related to the minimum connecting time. Each journey combination for which the condition is satisfied by each route comprising the journey combination is selected as a journey option.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for preventing double processing of a repeated or duplicated booking request received from a client in a transaction session over a computer network. A first booking request is received from the client over the computer network and processed. When a second booking request repeating or duplicating the first booking request is received from the client, response data prepared in response to the first booking request is assigned to the repeated booking request. A response to the repeated booking request is returned to the client. The response includes the response data prepared in response to the first booking request.

Abstract: Systems and methods for managing communication between a server and peripheral devices associated with at least one client deployed with an airport environment so that a virtualized application running on the server can be connected with at least one of the peripheral devices. A communications link is established between the server and the client associated with the peripheral devices and the application is directed to one of the peripheral devices via a virtual channel established between a server peripheral manager simulator component and a client peripheral manager simulator component and passing through the communications link. The client peripheral manager simulator is associated with a peripheral manager in the client which controls the peripheral devices.

Abstract: A faring system includes a production facility including at least one fare shopping server, a staging facility including at least one fare shopping server, and an entry point for conducting bi-directional communications with customers. The staging facility further includes a database storing transformation rules and a traffic generation subsystem configured to receive a transaction via the entry point from a customer, to determine if the received request is one suitable for use in generating simulation data for the fare shopping server of the staging system and, if so, to modify the received transaction in accordance with at least one rule retrieved from the database to create at least one modified transaction, and to send the at least one modified transaction to the fare shopping server of the staging facility for processing. The fare shopping server of the staging facility processes the modified transaction for evaluating a potential new or modified functionality of the faring system.