Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to find cheap flights

Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by smartbit on Monday November 26, 2018 @12:25AM (#18531277)

Hacking PNR https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7964-where_in_the_world_is_carme... at time of the talk (2 years ago) used/discussed these sites:

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/ to get detailed fare rules & restrictions

https://www.expertflyer.com & https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/seat-alerts/id533533342

https://www.checkmytrip.com/ allows entering name & booking-reference and gives all detail

https://www.viewtrip.com/

https://tripcase.com will use name + booking-reference to get detailed PNR information including the first name

https://www.fly.kiev.ua can make a flight reservation without a payment, still gives an 6char booking-reference

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Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by GFischer on Monday November 26, 2018 @07:04PM (#18537993)

If you're interested, these slides are a cool introduction to the complexity of air travel:

http://www.ai.mit.edu/courses/6.034f/psets/ps1/airtravel.pdf

Edit: I missed that someone had already linked to them - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18531203

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Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by zerowellies on Monday November 26, 2018 @08:46AM (#18533279)

What is the purpose of making a flight reservation without payment?

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Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by namdnay on Monday November 26, 2018 @09:52AM (#18533695)

Slightly tangential, but in fact all flight reservations through a travel agency are initially made without payment. The entire process is quite complex, due to compatibility with processes and systems that were built in the 70s... The flow is to create the booking (and hence receive a record locator or PNR), and then to attach a form of payment. If the payment matches the cost, it is then possible to request ticketing, at which point a ticket number will be generated, which is the "real" confirmation

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Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by candasunal on Monday November 26, 2018 @08:52AM (#18533321)

I am a Turkish citizen, and we need a visa to visit EU member countries. You are not 100% sure if you will get the visa, so may want to make a flight and hotel reservation first, and then buy them if you get the visa. So reserving the tickets is preferred.

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Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by m00dy on Monday November 26, 2018 @11:05AM (#18534257)

I hope this imperative requirement will be revoked anytime soon.

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Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by latchkey on Tuesday December 04, 2018 @11:54PM (#18605783)

Maybe, but other countries still have it. Vietnamese have one of the worst passports on the planet. Their govt. won't let them leave without proof that they will come back, usually in the form of a job, cash in the bank, spouse and tour or reservation based trips.

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Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by yosito on Monday November 26, 2018 @08:50AM (#18533307)

Many airlines require you to have an onward flight out of a country before they will let you fly into it. This allows you to fulfill the technical requirement without having to pay for a plane ticket you aren't planning to use.

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Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by gowld on Monday November 26, 2018 @09:47AM (#18533660)

Why do airlines allow unpaid reservations? That seems ripe for Denial of Service attack on their booking plans.

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Re:Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to fi... by namdnay on Monday November 26, 2018 @09:56AM (#18533725)

A reservation that is not paid is not ticketed. A reservation that is not ticketed is not 100% guaranteed

But I agree that this is till a problem for airline inventory management, and an online travel agency should definitely not be opening this feature to the general public!

There are several usecases that require unpaid reservations, the most common one nowadays is corporate travel, when you need to integrate approval flows - the approval step will be between the reservation and the ticketing.

Like just about every industry, there is a world of complexity hidden underneath the surface :)

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