Computer-implemented system and method for booking airline travel itineraries

Apparatus for purchasing an airline ticket, comprising:

• a computer for receiving information describing a flight desired by a consumer, including a target price;
• and
• a program in said computer for performing a search on an airline reservation system database for flights corresponding to said desired flight information;
• said program determining whether a flight found during the search has a fare that is at least equal to said target price;
• said program automatically booking a flight found to be at least equal to said target price to thereby reserve a seat on said flight, prior to informing the consumer of the availability of the found flight;
• and
• said program informing the consumer of the seat reservation and instructing the consumer regarding payment requirements to effect purchase of the airline ticket.

A method of purchasing an airline ticket, comprising the steps of:

• entering into a computer information describing a flight desired by a consumer, including a target price;
• performing a search on an airline reservation system database for flights corresponding to said desired flight information;
• determining whether a flight found during the search has a fare that is at least equal to said target price;
• when no flights having fares at least equal to said target price have been found, periodically performing the search over a predetermined number of days, and informing the consumer of the results of each search;
• automatically booking a flight found to be at least equal to said target price to thereby reserve a seat on said flight;
• booking a flight at a lowest available fare when requested by the consumer in response to a notification of the results of a continued search;
• and
• informing the consumer of the seat reservation and instructing the consumer regarding payment requirements to effect purchase of the airline ticket.