Hopscotch Corner

What does a "Seat Assignment  API " do? And when it does that, on whose behalf does it do it? Maybe you've heard the API acronym in various descriptions. The Hopscotch Seat Assignment API determines the best seat matches based on your seating preference, seating availability, historical activity and the probability of your getting a particular seat. Introductory concepts were written up in previous posts ( here , here  and here ). We had to first understand why the existing systems neglected this type of transaction. It turned out that the preference engine model was complex, let alone creating a system to actually provide a solution. And on a full flight at that. Imagine what we can do once integrated with a seat assignment system. Seat (Re-)Assignment API The Hopscotch Seat Assignment API provides a computerized interface for exchanging information with another computer. Calling our API as an external and isolated system means it can support : Passenger  electr...

Aircraft seat selection normally presents an overhead view of a seat map to select your seat from the reservation system. "Figure 1: Static Overhead View of Seating Chart" shows a partial seating chart where each point, shown as a sphere, represents a seat. The nose-to-tail direction runs North to South (vertical orientation) and each row has 6 seats per row going West to East, horizontally. The columns, from left to right, can be numbered 1 to 6 representing the Window-Middle-Aisle-Aisle-Middle-Window seat prototypes. The pattern repeats 6 seat across for each row so this could be an B737 Economy cabin. Some columns in the static views appear slightly distorted, especially towards the center columns 3 and 4. The seats in our model are not in the same Cartesian coordinate plane. We are looking at a 2D overhead view, producing some distortion similar to the 1981 Atari game called " Tempest ". Figure 1: Static Overhead View of Seating Chart "Figure 2:...

Are people cooperative airplane passengers? If so, to what extent and with whom do we cooperate? It depends who you ask. Your own answer might depend on who and what they ask of you as well as what you get in return. Of course, we cooperate with airline employees, airport security staff, law enforcement, and so on. That seems intuitive in public interactions. Think instead about cooperation in terms of which passenger you ask when you want to move to another seat. Reseating Mad Lib Do you remember the " Mad Lib " party game of completing a sentences to make a (usually funny) story? Suppose there exists two passengers, each needing to move to another seat. They know nothing about one another (i.e. current seat or preference). Their reason and purpose could be very different from one another; exact opposites even. Our reseating word problem uses 6 statements from which we determine exchange probability. You be "Passenger X" and let another person be "Passe...

Have a look around Hopscotch Corner and you'll notice some difficult word problems followed by tough questions. It's thinking-optional and we've found no easy answers. We're incrementally introducing Hopscotch for air travel. We must be building something (we are) and figured something out (we have). Let's dive into a full flight scenario that happens every day, maybe to you, someone you know, or on your flight. Imagine you're the flight attendant greeting passengers as they board. A passenger seated at the front tells you their child, an underage minor, was assigned a seat at the back. What should you do? Should you negotiate a seat exchange on this full flight? Could you handle this passenger request? Before asking if this is your job, realize that flight attendants are often asked to help reseat passengers. And "no", while flight reservations and seat assignments may not be your job, you represent the public face of an airline. A minimum respo...

Here's a possible flight scenario: You're traveling solo and in the waiting area at your departure gate for your flight. Some passengers wait to board while others mill about, typing and reading on their electronic devices. A gate agent announces that your flight begins boarding in 15 minutes. While you wait, your smartphone receives a notification from the flight desk asking, "Where do you prefer to sit on your upcoming flight?". You select an answer based on your criteria at the moment. You look up from your smartphone and notice all smartphone users responding to the same question. Stop. The scenario ends there. Did you answer where you prefer to sit based on: Your actual seat location preference? Forward or lateral moves based on your current seat location? Your purchase price including upgrade charge? The dynamic supply-demand curve for your seat? The message asked "where" and not "how much or how little". Your honest answer may d...

Above is possibly the 60-second summer blockbuster you had hoped for. And with 3D animation created in Excel. Grab your mental 3D glasses, enable Adobe for playback as Blogger converted the .mov file, and hold on to your hat. Suppose you watched all 60 seconds. Now you may be wondering, as the kids on the inner-tube webs say, "What... are... those?". Since you asked, let me break it down by converting the robot-voice back into text. It begins: "This is Rodney Howeedy, the Hopscotch technology co-founder. This video shows our algorithm for reseating passengers from a smartphone app." So that briefly introduces me, your blogger. The entire video focuses on a graphical depiction of an algorithm. "And you can see a 3D contour of one passenger’s seating preferences. This is his seat preference vector with a 2D seat map above." Taking it in reverse order, we see a seat map or chart across the top. Courtesy of an airline's pub...

Let's consider a thought experiment based on my previous post . Say you're that middle-seat bulkhead row passenger who wants to change to another seat before boarding your morning flight. You might consider your options before taking action. If you have an assigned seat, how do you request a switch to a different seat on the same flight? Listing our options, we came up with: Ask a gate agent at the gate waiting area or, sometimes, at their desk on your concourse. Ask a ticketing agent or airline representative at the check-in counter. Ask an airline representative at the airline's Club Membership desk. Board the aircraft and ask a Flight Attendant. On major carriers, look on a mobile app or a check-in kiosk for an upgrade offer. Board the aircraft and ask another passenger. Do nothing and accept your situation. Maybe we missed some in the above mutually exclusive list. We've heard of airlines responding and rebooking via Twitter during times of duress or mass...

You woke up late for your 8am flight to SFO and now you're in a rush. You make your way towards the departure gate from the moment you open your eyes. Maybe you know your transit time from the door to the departure gate. And, maybe your inner road warrior knows the drill and you know this full flight like the back of your hand. Maybe you're unfamiliar with this flight because your corporate travel agent booked it to SJC. Either way, it's go-time. You skip fumbling around on the mobile and head out the door, your thoughts abuzz until you're on the airport shuttle. As you glance at your boarding pass for the flight time and the assigned gate, something catches your eye. Wait a second, your seat assignment is a middle seat in the economy cabin on a bulkhead row! How many ways did you configure your travel profile? There was the travel agency's website, an employer's intranet travel profile, various mobile travel apps and the airline mileage program profile. You...

It's yard sale season in Colorado, when one man's junk is another man's treasure. Summer brings the colorful neon handwritten signs of the weekend yard sales where people invite strangers to rummage through their belongings on the front lawn. Asked what they're looking for, responses range from vague and obscure to generally specific. A bargain hunter might respond, "I'm not sure but I'll know it when I see it". Others give a shopping list: "couch, blender, toaster". Still others narrate a morning routine: "I've been looking for a recliner where I can drink my smoothie and enjoy a toasted bagel in my breakfast nook." Got it. Let the haggling begin. Maybe the seller and buyer reach an agreement: my cash for your extra. Except, when it comes to temporary use items like your assigned airplane seat or your arena seat at a performance, there is an alternative: my item (seat) for your item (seat). Is this be bartering? Not really, b...