The user will first be presented with a login screen. He or she will be prompted for his or her login name. Once a login name is entered, the user will be prompted for a password.
If the login name or password is invalid, then an error message will be displayed and the user will again be prompted for a login name.
If both login name and password are authenticated, then the main menu is presented to the user.
The booking agent's main screen will contain a row of tabs across the top labeled:
There will also be an "Exit" button beside the tabs which will exit the program. When the Booking Agent System is exited, the user must then re-enter his or her login name and password to perform booking agent tasks.
When the user selects the "Booking a Passenger" tab, a screen will appear that will allow them to enter all information needed to book a passenger on a flight.
This includes input such as passenger first and last name, complete address and phone number, class, destination, date and time of departure, seating arrangement, and any special requirements the passenger may have e.g. wheelchair access.
The agent has the options to search the help function if they have any problems, clear the screen so all entries are blank, or proceed with the booking so the agent may confirm that all information is correct.
The agent will need to complete all essential fields before being able to proceed with the booking . The agent can move to the next entry field with the tab key or move back with Shift-tab. The agent also can move to any field or window with the mouse.
Example:
The agent would select the "Booking a Passenger" tab from the top of the screen. They would then be presented with a new screen that will allow them to enter information.
The agent would enter the passenger's first name, then the last name, moving through each field with the tab key. The agent will continue to enter information in this fashion until they reach the destination field.
This field presents a list of all possible destinations. The agent has many options available to select a destination. They could scroll down the list using the arrow keys or mouse until the desired destination was selected. Or they could start typing the first characters of the destination until the one the agent wants is selected (highlighted). When a destination is selected, pressing tab will place the cursor in the next field.
Then the agent would change the default Month and Year the passenger would like to leave, if necessary. When these values have been entered a field similar to the destination field will be updated presenting to the agent all possible time and dates the passenger can leave on. After one is selected the agent has the option of pressing the select seat button. This will bring up a new screen that will display all the seats for that flight. The agent can pick any seat the passenger request's. If no seat is requested, then the computer will select one.
To Proceed with this booking the agent would press the "Proceed with Booking" button.
This would bring the agent to a confirmation screen that would display all relevant data, including the Flight Number, Ticket Number, and Ticket price. If all information is correct the agent can press the "Make Reservation" button to finalize the booking. If any corrections need to be made the agent also has an option to return to the previous screen by pressing the "Return to previous Screen" button.
If a reservation is made it is assumed that the passenger has paid, in full, the amount of the ticket.
After a reservation is made, all flight records will be updated and the screen will be ready for the next booking.
If at anytime during the booking, an agent wants to quit the booking, they may do so by pressing the "Exit Booking" button. This will erase the information entered for that booking.
When the user selects the "Query Passenger Information" tab, a screen will appear containing a table of 3 columns with all the sorted ticket numbers, all the name of passengers sorted alphabetically ,and their phone numbers.
Ticket Numbers -- a 6 digit integer which is unique to each passenger and flight.
When the agent double clicks on the specific ticket number, a window will display all the information about that passenger. This includes a list of flights on which the passenger is booked, their associated flight numbers, ticket numbers, class numbers and a field indicates whether the customer has paid the full amount. The window will also display the name of passenger, address, phone number and his/her special requirements.
Name of Passengers -- first name followed by last name.
When the agent double clicks on the specific name, if it is the case that there exists more than one person with the same name, a small window will pop up with a list of phone numbers according to the name entered. Then, the agent can click on the phone number and a window which is the same as described in the previous paragraph will be displayed.
Phone Number -- format: (DDD) DDD-DDDD.
When the agent double clicks on the specific phone number, if it is the case that there exists more than one customer who use the same phone number, then, a small window will pop up with a list of names according to the phone numbers entered. Then, the agent can click on the name and the system will display the same window as described above.
Note: There are buttons for the agent to click on to go back to the previous menu or the main menu for each of the windows except the main menu. There will be no actions taken when the agent clicks on the wrong area.
When the user selects the "Query Flight Information" tab, a screen will appear containing a table of 3 columns. The 3 columns of the table are:
Destination -- a list of all destinations sorted alphabetically that the airlines support.
The agent can double click on a destination to get further information. As the agent clicks on the specific field, a list of all dates and flight numbers associated with the destination will be displayed in another window.
For example, the agent double clicks on the field 'Toronto', a window will show a list of dates and flight numbers with flights that will fly to Toronto.
Flight Number -- a list of all sorted flight numbers. A flight number is composed of 2 characters followed by 4 digit integers.
When the agent double clicks on the specific flight number, a window will pop up with the following information:
Dates -- a list of dates from today to the near future indicate when the customers can book their flights. The date will be displayed in the format 'Month DD, YYYY'.
Again, double clicking on the specific date will lead the system to another window. The window will display a list of flight numbers and destination which the flights will fly on that date.
When the user selects the "Boarding Passes" tab, a screen will appear that will list the flights leaving the airport on the current day. The booking agent can then select a flight to start issuing boarding passes. The screen will be similiar to the "Query Flight Information" screen.
Since the booking system allows a flight to be overbooked by 15%, that 15% overflow of passengers are not allowed to make reservation on seats. Hence, those with no reserved seats must wait until 15 minutes before the time of departure to request boarding passes. Those with reserved seats can get their boarding passes at time of check in.
The process of issuing boarding passes involves the agent to select the ticket number. At this stage, the agent will have a map of the seating plan of the plane. The agent can click on a seat in the map that was reserved by the checked in passenger, in which the seat will turn to a purple color to indicate that the seat is now occupied. If the agent clicks on the wrong seat, the agent can always click on it again to turn it back to its original state and then can select a different seat. After confirming that a certain seat is taken, the agent can go ahead and issue a boarding pass by clicking on a button. The output will be a boarding pass which will be given to the current check in passenger.
The information on the boarding pass will include:
In case the agent enters in the wrong input, say, the input is someone else's ticket number, he/she can match the name of the ticket holder and the name on the screen before he/she issues a boarding pass. If the name matches, the agent can print out the boarding pass, or else, he/she can cancel the request and re-enter the ticket number. If the input entered by the agent does not match with any ticket number in the database then the system simply asks the operator to re-enter the ticket number.
During the 15 minutes prior to departure time, the remaining reserved seats which were not checked in by anyone become available for others to book. According to the number of available seats, those 15% passengers are then allowed to book their seats during the request of boarding passes. Hence, the agent who issue boarding passes also have the authority to assign seats to passengers at the time of issuing boarding passes. The agent can select the green colored seats, which means that the seats were reserved but are now available, assuming that the people who booked them decide not to board the plane. The process of issuing a boarding pass at this time is still the same as above.