Originally Posted by
aktchi
The only reason I mentioned ITA was to illustrate a syntax that, eg, allows you to ask about fares from 6 origins to 4 destinations through 3 possible connections, all in one query. At EF this would take 72 queries.
Therein lies the problem. Even if they automated it for you, EF would still be doing 72 queries on the back-end, and at a few cents per query, your search costs them upwards of a buck or more. Not too many of those and you become a not-very-profitable customer for them.
EF and ITA are built completely differently on the back end. ITA has access to raw fare data and uses a powerful algorithm to determine the best prices and routings available. EF does not have access to raw fare data (that costs several hundred thousand dollars per year, maybe more, as I recall) and only receives what the GDS spits out when it is queried.
Don't get me wrong, I would love it if EF could do what ITA does, but it's simply not feasible.