so, i was bored tonight and wrote up a little script to simplify searching for onepass award availability. i feed in an origin and destination, outbound and return travel dates, and a plus/minus value to expand the search beyond the specified travel dates.

for example, here is what the output looks like.

% ./co.pl JFK BKK 05/26/2003 06/27/2003 1 1

May 25 2003 JFK-BKK Availability
EasyPass Economy (60,000 miles) : 5 options
EasyPass First/BF (120,000 miles) : 3 options
Standard Economy (30,000 miles) : 2 options

May 26 2003 JFK-BKK Availability
EasyPass Economy (60,000 miles) : 5 options
EasyPass First/BF (120,000 miles) : 3 options
Standard Economy (30,000 miles) : 2 options

May 27 2003 JFK-BKK Availability
EasyPass Economy (60,000 miles) : 5 options
EasyPass First/BF (120,000 miles) : 3 options
Standard Economy (30,000 miles) : 2 options

Jun 26 2003 BKK-JFK Availability
EasyPass Economy (60,000 miles) : 2 options
EasyPass First/BF (120,000 miles) : 1 options

Jun 27 2003 BKK-JFK Availability
EasyPass Economy (60,000 miles) : 2 options
EasyPass First/BF (120,000 miles) : 1 options
Standard Economy (30,000 miles) : 1 options

Jun 28 2003 BKK-JFK Availability
EasyPass Economy (60,000 miles) : 2 options
EasyPass First/BF (120,000 miles) : 1 options

i imagine others might find this script useful. however, because it is implemented as a perl script, most people probably aren't equipped to run it on their local computer. i could easily make it available over the web, but the problem with that is you'd have to submit your onepass number and PIN (because you have to login to continental.com before you can search for awards) and i don't really think many people will want to submit that information since it is private.

if anyone has any idea on how i might share this with others, please let me know. or, if you do happen to have perl and would like to run the script locally, e-mail me and i'll send you a copy.

-chris

Excellent!!! While I have no use for it since I'm a WP member, may I suggest that you try experimenting with having this script run on a daily basis, checking availability on specific flights and plotting a histogram of availability or moving display, like historical stock quotes?

(I'd like to write a script to check NW's availability for xxx-NRT flights and DTW-AMS flights to find possible patterns.)

- Pat

I do have access to perl on my server, so would definitely appreciate a copy.

But I'm wondering whether you could have a web-based form ask for the onepass # and pin? and then log onto CO.com a la http://www.miletracker.com ..?

Or would if work for a user to log themselves into CO.com and then use a web-based version of your program?

Thanks!

Sounds great! Check your email, I'd love to get a copy of the script...

Thanks!

Why not apply online for a "dummy" account? Put it in the name of Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan and then build that account number and PIN into your code. Granted, Bill or Ron wouldn't have any elite status, but it would be a quick way to check for awards and get the user looking at the most likely dates when she/he does log in and searches with the CO serach engine.

good idea! i think i will do that.

HaHaHa.... it'll be funny when M. Bergsrud and the other VP's are looking at all the funky searches with this and wonder "Why is Mr. Clinton wanting to go to Bangkok so often"....

[This message has been edited by thezipper (edited 04-07-2003).]

What is involved in running a PERL script locally?

I doubt the VP's sit around looking at the millions of searches performed on the website?

simple. you need a perl interpreter!
they are easily downloadable and free.

Wow, this looks excellent!! I am abit confused about one aspect...even if I had a PERL interpreter on my PC, where does the script log into to run its query on the CO system....do I need access to a SystemOne terminal, or does it somehow do something through the website?

I would love to try it out