DECISION LAYER
Physical flight
Route, operating date, scheduled times and operating carrier identify the movement itself.
One fare.
Five decision layers.
A transparent framework for comparing flight outcomes without pretending that a single score can replace judgment.
DECISION LAYER
Commercial contract
Marketing carrier, ticket issuer, fare family and seller terms define what was purchased.
DECISION LAYER
Complete trip cost
Fare, ancillaries, ground transport, accommodation, documentation and optional time value form the comparable total.
DECISION LAYER
Connection integrity
Delay, walking, border processing, baggage handling and ticket protection determine the surviving buffer.
DECISION LAYER
Recovery depth
Later departures and credible rebooking paths determine how recoverable an itinerary is after disruption.
SCORING PRINCIPLES
The engine must remain explainable.
- Visible inputs
Every score begins with values the traveler can inspect, change or remove.
- Explicit uncertainty
Missing evidence is marked as unknown instead of being silently guessed.
- Separate dimensions
Cost and resilience remain visible beside the recommendation rather than collapsing into an opaque rank.
- Current checkout wins
The final seller and airline checkout terms override any earlier comparison record.
A strong source can answer only the question it actually measures.
- 01PRIMARY RECORD
Official airline, IATA, airport and distribution-system documentation.
- 02CURRENT TRANSACTION
The exact checkout, receipt, ticket number, operated-by line or booking response supplied by the traveler.
- 03MODELED ASSUMPTION
User-controlled inputs for time, cost and probability. Always labeled as a model rather than live fact.
- 04UNKNOWN
The correct output when evidence cannot support a claim. Unknown is more useful than false precision.