dotanminh/travel-optimization-engine/route-optimization

Route Optimization - Tối Ưu Lộ Trình Qua Điểm Trung Chuyển

Purpose

Most travelers search for direct flights by default. They don't know that routing through a strategic hub can save $200-500 with only 2-3 extra hours. This skill quantifies that trade-off precisely: "Is $350 savings worth 2.5 extra hours?"

Input Required

• origin, destination (IATA codes)
• baseline_price and baseline_duration from flight-search (direct/fastest option)
• travel_purpose from profile (business travelers value time more)
• risk_tolerance from profile

Execution Steps

Step 1: Establish Baseline

The baseline is the direct or fastest route found by flight-search:

BASELINE: HAN → SFO
  Price: $1,100 | Duration: 13.5h (direct, VN Airlines)
  This is the benchmark everything else is compared against.

Step 2: Identify Strategic Hubs

Based on the origin-destination pair, select top hub candidates:

Decision logic for hub selection:

Step 3: Calculate Each Alternative Route

For each hub route, compute:

savings_usd     = baseline_price - hub_route_price
extra_hours     = hub_route_duration - baseline_duration
savings_per_hour = savings_usd / extra_hours

Value rating system:

Step 4: Flag Special Considerations

For each alternative route, check:

1. Transit visa required?

• China (PEK/PVG): YES - Transit visa needed for most nationalities
• Japan (NRT/HND): NO - Transit without visa up to 72h
• Korea (ICN): NO - Transit without visa, KTAV required
• Singapore (SIN): NO - Transit up to 96h
• Turkey (IST): NO - Most nationalities okay

1. Ground transportation needed?

• Some "hub" routes require train/bus between airports
• Flag with cost estimate (e.g., "Train FRA→city center €4, taxi €35")

1. Minimum connection time?

• International-International: min 2h (recommended 3h)
• Different terminal: add 1h buffer
• Immigration required at hub: add 1.5h

1. Layover quality?

• IST: Excellent (lounges, transit hotel, long opening hours)
• SIN: Excellent (Jewel, free city tour)
• ICN: Excellent (transit hotel, culture center)
• DOH: Very good (Al Maha lounge, transit hotel)
• BKK: Good but terminal change can be tiring

Step 5: Present Results

ROUTE ALTERNATIVES vs BASELINE: HAN → SFO ($1,100, 13.5h)
 
#  Via Hub    Price   Saved   Extra Time  $/Hour   Rating
1  ICN       $750    $350    +3.0h       $117/hr  ⭐⭐⭐ Excellent
2  NRT       $820    $280    +2.5h       $112/hr  ⭐⭐⭐ Excellent
3  TPE       $790    $310    +4.0h       $78/hr   ⭐⭐ Good
4  IST       $680    $420    +8.0h       $53/hr   ⭐⭐ Good
5  BKK+NRT   $620    $480    +12.0h      $40/hr   ⭐ Acceptable
 
RECOMMENDATION (moderate risk tolerance):
  Route via ICN: Best value at $117/hr saved.
  You save $350 and only add 3 hours (1 layover at Incheon, one of Asia's
  best airports with transit hotel and free showers).
 
NOTE: Route 5 involves ground+air combination. See details below.

Step 6: Ground Transport Flag

If any route involves non-flight segments:

⚠️ GROUND TRANSPORT REQUIRED:
  Route 5 (BKK+NRT): Requires separate VietJet HAN→BKK, then
  overnight in Bangkok, then BKK→NRT→SFO next day.
  Additional costs: Hotel $30-50, airport transfer $10-15
  Net savings after ground costs: $415-445

Traveler Type Adjustments

Limitations

• Hub pricing is estimated in AI-Knowledge mode
• Actual hub connections depend on schedule alignment (checked by flight-search if API active)
• Ground transport costs are approximate and vary by time of day