76 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
76 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
# Flight Finder Source Viability
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This note records bounded live checks for the first implementation pass.
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It is intentionally operational, not aspirational: if a source is blocked here, the skill must treat it as blocked unless later evidence replaces this note.
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## Required sources
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- KAYAK
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- Skyscanner
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- Expedia
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- airline direct-booking cross-check
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## Status
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Checked on `2026-03-30` from Stefano's MacBook Air, with no VPN active, using the existing local `web-automation` / CloakBrowser probe scripts.
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Route used for bounded checks:
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- `DFW -> BLQ`
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- outbound date: `2026-05-30`
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- travelers: `3 adults`
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### KAYAK
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- Status: `viable`
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- Probe: `node flight_kayak_sweep.mjs DFW BLQ 3 /tmp/flight-finder-kayak-dates.json ...`
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- Evidence:
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- title returned as `DFW to BLQ, 5/30`
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- results included multiple one-stop itineraries with parsed USD fares such as `$877`, `$949`, `$955`
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- direct-booking hints were visible for British Airways on at least some results
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- Implementation note:
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- KAYAK can be a primary source in this first implementation pass
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- parsed text is workable, but still brittle enough that bounded retries and status fallback remain necessary
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### Skyscanner
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- Status: `viable`
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- Probe: `node tmp_skyscanner_probe.mjs 'https://www.skyscanner.com/transport/flights/dfw/blq/260530/?adultsv2=3&cabinclass=economy&rtn=0'`
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- Evidence:
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- title returned as `Cheap flights from Dallas to Bologna on Skyscanner`
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- results page exposed concrete prices, total trip prices, stops, and itinerary text
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- one-stop and multi-stop options were visible in the captured text
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- Implementation note:
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- Skyscanner is viable for bounded result capture in this first pass
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- itinerary extraction should still be treated as text-scrape, not a stable API
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### Expedia
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- Status: `viable`
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- Probe: `node tmp_expedia_probe.mjs 'https://www.expedia.com/Flights-Search?...'`
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- Evidence:
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- title returned as `DFW to BLQ flights`
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- results page exposed current lowest price, airline/stops filters, and concrete per-traveler options such as `$877`, `$949`, `$961`
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- Expedia text already surfaced some itinerary summaries in a report-friendly format
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- Implementation note:
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- Expedia is viable for bounded result capture in this first pass
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- as with the other aggregators, source-specific timeouts and fallback rules are still required
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### Airline direct-booking cross-check
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- Status: `degraded`
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- Probe: `node tmp_skyscanner_probe.mjs 'https://www.united.com/en/us/fsr/choose-flights?...'`
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- Evidence:
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- United's booking shell loaded and recognized the route / date context
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- the search then returned `united.com was unable to complete your request. Please try again later.`
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- Implementation note:
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- direct-airline cross-checking remains in scope, but it should be treated as best-effort in the first pass
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- when a direct site fails or refuses completion, the skill should record the failure explicitly instead of hanging or pretending a clean cross-check happened
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## Scope decision for implementation pass 1
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- Primary bounded search sources: `KAYAK`, `Skyscanner`, `Expedia`
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- Direct-airline cross-check: `best-effort / degraded`
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- The skill should continue if the direct-airline step fails, but the report must say that the direct cross-check was not fully completed
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