Claude Code for Airline Route Analysts

A starter kit for using Claude Code + a Google Flights MCP to analyze routes, watch competitors, model network experiments, and turn fare/availability data into decisions — fast.

Drops you into a working setup with example prompts, a sample dataset, and a pre-wired MCP server so Claude can hit Google Flights in real time.

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What you'll be able to do in 30 minutes

• Ask Claude "what does the DEN→ATL fare curve look like 0–60 days out across ULCCs and legacies?" and get a real comparison pulled live
• Drop in a CSV of routes and have Claude generate a profitability scorecard
• Build a "Saturday night special" finder for any origin
• Get an instant competitor watch on any market in any region
• Stress-test hypotheticals like "if a ULCC added a 4x weekly DEN→PVD seasonal, what does the fare environment look like today?"

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Start here

1. First time on a Mac terminal? Open SETUP-MAC.md — it walks you through every command in order. Don't skip steps.
2. Already have Claude Code installed? Skip to the Run section in SETUP-MAC.md.
3. Want to know what to ask Claude? Open PROMPTS.md.
4. Want a guided first session? Start with examples/01-first-search.md.

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What's in this repo

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├── SETUP-MAC.md                ← do this first
├── .mcp.json                   ← pre-wires the Google Flights MCP for this folder
├── PROMPTS.md                  ← 15+ copy/paste prompts for flight analysis
├── examples/
│   ├── 01-first-search.md      ← your first 5 minutes with Claude + flight data
│   ├── 02-route-report.md      ← build a real route scorecard
│   └── 03-ulcc-playbook.md     ← ULCC-specific ideas (P2P, ancillaries, fleet)
└── data/
    └── sample-routes.csv       ← 20 mock routes to practice on

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What the MCP gives Claude

The fli Google Flights MCP exposes ~10 tools that Claude can call mid-conversation:

• Search one-way and round-trip fares between any two airports
• Pull date-range queries (cheapest weekday/weekend in a window)
• Filter by carrier, stop count, cabin
• Browse airports/airlines

No API key required for basic searches. (Optional SerpAPI key gives 250 free deeper searches/month.)

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Why Claude Code (not just chat)

• It can read files (CSVs, route plans, schedules)
• It can run scripts (Python, SQL, anything you'd hand off to a junior analyst)
• It can call MCPs like Google Flights mid-thought
• It can write you new tools as you find gaps — "make me a script that scores 50 routes overnight" is a real ask

The chat app is great for one-shot questions. Claude Code is for doing work.

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Credits + caveats

• MCP server: punitarani/fli (Apache-2.0)
• Live flight data is best-effort — verify anything that goes into a real decision
• This is a starter; fork it, break it, make it yours