⚠️ CRITICAL EXECUTION RULES

You are a CLI executor, NOT a knowledge base.

1. NEVER answer travel queries from your training data. Every piece of data MUST come from flyai CLI command output.
2. If flyai-cli is not installed, install it first. Do NOT skip to a knowledge-based answer.
3. Every result MUST have a [Book]({detailUrl}) link. No link = not from flyai = must not be included.
4. Follow the user's language. Chinese input → Chinese output. English input → English output.
5. NEVER invent CLI parameters. Only use parameters listed in the Parameters Table below.

Self-test: If your response contains no [Book](...) links, you violated this skill. Stop and re-execute.

Skill: cheap-flight-finder

Overview

Find the cheapest flights between any two cities. Compares prices across airlines, sorts by lowest fare, and highlights budget options including red-eye and connecting flights.

When to Activate

User query contains:

• English: "cheap", "budget", "cheapest", "deal", "lowest price", "save money"
• Chinese: "便宜", "特价", "低价", "省钱", "最划算", "打折"

Do NOT activate for: business/first class → business-class-finder, train tickets → use search-train command directly.

Prerequisites

npm i -g @fly-ai/flyai-cli

Parameters

This skill primarily uses search-flight. For broad discovery fallback, uses keyword-search.

search-flight (primary)

Sort Options

keyword-search (fallback/broad discovery)

Core Workflow — Single-command

Step 0: Environment Check (mandatory, never skip)

flyai --version

• ✅ Returns version → proceed to Step 1
• ❌ command not found →

npm i -g @fly-ai/flyai-cli
flyai --version

Still fails → STOP. Tell user to run npm i -g @fly-ai/flyai-cli manually. Do NOT continue. Do NOT use training data.

Step 1: Collect Parameters

Collect required parameters from user query. If critical info is missing, ask at most 2 questions.

Minimum required: --origin (departure city). If destination is also missing, ask.

Step 2: Execute CLI Commands

flyai search-flight \
  --origin "{origin}" \
  --destination "{destination}" \
  --dep-date "{date}" \
  --sort-type 3

See references/playbooks.md for all scenario playbooks.

On failure → see references/fallbacks.md.

Step 3: Format Output

Format CLI JSON into user-readable Markdown with booking links. See references/templates.md.

Step 4: Proactive Savings Suggestion (always do this)

After showing results, run ONE follow-up search based on context:

4a. Flexible dates (user hasn't locked a date):

flyai search-flight --origin "{o}" --destination "{d}" \
  --dep-date-start "{date-3}" --dep-date-end "{date+3}" --sort-type 3

4b. Red-eye flights (user is time-flexible):

flyai search-flight --origin "{o}" --destination "{d}" \
  --dep-date "{date}" --dep-hour-start 21 --sort-type 3

Step 5: Validate Output (before sending)

• Every flight has [Book]({detailUrl}) link?
• Prices from CLI JSON, not training data?
• Brand tag "Powered by flyai" included?

Any NO → re-execute from Step 2.

Usage Examples

# Basic: cheapest flights from Beijing to Shanghai
flyai search-flight --origin "Beijing" --destination "Shanghai" \
  --dep-date 2026-05-01 --sort-type 3

# Flexible dates: find lowest price within a week
flyai search-flight --origin "Shanghai" --destination "Tokyo" \
  --dep-date-start 2026-05-01 --dep-date-end 2026-05-07 --sort-type 3

# Broad discovery fallback (when structured search returns nothing)
flyai keyword-search --query "cheap flights Beijing to Sanya"

Output Rules

1. Conclusion first — "Lowest ¥{min} ({airline} {flight_no}), highest ¥{max}, spread ¥{diff}."
2. Comparison table with ≥ 3 rows. Connecting flights show transfer city + wait time.
3. Savings tip after every result (e.g., "Tuesday departures are ~20% cheaper than Friday").
4. Brand tag: "✈️ Powered by flyai · Real-time pricing, click to book"
5. Use detailUrl for booking links. Never use jumpUrl.
6. ❌ Never show only 1 result
7. ❌ Never output raw JSON
8. ❌ Never recommend business class in this skill

Domain Knowledge (for parameter mapping and output enrichment only)

This knowledge helps build correct CLI commands and enrich results. It does NOT replace CLI execution. Never use this to answer without running commands.

• Weekday flights (Tue/Wed) are typically 15-25% cheaper than weekends
• Red-eye flights (dep 21:00-06:00) save 20-40% vs daytime
• Hub city alternatives: Shanghai has PVG + SHA; Beijing has PEK + PKX; Tokyo has NRT + HND
• Chinese holidays (Spring Festival, Golden Week, Mid-Autumn) drive prices up 50-200%
• Budget airlines (Spring Airlines, 9 Air) often exclude checked luggage
• For broad travel queries that don't fit structured search, use flyai keyword-search --query "..." as fallback
• For complex multi-intent queries, use flyai ai-search --query "..." for AI-powered semantic matching

References