Trip Statuses

Every trip in PlaneConnection follows a defined lifecycle beginning in Draft status, progressing through quoting, scheduling, dispatch, and flight, and ending in completion or cancellation. Trip statuses govern dispatch availability, crew commitment, and scheduling visibility across the operations module.

Status Summary

The platform implements 12 trip statuses. The status field is defined in the database schema and enforced by the Zod validation layer and state machine transition rules.

Status	API Value	Dispatch Impact	Description
Draft	`draft`	None	Trip is saved but not yet submitted for review.
Quoted	`quoted`	None	Trip has been quoted to a client. Awaiting client approval before scheduling.
Requested	`requested`	None	A trip has been requested (by operator or customer) but not yet confirmed by dispatch.
Confirmed	`confirmed`	Soft hold	Trip has been confirmed. Aircraft and crew commitment begins.
Scheduled	`scheduled`	Soft hold	Trip is on the schedule. Aircraft and crew are tentatively assigned.
Released	`released`	Firm hold	Trip has been released to crew. Flight release checklist is issued or pending.
Filed	`filed`	Firm hold	Flight plan has been filed with ATC. Trip is ready for dispatch per 14 CFR 135.77.
Dispatched	`dispatched`	Committed	Operational release issued with dual authorization (dispatcher + PIC). Departure is imminent.
Active	`active`	Committed	Trip is in progress — at least one leg has departed.
Close-out	`close_out`	Committed	All legs have landed. Post-flight paperwork, fuel receipts, and logs are being finalized.
Completed	`completed`	Released	All legs have been flown and post-flight data recorded. Terminal state — cannot be changed.
Cancelled	`cancelled`	Released	Trip will not take place. Resources are freed. Can be reopened to Draft.

The platform also supports non-flight trip types (estimate, aircraft_note, calendar_note) in addition to standard flight types (charter, owner, maintenance, positioning, training). Non-flight types use the same status system but may not progress through all stages.

Trip Lifecycle

The trip lifecycle has two entry points: operators create trips starting in Draft, while customers submit trip requests that enter a lightweight qualification workflow before a trip is confirmed.

Request qualification workflow

Trip requests move through a separate review flow before they become operational trips:

Request status	Meaning
Requested	A customer or internal requester submitted the request.
Under Review	Dispatch is evaluating feasibility and preparing the next step.
Quoted	A quote workflow is in progress or has been sent to the customer.
Accepted	The request has been converted into a trip or explicitly accepted by dispatch.
Declined	Dispatch declined the request.
Cancelled	The requester or dispatcher cancelled the request before acceptance.

Once a request becomes a trip, the trip itself follows the lifecycle below.

Status Transition Rules

The transition rules are enforced by the trip state machine (TRIP_STATUS_TRANSITIONS). The table below shows all valid transitions.

From	To	Permitted Roles	Conditions
Draft	Quoted, Requested, Confirmed, Cancelled	Creator, Dispatcher, Admin	Quote prepared, submitted for review, or confirmed directly
Quoted	Requested, Confirmed, Draft, Cancelled	Dispatcher, Admin	Client approves, accepts quote, revision needed, or quote declined
Requested	Confirmed, Draft, Cancelled	Dispatcher, Admin	Dispatch confirms, returns to draft, or denies request
Confirmed	Scheduled, Cancelled	Dispatcher, Admin	Aircraft and crew tentatively assigned, or trip cancelled
Scheduled	Released, Cancelled	Dispatcher, Admin	Trip released to crew, or trip cancelled
Released	Filed, Scheduled, Cancelled	Dispatcher, Admin, PIC	Flight plan filed, pulled back for rescheduling, or trip cancelled
Filed	Dispatched, Released, Cancelled	Dispatcher, Admin, PIC	Dual authorization complete, pulled back before dispatch, or trip cancelled
Dispatched	Active, Filed, Cancelled	Dispatcher, Admin, PIC	First leg departure, pulled back before departure, or trip cancelled
Active	Close-out	Dispatcher, Admin, PIC	All legs have landed; cannot cancel while in flight
Close-out	Completed	Dispatcher, Admin, PIC	Post-flight data entered and finalized (14 CFR 135.63)
Completed	(none)	—	Terminal state — no further transitions
Cancelled	Draft	Dispatcher, Admin	Reopen cancelled trip as a new draft

Active trips cannot be cancelled. This is a safety constraint — you cannot cancel a trip while aircraft are in flight. If a leg must be diverted or cut short, the trip remains Active until all legs land, then transitions to Close-out.

Completed is a locked terminal state. Unlike Cancelled (which can be reopened to Draft), a completed trip cannot be modified. A new trip must be created instead.

Pipeline Stages

The trip pipeline displays 11 stages (excluding Cancelled) in the dispatch pipeline view, numbered sequentially:

Stage	Status	Label
1	`draft`	Draft
2	`quoted`	Quoted
3	`requested`	Requested
4	`confirmed`	Confirmed
5	`scheduled`	Scheduled
6	`released`	Released
7	`filed`	Filed
8	`dispatched`	Dispatched
9	`active`	Active
10	`close_out`	Close-out
11	`completed`	Completed

Dual-Authorization Dispatch

The transition from Filed to Dispatched requires dual authorization per 14 CFR 135.77. Both the dispatcher and the pilot-in-command must independently approve the operational release before the trip can be dispatched.

Authorization	Who	What they confirm
Dispatcher	Dispatcher or Admin	Weather, NOTAMs, crew duty compliance, aircraft airworthiness, fuel plan
PIC	Pilot-in-Command	Acceptance of the flight release, route review, personal fitness for duty

The same person cannot serve as both dispatcher and PIC for the same trip. Each authorization is timestamped and recorded on the trip for audit purposes.

A trip cannot advance to Dispatched until both authorizations are recorded. If either party has concerns, the trip remains in Filed status until the issue is resolved or the trip is pulled back to Released.

Leg-Level vs Trip-Level Status

A trip consists of one or more legs. Legs carry their own status independently from the trip.

Leg Status	API Value	Description
Scheduled	`scheduled`	Leg is planned but has not departed.
Active	`active`	Leg is in progress — departed but not yet arrived.
Completed	`completed`	Leg has arrived and post-flight data is recorded.
Cancelled	`cancelled`	Leg will not be flown.

Derivation Rules

Condition	Trip Status
All legs are `scheduled`	Confirmed (or Scheduled, depending on validation state)
At least one leg is `active`	Active
All legs are `completed`	Close-out (pending post-flight finalization)
All legs are `cancelled`	Cancelled
Mix of `completed` and `cancelled` (none `scheduled` or `active`)	Close-out

Trip Record Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
`trip_number`	String	Auto	Unique trip identifier (e.g., `TRP-2026-0142`).
`status`	Enum	Auto	Current lifecycle status (defaults to `draft`).
`trip_type`	Enum	No	Charter, owner, maintenance, positioning, training, estimate, aircraft_note, or calendar_note.
`aircraft_id`	Reference	Yes (at Scheduled)	Assigned aircraft tail number.
`origin`	String	Yes	Departure airport ICAO code.
`destination`	String	Yes	Arrival airport ICAO code.
`departure_at`	Timestamp	No	Planned departure date and time.
`arrival_at`	Timestamp	No	Planned arrival date and time.
`requested_by`	String	No	Person or entity that requested the trip.
`department_id`	String	No	Optional department association.
`quote_id`	String	No	Linked quote (for charter trips).
`estimated_cost`	Real	No	Estimated trip cost.
`notes`	Text	No	Internal notes (BlockNote JSON format).
`version`	Integer	Auto	Optimistic locking version counter.
`created_at`	Timestamp	Auto	Record creation timestamp (UTC).
`updated_at`	Timestamp	Auto	Last modification timestamp (UTC).

Scheduling Conflict Detection

When a trip transitions to Scheduled or Confirmed, the system checks for conflicts:

Conflict Type	Detection Rule	Resolution
Aircraft double-booking	Same aircraft assigned to overlapping time windows	Warning at Scheduled; blocked at Confirmed
Crew double-booking	Same crew member assigned to overlapping trips	Warning at Scheduled; blocked at Confirmed
Duty time exceedance	Crew assignment would exceed 14 CFR Part 135 Subpart F limits	Blocked at Confirmed
Aircraft maintenance	Aircraft is in maintenance status during trip window	Blocked at Scheduled

Create a Trip

Trip creation and confirmation.

Your First Trip

Tutorial walkthrough of the trip lifecycle.

Aircraft Statuses

How aircraft availability affects trip scheduling.

Dispatch Statuses

Real-time dispatch states for aircraft and FRAT assessments.

SMS Reference

SmartScore

Operations Reference

FBO Reference

Maintenance Reference

Operational Reports

Portal Reference

Platform Reference

API Reference

Status Summary

Trip Lifecycle

Request qualification workflow

Status Transition Rules

Pipeline Stages

Dual-Authorization Dispatch

Leg-Level vs Trip-Level Status

Derivation Rules

Trip Record Fields

Scheduling Conflict Detection

Create a Trip

Your First Trip

Aircraft Statuses

Dispatch Statuses

​Status Summary

​Trip Lifecycle

​Request qualification workflow

​Status Transition Rules

​Pipeline Stages

​Dual-Authorization Dispatch

​Leg-Level vs Trip-Level Status

​Derivation Rules

​Trip Record Fields

​Scheduling Conflict Detection

​Related

Create a Trip

Your First Trip

Aircraft Statuses

Dispatch Statuses

Status Summary

Trip Lifecycle

Request qualification workflow

Status Transition Rules

Pipeline Stages

Dual-Authorization Dispatch

Leg-Level vs Trip-Level Status

Derivation Rules

Trip Record Fields

Scheduling Conflict Detection

Related