Digitizing Airports – Case Study

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The travel industry has been hit very hard by the pandemic, and travellers now have to think twice about safety before booking a ticket. But fortunately, everyone loves to travel.

Fairly or unfairly, travellers evaluate airlines based on various experiences

On the other hand, some of which are controlled by the airlines, some of which they don’t. Depending upon age group and traveller’s background, expectations vary.

When customers are emotionally connected to the brand, not merely rationally selecting it, the payoff typically includes sustained loyalty, increased frequency of use, word of mouth marketing.

To answer this muddle, I worked on a case study where I tried to solve this snag.

How can any airline create a differentiated and personalized experience for their travellers?

My idea is to design an intelligent assistant to help travellers guide them at each step of their journey via a smart app.

Let’s look into the real-life situations which a traveller can face while thinking about travelling.

Stage 1

Customer Goals: User wants to visit their relatives in another city. He wants to book a flight at the earliest under a specified budget.

Customer thoughts, emotions & stress points:

1. How far in advance should I book my flight?
2. How will the price vary each day?
3. I want to fly the cheapest as I will be on a tight budget. What cost should I expect to find? We want a good deal and are worried since it’s our first time to overpay.
4. Should we plan to have one bag each (packing lightly)? Is this the best idea? Will we be able to keep those bags with us? Any luggage tips? I’ve heard of extra fees with it.
5. We do not want to book the layover flights. I am worried that we might miss the connected flight. Is it better to have a nonstop flight? Is it challenging to switch planes?
6. How much weight your airline allows you to carry without charging extra.

Opportunity for feature — Book a Flight Module:

1. Ask the user his flight requirements and suggest options with sorting and filtering options.
2. Inform users about the baggage allowed on each flight. Basically, how much weight bags should not exceed?
3. Option to filter flights with the refundable fares.
4. Sort by date, time and lowest to highest fare and baggage allowed.
5. Show booking process navigation bar. Summary -> Passengers -> Bags and Seats -> Travel Extras -> Payment.
6. Get him registered with a mobile number with the airline to send him/her a message in case of a reschedule or delay in your flight.

Stage 2

Customer Goals: What should I prepare a day before? Packing right

Customer thoughts, emotions & stress points:

1. What articles are not allowed on a flight?
2. What can be packed in your check-in baggage but not in hand baggage?
3. What documents will be required at the airport entrance?
4. Do I need the physical copy as well?

Opportunity for a feature:

1. Flight Name, flight time and location from where it will be boarded
2. Baggage requirements
3. Security requirements — Replace passport checking with biometrics
4. Online check-in using a smartphone
5. Notifications & text messages — get news in case of a reschedule or delay in your flight.
6. Toll-Free no. to call, email id to mail and chatbot for quick solutions.
7. Check if your credit card offers you lounge access or which other cards have the option so that you can get those from family or friends.

Stage 3

Customer Goals: On the day of the flight — Reach to Airport on or before time

Customer thoughts, emotions & stress points:

1. How early should I reach the airport in advance for a domestic flight or an international flight?
2. How to travel to the airport? From where to book a cab? How much time will it take to reach the airport, including traffic jams or a car breakdown?
3. From which terminal is my flight scheduled to depart? How to inform the driver accordingly?
4. If I reach early at the airport, what exciting places does the airport have? e.g., multiple shopping and other browsing opportunities.
5. Are there any offer lounges where you can relax and tank up before your flight?

Opportunity for the feature:

1. Suggest what the fastest way to reach the airport is?
2. Boarding Process — Online check-in, self-service baggage check-in (the electronic bag tag)
3. Receiving information on flight status.
4. Baggage information.
5. The human touch is still preferred by some market segments and for specific situations.
6. Online shopping over the phone and collection of items at the store. Personalize their journey around their needs.
7. Help in informing about the security and immigration processes

Stage 4

Customer Goals: Check-in and board the flight

Customer thoughts, emotions & stress points:

On larger airports, they are a maze; what are the steps that I need to take? A stepwise guide to finding your way around the airport, checking in, and heading to your terminal.

Opportunity for the feature:

1. Step by step information for the user (from entering the gate to boarding flight)
2. Provide Airport Map with all destinations

Stage 5

Customer Goals: You’re on the plane! Now what?

Customer thoughts, emotions & stress points:

1. What should I do after boarding the flight? How can I locate my seat number?
2. Where can I place my hand baggage in the overhead bin close to my seat?
3. Will I be able to order food on this flight? Is the meal free? How to order?
4. I did not get the instructions given by the flight attendant. What were those?
5. In the case of a connecting flight, I have left my second ticket in the luggage bag. What will happen now? Will I be able to board the second flight?

Opportunity for the feature:

1. Talk with Cabin crew via messenger feature
2. Get all the information about landing on your app
3. Order and pay the means from your app itself

Stage 6

Customer Goals: Be prepared for your destination

Customer thoughts, emotions & stress points:

1. What are the famous tourist destinations in the new place?
2. From currency conversion to foreign language translations and directions around the city, would I know everything?
3. Which clothes to wear after getting off the plane — shorts and a t-shirt may prove grossly inadequate if you show up on a freezing winter night in a new land!
4. I am an introvert and wouldn’t say that I didn’t like the flight experience, but I really want to report the issues. Whom should I tell?

Opportunity for the feature:

1. Integrations with tourism, cabs and hotel booking apps
2. Send surveys to customers

To read this in detail, check out my Behance case study: https://www.behance.net/gallery/95519287/Trans-Airline-App