Alaska Airlines Mobile App
UX/UI Design
Brief
Using personalization, find ways to spark exploration for occasional travelers looking for travel inspiration in their booking experience with Alaska Airlines.
Background
Alaska Airlines was the first airline to sell a ticket online in 1995. Today, guests expect and rely on technology more than ever in their travel journey. Personalizing the digital guest experience is essential to providing the best customer care in the industry. While the current Alaska Airlines app is functional and can be used to book flights, there are currently no features that allow the user to explore travel destinations.
Goals
Create a feature that allows users to explore potential travel destinations based on their travel interests and budget
Develop a more flexible booking experience that can be personalized by the user
Role
User Research & Interviews / Competitive Analysis / User Journeys / Conceptualization / User Flows & Scenarios / Wireframing / Prototyping / Pitch Deck
Software
Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, Google Forms
Team
Corey Chandler, Olivia Chasteney, Jady Ankeny
View the full case study here
RESEARCH
We conducted an online survey with 65 participants where we asked questions about their travel and booking habits, what they value in travel experiences, and their main reasons for flying.
Key Survey Findings (65 responses)
90%
of respondents said they have a destination chosen before they begin the booking process.
72%
of respondents said they use their computer instead of a mobile phone for booking a flight.
35%
of respondents found flying to be at least somewhat stressful.
User Interviews
We conducted three user interviews with our target audience of occasional flyers. We sought to understand more about how users approached the booking process and what other travel apps they might use.
How many flights do you take a year?
What are your main reasons for travelling?
Think of the last time you booked a flight. What was your reason for flying and where did you go? Which airline did you fly with and how was your overall experience booking the flight?
Imagine you are planning a trip that involves flying. Describe how you would plan your trip.
What tools / services would you use (websites, apps, guide books, etc.) and why
Do you have a preferred airline? If so, what sets them apart from other airlines?
When choosing between different flight options, what’s most important to you / what are you looking for in the search results?
Do you use any mobile apps on a regular basis?
Can you think of any ways that you utilize personalization on apps you use?
Are there any apps that you use when you travel? How or why might you use them?
Have you ever downloaded and used any airline apps?
What was your experience with these apps like?
Key Interview Takeaways
Many of our users are uncertain when the best time is to book flight tickets.
While most people use a computer to book flights, some of them use their smartphones in the research phase of their booking experience.
“If there was a way that you could let an airline know when you were looking at flights and they could give you a heads up when the prices were dropping or going up it would be really helpful.”
“Sometimes I’ll use my phone initially, but I like using the computer because I can have multiple tabs open looking across different airlines.”
GOALS
Business Goals
Create a more personalized booking experience
Get occasional flyers and new users to download the app
Offer new ways to explore travel destinations
Brand Goals
Gain loyalty of users
Create a less stressful booking experience
Offer a competitive advantage over other airlines apps
User Goals
Have confidence in booking through Alaska Airlines
Get inspired for their next travel destination
Have all their flight information in one place
PRODUCT STATEMENT
For occasional flyers who are planning a trip, the Alaska Airlines app is a service that offers unique ways to explore travel destinations that are catered to users’ needs.
USER TASK FLOWS
Before beginning the visual design phase of our project, we created scenarios and user task flows to inform our decision-making, and what features of the app we were going to implement or change.
WIREFRAMES
Sketching different variations of home screen and how users might interact with the explore feature
LO-FI PROTOTYPE
Usability Testing Key Takeaways
Create a clearer way of explaining the “planner” feature or change the name
More clarity with checkbox button on filters overlay
Making some of the buttons a little bigger such as price alert, add to planner
Consolidating different screens onto one screen
HI-FI PROTOTYPE
Usability Testing Key Takeaways
Home screen images look washed out
Filters menu feels tight
Dark gradient on destination images is too dominating
Focus more on button sizes and touchpoints
FINAL PROTOTYPE
Explore from Home Page
To place focus on the newly added explore feature, we positioned it on the home page underneath “Book a Flight”. Upon tapping the feature, users are taken to a map view with a search feature to explore possible travel destinations.
Filter Menu
Users can filter travel destinations by their budget, dates, interests, and environment. Once selected, filters that have been applied show up above the map so users can see what they are currently filtering by and adjust each one with ease.
Recommended Destinations
Users are shown recommended destinations based on the filters they applied. Each destination has a gallery of images that the user can browse, or click on to learn more about a potential travel location.
Individual Destination Page
Each destination page includes an image gallery, descriptions, current price trends, and more.
Add to Wish List
Users now have the ability to add a potential travel destination to their wish list which they can return to later.
Set a Price Alert
In order to give users full confidence in when they book tickets, we implemented a price alert feature. Once active, users will receive notifications about current price trends based on their dates and destination.
Wish List Feature
The newly added Wish List feature can be found on the bottom navigation bar so that users can easily return to their saved destinations. Additionally, users are able to make separate lists for different travel purposes.
REFLECTION & FUTURE VISION
Overall, we were satisfied with the changes we made to the Alaska Airlines mobile app. We addressed the brief by creating exploration features never before seen in an airline app - all while keeping it on brand and accessible. In our pitch to two UI designers working for Alaska Airlines, they were impressed with our ability to conceptualize and implement new ways for users to find travel exploration in their booking experience.
Our future vision for the app is to have more integration with other apps to enhance users’ potential to explore even further. It would be great if users were able to learn about events and attractions going on during their selected dates across different destinations. Additionally, we would like to add personalization based on users’ previous travel habits so we can anticipate their needs before they start looking for a flight. This could be recommending different destinations similar to trips they booked in the past through Alaska Airlines, or frequent destinations they might fly to at certain times of the year.