OnAir
Streamlined travel experience to
navigate airports efficiently
Duration
8 Weeks
Responsibilities
User Research, Journeys and flows, Wireframing,
Prototyping, Usability testing
Tools
Figma, Miro, Adobe Suite
Background / MY role
Many travelers find airports to be stressful environments. we never know when exactly to leave for the airport and try to arrive as early as possible to have some time to acclimate to the airport's layout so that we have enough time to deal with any unexpected changes. So I decided to come up with a solution to help navigate airports efficiently and have a seamless experience with their journeys.
Problem
Travelers are anxious want to have a stress-free experience while navigating airports, especially for travellers who are unfamiliar with the layout or who have limited time to catch their flights.
Desk Research + Interviews
Understanding the travelers
I conducted surveys and reviewed various sources of information ranging from academic papers, industry reports, news articles, and user forums to gather as much data and insights as I can to understand the challenges travelers face while navigating airports.
63% of the travelers found it difficult to find the departure gate.
46.3% of the travelers rely on the airport staff to help them find a way.
86% of the first time travelers don't know the procedures at airports.
72.4% of the first time travelers looked up information on what they need to know and do at the airport.
8.2% of the travelers have a hard time understanding signage at the airport.
19.6% of the travelers felt lost in the
airport at some point of their travels.
According to a study conducted by FAA (federal aviation administration), growing number of travelers are getting lost in the airports which is leading to crowded lines at the baggage and security checkpoints leading to frustration among both travelers and airport staff. Below are some problems I've stumbled upon during my desk research.
"I relied on signage and helpful directions from an online terminal map, but ended up wandering the terminals as if I were lost in the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral"
r/User
"We wandered from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 and back several times before discovering the right parking lot to catch our ride."
from user interviews
Insight
Infrequent travelers struggle more than the frequent travelers as they are less confident.
Infrequent travelers struggle because of a lower level of familiarity with the practices and the layout which makes them feel more anxious and leads to confusion.

Tools for thought
How can we help the traveler build confidence to navigate the airports efficiently?
We found that being able to familiarize quickly with information and having the confirmation and feedback could act as the key factors which help the traveler build confidence.
‍
Relevance
Travelers with lower confidence usually end up confused because they couldn't relate to the information being presented.
Confirmation
‍Travelers with lower confidence tend to ask others to confirm that they're going in the right direction and figure out what they need to next.
Solution
Introducing checkpoints
checkpoints help provide a visual reference point for location and serve as simplified step-by-step guidance to help travelers stay informed about where they are, How and when they need to get there.
Solution
Different checkpoints for
relevant steps
Checkpoints have necessary relevant information and action items depending on what the traveler needs to see and do at every step of the way.
Solution
Take a detour, efficiently
Wanna grab a coffee? order and pick up one in the nearest partner by adding a checkpoint. future improvements include the placement of the checkpoint depending on the user's location.
solution
Flashcards to show
information at a glance
Updated information is provided as flashcards which contain info to let you know where you are and where you need to be.
solution
Seamless trip creation
With permission to your email, onair will find the details and add the trip to make sure your journey is as smooth as possible.
Solution
Manage multiple trips
Have multiple flights in connection? Seamlessly manage multiple trips even when you're switching between flights.
Solution
Stay informed
Added signifiers in the components to let you know if there's a delay and when you need to go.
Variant 1 : component status when flight is arriving on time.
Variant 2: component status when flight is delayed.
exploration
Optimizing for different stages of the journey
I worked on creating an ideal user flow as to how travelers could use the solution at different stages of their journey and what the desired user experience would entail. I then started working on visualizing it by rough hand-sketching and making interaction flows.
Userflow depicting interactions performed by the traveler and decision making at different stages of their journey.
Iterations
visualizing interactions
After getting enough clarity with hand sketching, I worked on screen flows to visualize the information and actions presented in a screen and moved on to wireframes to get a clear idea of the layout and the details entailing the placement of the information at each stage.
Validation + Improvements
Running usability tests
The testing session was unmoderated and was conducted through usertesting.com where the users were given tested based on scenarios and tasks to perform. The testing was conducted with the following goals in mind.
Validation + Improvements
Improvements
I have received some positive feedback from the users and some critical feedback that aids in solving issues that were found during the testing session.  
Added additional CTA to help user access relevent information and actions easily without going back and forth to the documents tab in the trip details.
Changed the departure stage to primary color to signify where the user is.
Task completion rate
95.23%
Net Promoter Score
67
Avg Satisfaction Rating
4.6/5
Reflection
Prioritizing the core experience is key.
The main goal of this solution was to provide a way for the users to make faster decisions and avoid switching between multiple applications for their needs and the solution ended up being just that, A mobile application that could be used in a hurry and with confidence.
Next Steps.
Given more time, I would have liked to validate my problem statement with data collected from a wider research pool and investigate the effectiveness of the solution by means of further testing with a diverse set of personas such as group vs casual vs business traveler which would facilitate better and more accurate insights.
Problem
Solution
Process
Impact
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