Goal
Booking an international flight - by a first time international traveller. Tasks to solve for-
1- Narrow down on the best value flight.
2- Objectively decide between different transit options available.
3- Understand flight options including baggage, seating, fares, meal etc
International air travel being an expensive affair for most Indians, there is a lot of anxiety around getting it right first time.
This problem is personally an interesting/ challenging one, as I have never booked an international flight, I have very less context of how international flight bookings work.
I am in an attempt to gather knowledge about international flight bookings, get into the shoes of a first time international traveller, understand the different set of variables that are part of an international flight booking.
And using these learnings to design an experience that can ease the flight booking for a first time user. Also let the user choose the best value flight for his first international trip. Also may be plan my first international trip too.
Research
Few important points about international flight bookings, discovered in my research are:
- Non stop flights are the fastest ones.
- Fastest flights turn out to be much more expensive.
- Cheaper flights takes more time.
- Most flights have one or multiple stops before reaching the destination.
- Layovers and stopovers will increase the time of travel.
- Multiple stops in the journey is tiring and painful.
- There can be multiple transit options for the same destination.
- The time of departure and time of landing also plays a major role in the experience.
- Traveller may have to re check-in the baggage after the layover.
- There could be countries that require a transit visa, during the layovers
- The amenities provided in the flight adds to the travel experience.
- There are restrictions on the baggage.
- Refund, cancellation policies of flights vary.
- Airline ratings are also an important factor to consider.
- Multiple flights/ airlines could be involved in one trip.
- Most travellers who plan their trip, try to book the flights before 6 weeks of travel.
- Same flight can have multiple fare options.
The user
Manas 27
Project Manager @ Happy
Manas has travelled to a lot of places in India. Every year Manas spend around two weeks to travel to new places. Manas is a tech savvy person, utilises his smartphone for most of his shopping, travel bookings, food ordering etc.
Manas is planning a solo trip to the US this year. He wishes to travelling to San Francisco in the last week of August 2018. He has decided up on the places he needs to visit. He has gathered basic information about the trip. He is also done with the visa processes.
He has spoken to his friends and colleagues to understand, plan his trip to the US. He plans to stay with one of his friends, during the time in the US. He has a basic idea on how an international flight works, the approximate round trip costs, transit, layovers etc.. But he is still not decided on which flight option he has to book.
He prefers flights that don’t take long, wants a relaxing flight experience. Prefers a flight that does not have multiple stops. He believes that flight travel is also a part of his journey that he should enjoy. He is open to take in suggestions regarding the trip.
Like for most other first time travellers, Manas also has anxiety about the trip. He does not wish fly the cheapest way. He also understands the fact that the cheaper flight might ruin the whole experience of the trip, as it might involve multiple stops, long layovers and also multiple flights/ checkins etc. Manas decides to book his flights for the round trip to SanFrancisco.
Few points that he has in mind while choosing the flight are:
- One side flight duration should not be more than 24 hours
- 3 to 4 hours of layover
- Not more than 2 stops in between the trip.
Manas expects the flight booking app to provide him multiple flight options, show details of the flight and also make him understand about the layover timings, the different transit options he has to choose between.
He wants the app to be very transparent when it comes to the flight information he is provided with. Comparing the different flight options, he want to choose the best value flight for his journey.
Thoughts on the App
The flight booking funnel starts with the user entering his preferences of the trip. Proceeded by the flight listing and choosing the best flight option. User should be able to filter flights with his preferences like:
- Flight duration
- Number of stops
- Departure time
- Airlines
- Transit
- Price
User also should be able to sort the list on the basis of popularity, price, duration, departure time, arrival time.The flight search results should make the user understand the flight timings, the airline, price, travel duration, number of stops, where the layover happens etc.
The user also should be able to understand the details of the flight, layovers, baggage, fare/ cancellation rules etc. before he proceeds to book the flight of his choice.The trip details should be very transparent, it should help the user with all the information that he needs during the flight journey. He should be also able to save a particular flight, compare it with other to decide up on a best value flight for his international trip.
Wire-frames
Mocks
Conclusion
After the user decides on the flights, he continues to the booking. Where he is required to enter his personal details, and then proceed to payment. I will be detailing out that flow in a few days here.
Few features that I believe are a good add on to any flight booking experience are-
Tips from frequent flyers helps users to decide up on multiple variables. It also simplifies the search process, fills the gaps, adds knowledge relating to travel to the user.Saving a trip is also a good way to help the user shortlist a few flights and then decide up on one later. Ratings can also be leveraged to help the user shortlist the best flights.
App can also cleverly integrate with airports to help the user navigate/ shop / eat during the trip. (Provide information about things to see/do in the airports, when there are long layovers. Also give timely updates regarding terminals, gates, boarding time etc.)
Thank You!
Flight info- Cleartrip, Makemytrip
