UX Airways
A UX case study for a new airline app
Project type: End-to-end app
Assignment: Course project whilst working towards the Professional Diploma in UX Design, credit-rated by Glasgow Caledonian University and run by the UX Design Institute
Role: Sole UX Researcher and UX/UI Designer
Industry: Aviation
Tools: Figma, Screenflow, Reflector 3
Industry: Aviation, Travel & Tourism
The assignment
Booking a flight through an airline app can be a cumbersome, complex and unenjoyable experience for the user, resulting in irritated users and low conversion rates.
The objectives of this project were to research airline booking systems, learn more about the problems users experience, and use my findings to design a user-friendly airline booking app for a new airline.
This was a course project for my Diploma in UX Design.
Research
Competitor Benchmarking
I reviewed several airline and flight aggregator apps to understand how they support users in searching for, selecting, and booking flights. I documented each journey with screenshots, noting what worked well, what didn’t, and which established conventions and features to incorporate into my own designs.
Users should be informed which step in the process they are on
Only available destinations for the selected departure airport should be displayed
Reading and accepting Terms & Conditions should be mandatory before payment
All flight information and price breakdown should be summarised before payment
The homepage should be simple and uncluttered
Function menus should not be unnecessarily duplicated
Non-essential information should be tucked away in menus
Different search methods should be enabled such as manually typing and scroll selection
Take aways
Online survey
To understand more about users' goals and experiences while using airline apps I developed an online survey incorporating structured, multi-choice questions for quantitative attitudinal research, supplemented with open-ended questions for qualitative research, capturing richer data.
I sent the short 10 question survey to 50 people and had a response rate of 66%.
Usability test objectives
Observe how users flow through the competitor apps (I used British Airways and easyJet)
Identify the primary goals of the users
Identify mental models and features which conform to users' expectations
Identify features which do not conform to users' expectations
Identify any pain points users may experience in the flight search and booking process
Identify any issues which might cause users to give up and leave the app
Observe users' reactions and behaviours as they go through the flight search and booking process
To gain some qualitative insights into users' behaviours, goals and pain points, and the context in which they use airline booking apps, I carried out some usability testing on competitors' apps.
I started by considering what I wanted to achieve from the usability tests and defining my objectives. I created a recruitment screener, a consent form and a discussion guide for the usability test sessions. My usability tests began with a depth interview to learn about the users' goals in using the apps and the context in which they use them, and then led into some user tasks.
Thorough preparation was definitely instrumental to the smooth-running of the usability tests and my moderating skills improved with each test, which helped to get the best out of the participants.
Usability testing
Users like to see clearly accessible and succinct information about the difference in flight pricing options
Users prefer pages to be as uncluttered as possible
Users tend not to be that interested on the unnecessary 'extras' screens
Users want a simple and easy-to-follow process
Users appreciate transparency around direct/non-direct flights, availability and pricing at an early stage
Users want to know where they are in the process
Key findings
Define
Analysing the research data
The next step was to analyse the findings from my research by triangulating the data I'd collected, enabling to me to better understand and define the problems to be solved.
To do this, I created an affinity diagram, a customer journey map and an empathy map.
Affinity diagram
I collated data from competitor benchmarking, usability tests, and an online survey, then ran an affinity diagram session with a colleague. Our goal was to organise the findings into meaningful groups to uncover insights.
We reviewed the usability test recordings and research notes, writing each observation on post-its and clustering related ones together. After several iterations, clear patterns and categories began to emerge.
Customer journey map
Using insights from the affinity diagram, I created a customer journey map that captured users’ goals, behaviours, pain points, and mental models at each stage.
This structured visualisation exhibited the user journey as they interact with airline apps, highlighting the problem areas to prioritise in the redesign.
Empathy map
I created an empathy map combining insights from all research sources to illustrate what users say, think, feel, and do, along with their goals. By aggregating multiple users, I captured key themes from my earlier analysis.
This visual tool deepened my empathy and guided my design decisions.
Build in smart defaults to promote a smooth process
Ensure that information about fees & charges is transparent at an early stage
Offer users the option to skip through 'extras' pages
Incorporate a progress bar so users can see what step of the process they're at
Present flight information for surrounding days
Present information about pricing options clearly and succinctly
Implementable features
Design
User flow diagram
Building on the analysis phase, I defined a user flow for the primary use case of searching and booking a flight. I chose a linear flow to reflect the straightforward, sequential journey observed during usability testing.
Navigation
I next focused on navigation. Since booking a flight is the app’s primary and largely linear task, I prioritised key functions in a bottom tab bar: Home, Search, Bookings, and More. The More tab leads to the full menu of features.
During the flight search process, I opted to include a hamburger menu at the top to maintain full navigation access while maximising screen space.
Sketches and interaction design
I began the design process with low-fidelity wireframes, sketching screens based on the user flow and capturing all key states. Throughout, I referred to my research insights to address identified pain points—such as adding a progress bar and clearer flight information. After several iterations, I was ready to move on to a medium-fidelity prototype.
Prototype & Validate
Medium Fidelity Prototype
I designed all screen states and developed them into a medium-fidelity prototype, adding transitions and animations for a realistic experience. I then ran four usability tests with potential users, asking them to complete the flight search and booking process to evaluate my design solutions.
Iteration 1
Through testing the first iteration of my design, I identified a few areas for improvement. I've highlighted some of them below.
Issue 1
Users still felt that the flight results pages were still quite 'busy'.
Solution
I simplified the flight results pages further by only displaying the lowest pricing option, with full information about pricing options available once the user had selected the desired flight time.
Issue 2
Users felt that the seat selection process could be clearer:
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It wasn't immediately apparent which passenger they were selecting seats for
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Users couldn't remember what seating options were included in the price of their selected flight
Solution
I made the active passenger (whose seat was being selected) more prominent, and I included a notification to let the user know what was included in the price of their selected flight.
Issue 3
Users would also prefer to be made aware of information about fees and charges at an early stage, as well as information about pricing options.
Solution
I included a link to fees & charges information on the flight selection pages.
Wireframing
With the prototype designed, tested, and validated, I created detailed wireframes for developer handover.
Each was annotated with notes on interactions, micro-interactions, rules, controls, and feedback to clearly communicate functionality and ensure a smooth handover.
(This project was completed when fully detailed wireframes were still standard practice!)
Learnings
What did I learn from 'UX Airways'?
This was my first experience in UX and software design—a steep but rewarding learning curve. Working through the full UX process gave me clarity and strategy: by putting users first, I could define the problem and design effective solutions. The insights from research, especially usability testing, were invaluable in fully understanding the problem to be solved.
Although this was a solo student project, I learned that collaboration is key to achieving the best outcomes.