AeroAide

A service that provides a backup plan for passengers
whose flights have been canceled or rebooked.

Role:

UX Researcher

UX Designer

Service Design

Service:

Duration:

4 Weeks

Situation

There is an ongoing issue with passengers struggling to find suitable accommodations when their flights are unexpectedly canceled due to weather conditions, mechanical issues, or other unforeseen circumstances.

What if we developed a way to alleviate traveler stress when these mishaps arise? 

How can we provide passengers with an accessible and convenient way to stay informed, rebook, ride-share?  

Passengers struggle to plan and advocate due to insufficient information, as revealed in interviews with users and stakeholders. Enhanced communication was frequently requested.

  • Passengers want to easily understand what items they should bring, what items are prohibited, and the steps they should take in the event of an airline cancellation or flight delay. 

  • Stakeholders expressed their desire to promptly communicate any updates to passengers as soon as they receive them, thereby minimizing frustration. 

Through interviews and secondary research, we were led to adopt a service-oriented approach centered on the user.

Due to the limited resources and the short timeframe of the project. We were able to only interview 2 stakeholders and 5 users.  We also conducted secondary research by going on airline forums, glassdoor, and Reddit to gather user's and stakeholders’ experiences and opinions.

By improving this experience, we can enhance the travel experience for both customers and employees

  • Increasing customer satisfaction

  • Improving the company image

  • Decreasing employee turnover rate

  • Gaining partnerships with hotels and rideshare apps

We also considered those who face challenges moving through the airport due to disabilities or language barriers.

Common pain points for travelers

  • Book a place near the airport to sleep for the night

  • Locate transportation

  • Find food to eat

  • Cope with last-minute expenses

  • Extremely long wait times.

  • Physical mobility issues

Common pain points for employees

  • Staff shortages

  • No additional knowledge about flight cancellations.

  • Receive updates same time as ‌passengers.

Prioritizing all travelers

Who benefits from AeroAide? All travelers, including those with special needs or circumstances such as disabilities, language barriers, young children, pets, and unaccompanied minors.

Creating AeroAide as a
reliable resource

We need to assist these travelers in accessing customer support and support services, such as mobility aids and assistance for those with language barriers, to alleviate any issues that may arise, including cancellations and delayed flights.

Assisting both travelers and employees

We'll provide support through a mobile app and a physical kiosk experience, both synchronized via phone number. The main goal is to minimize traveler stress and wait times by facilitating easy access to rebooking services and reducing the burden on customer-facing employees during delays and cancellations.

Designing AeroAide for all travelers

Personas and user profiles were curated from
our findings

To gain a deeper understanding of our target audience, we created 3 personas of different types of travelers based on our findings:

  • John, a 65-year-old man who is not very tech-savvy, is traveling alone for the first time through the DFW Airport.

  • Tiara is 30 years old and regularly travels with her dog to visit family.

  • James, who is 39 years old, frequently travels for business and always requires a reliable Wi-Fi connection.

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User Journeys and Storyboards

Storyboard Language Barrier.png
Storyboard Unaccompanied Minor.png
Tiara’s Journey Map.png
John Journey Map.png
James Journey Map.png

Categories are created from an open card sort.

We sent out a card sort to the travelers we interviewed with the features we brainstormed that would improve the service based on our research. 8 responded, and 3 main categories were revealed.

  • Flight Plan/Logistics

  • Customer Service & Support

  • Airport Services

Putting together the information architecture

After the card sort, we each created our own version of how the app should be laid out. In the end, we found that we all had similar ideas with slight variations. We combined our ideas to create a single, cohesive layout.

We prioritized:

  • Support

  • Travel plan and backup plan

  • Resources for DFW travelers

  • Documentation database

Creating the low-fidelity prototype

Our goal was to design a simple and clean interface that is easy to use for those who may not be comfortable with technology. We wanted to create a familiar environment that allows users to navigate naturally and with ease.

Blue Sky Ideas

24/7 Lounge

A lounge open 24/7 for those who need a place to destress, work or drink.

Kiosk with AeroAide installed

To better serve travelers and reduce extended wait times, kiosks could be available to assist with re-bookings, finding hotels, and locating dining areas.

Capsule Sleeping Areas

In-airport sleeping areas available for use for those who are spending 5 hours or less waiting on their flight and need a snooze.

Potential next steps

Continuation of mapping out AeroAide app

  • Creation of a support kiosk concept

  • Discuss more with users & stakeholders

  • Test, test, test!


Thank you for reading my case study!

If you want to work with me, feel free to contact me!

Email: athaliamgaston@gmail.com