Latest Case Study
User-Centered
Flight Booking Experience
I led a comprehensive user research initiative to understand how various airline booking platforms engage with users.
The main focus areas include empathy in design, particularly regarding users' attention spans, as well as information architecture and heuristics. This also encompasses the design and content elements such as calls to action (CTAs), scrolls, overlays and clear task headings. These factors significantly influence users' decision-making processes during the airline booking experience, impacting their mental models.
My goal was to create a user-friendly design that minimizes confusion and improves the overall experience, aiding users in making informed and stress-free flight bookings.
My Role: UX Research, Design, Testing
Timeline: 4 Months
Tools: Figma, Miro, Google Slides, Google Forms, Zoom
Problem
Booking travel online has become commonplace, whether it's for flights or accommodations. Users increasingly expect speed, clarity, and convenience in the process. As awareness of the importance of inclusive and inspiring digital experiences grows, so do the expectations for user-friendly and intuitive booking systems.
However, despite advancements in interface design, many online flight booking platforms still fall short. Some of the most common usability issues include:
Overwhelming interfaces with cluttered layouts can confuse users, especially first-time travelers or those with accessibility needs.
Lack of transparency and hidden fees with unclear rules create frustration and mistrust.
Frequent layout changes and unclear steps lead to confusion and errors.
Inadequate support for screen readers and color contrast issues can exclude users with disabilities.
Unintuitive filtering and sorting options make it difficult to find relevant flights.
As UX designer, I have the opportunity and responsibility to suggest some solutions for more inclusive travel booking experience for all travelers.
My Role & Contributions
In response to these challenges, I led an in-depth UX research and design initiative focused on creating a more intuitive and accessible flight booking experience.
Here’s what I contributed:
User Research, Competitor Analysis and Heuristic evaluation
I conducted user research and competitor analysis on airline booking flows. By examining design systems and interaction patterns, I identified key UX pain points, such as gaps in affordance and inconsistencies in design. These insights were crucial for improving online flight booking to be more user-centric and efficient.User Flows & Wireframes
I designed streamlined user flows to reduce cognitive load, simplify decision-making, and guide users with clarity, predictability, and perceptibility through each step of the journey. The wireframes prioritized accessibility and usability—eliminating unnecessary steps, minimizing distractions, and focusing on clear, intuitive interactions.Mid-Fidelity Prototyping
To test the design hypotheses, I created a mid-fidelity prototype reflecting our proposed UX improvements. This prototype focused on clear CTAs, reduced clutter, and a more linear, intuitive user flow.
The UX Design Process
To ensure a thoughtful and user-centered outcome, I followed a streamlined UX design process that included five key phases: Research, Define, Design, Prototype, and Validate. This methodical approach allowed me to uncover core user needs, address usability challenges, and deliver a solution that met both user expectations and business goals.
1. Research
Competitor analysis
User interviews and surveys
Heuristic evaluation
2. Define
Crafting user personas
Developing problem statements and user journey maps
Establishing design goals to guide the design phase
3. Design
Sketches and wireframes
Interaction design
Mid-fidelity wireframes
4. Prototype
Clickable mid-fidelity prototype.
5. Validate
Usability testing sessions,
STAGE 1 | Research
Who are our future users and competitors?
How do they book flights—and what drives their choices?
To design effectively, we first need to understand who our users are, how they currently book flights, and the motivations behind their decisions. At the same time, analyzing competitors helps us uncover patterns, missed opportunities, and areas for innovation.
Competitive Analysis
Since this was a completely new product, I began by conducting a competitive analysis of three major airline websites—Aer Lingus, Google Flights, and Ryanair—along with one “wildcard” competitor, the flight aggregator Skyscanner.
The Conclusion Insights
Ease of Navigation
Google Flights and Ryanair offer better, more intuitive navigation compared to other platforms.Task Efficiency
Both Google Flights and Ryanair make it clear what users need to do next, helping them complete tasks more quickly and easily.Error Prevention
Google Flights and Ryanair are designed to help prevent user mistakes, with clearer instructions and better layout.Contextual Assistance
The Aer Lingus app lacks helpful, in-the-moment support, which can make the booking process confusing for users.Emotional Design & Engagement
Ryanair focuses on a fast, functional experience, while Aer Lingus’s branding consistency in interface to create more emotional connection even it lacks contextual assistance.
Google Flights uses a clean, minimal design, while Skyscanner adds color and interactivity for a more engaging navigation experience.Consistency & Standards
Google Flights and Skyscanner keep things consistent and easy to follow. Ryanair and Aer Lingus, while functional, sometimes have design inconsistencies that can affect the user experience.
Usability Test
Key Takeaways
Cluttered Homepage
Important actions like “Book a Flight” were hard to find due to too much content and poor visual hierarchy.Confusing Navigation
Users struggled to find key booking info (e.g. baggage policy, connecting flights) due to unclear labels and layout.Lack of Guidance
The booking process didn’t support users in making informed decisions—details were assumed, not explained.Missing Empathy
Designs lacked user understanding. Not all users have the same level of attention to detail or booking experience.Consistent Issues
Both participants experienced the same pain points, pointing to broader UX problems across platforms.Improvement Opportunities
Prioritize key actions with better layout and hierarchy
Make essential booking info easily accessible early on
Design with different user needs and experience levels in mind
STAGE 2 | Define
Translating research into action by organizing key insights, mapping the customer journey, and defining the primary user persona.
After the research phase, I collaborated with UX Researcher Angelica Di Clemente to create an Affinity Diagram, organizing key insights and themes. Using this, I developed a Customer Journey Map to highlight user pain points and opportunities. These insights helped define our average user persona, ensuring the design process stayed grounded in real user needs.
Affinity Diagram – Key Findings
Unclear Flight Options & Pricing
Users find it difficult to understand what they’re booking, especially with connecting flights shown too late in the process.
”I don’t know what I am booking for. I forgot what I am looking for.”Unclear Seat Selection
Seat selection is tiring and lacks clarity, especially when users must repeat the process for each passenger and flight segment.
"It’s exhausting to select seats individually for each passenger, for every connecting flight, and for both outbound and return journeys."Navigation & Usability Issues
Users struggle to understand fare options like Saver, Plus, and Advantage. The explanations are not visible or intuitive.
“It should come and show me what it is.”Unclear Flight Details
The top date carousel shows one-way flights even when return flights aren’t available, which confuses users trying to book round trips.
“What is the point in showing me one way flights. I want to book the return journey.”Accessibility
Compare Fare Benefits section is difficult to read due to small or unclear text.
“I need to go and get my glasses to read.”
Creating the Customer Journey Map
Using insights from the research phase and affinity diagram, I developed a Customer Journey Map to visualize the full flight booking experience from a user’s perspective.
This map uncovered key pain points such as:
Confusing ticket pricing and unclear flight info
Navigation difficulties
Overwhelming content and poor CTA visibility
Unclear return flight seat selection
It also captured the user’s emotional journey—from optimism to confusion, helplessness, and frustration.
By mapping these stages, I identified clear opportunities to:
Simplify pricing structures
Improve layout with intuative navigation
Clarify key actions and booking details
Design a more supportive and user-friendly flow
This map served as a foundation for informed design decisions focused on creating a smoother, more intuitive booking experience.
STAGE 3 | Design
Designing the Experience: Flow Diagram & Low-Fidelity Prototyping
I created a Flow Diagram to map the user journey, highlight key decision points, and streamline the booking process. Then, I developed a Low-Fidelity Paper Prototype to quickly explore layout and interaction ideas.
This fast, iterative method helped test and refine concepts early—saving time and setting the stage for a clean, user-friendly experience.
Flow Diagram Insight
The flow diagram mapped each step of the airline booking journey, revealing the most efficient paths and highlighting friction points. It helped prioritize key features and suggest improvements for a smoother experience.
One such suggestion: a "Fare Options Popup"—clearly displaying fare types, flight details, and a simple CTA—was added to support user decision-making early in the process.
Paired with the Customer Journey Map, the flow diagram shaped the product’s structure before moving into medium-fidelity design.
Designing for Clarity and Confidence
Insights from the affinity diagram, customer journey map, and flow diagram uncovered a key user frustration: a lack of clear, accessible information and feedback throughout the booking process. Many users felt unsure about what they were booking and missed timely reminders that could guide their decisions.
To address this, I developed low-fidelity paper sketches aimed at simplifying navigation and emphasizing essential details. A key solution was a summary pop-up that offers real-time feedback on user selections—helping users confirm their choices, stay oriented, and feel more confident throughout the journey.
These early explorations laid a solid foundation for iteration and refinement before moving into higher-fidelity design stages.
From Research to Low-Fidelity Design
Using insights from the affinity diagram, customer journey map, and flow diagram, I gained a deeper understanding of the user's mental model—particularly around frustration with the lack of clear, accessible information during booking.
One key theme that emerged: users struggled to make decisions due to limited fare information.
To address this, I created low-fidelity paper sketches focused on simplifying navigation and surfacing key details. By stripping away visual noise, I was able to quickly test a solution—such as a fare details dropdown within a Fare Options Popup—to see if it improved clarity and decision-making. This could be a solution to make the core information accessible to the diverse types of users.
These early sketches laid a strong foundation for refining ideas before moving into higher-fidelity design.
STAGE 4 | Prototype
The mid-fidelity prototype builds on low-fidelity sketches.
The mid-fidelity prototype expanded on the low-fidelity sketches, focusing on layout, structure, and core functionality—without the distraction of final visual design elements.
A key area of emphasis was on confirmation screens and summaries that encourage users to continue the booking process by making all essential information easily accessible. This design direction was directly informed by usability testing feedback, where participants consistently expressed the need for clearer, real-time information and reassurance at key decision points.
This level of fidelity enabled more precise user testing and yielded valuable insights into interaction, flow, and overall usability. By accurately simulating key user actions and refining core features, the prototype validated our design decisions while highlighting areas for further improvement.
UX Design Project Overview
Redesigning the Flight Booking Experience
As a UX designer, I redesigned the flight booking experience to improve clarity, accessibility, and user confidence throughout the multi-step journey. Research revealed that users often felt lost, overwhelmed by cluttered interfaces, and unsure of their booking progress or next steps.
To solve this, I developed a persistent, context-aware overlay notification system that clearly shows the user’s current step in the process, recaps their original search criteria, displays real-time updates of their selections, and guides them on what to do next.
This solution significantly reduced confusion, improved task completion rates, and enhanced the overall user experience by making the booking flow more intuitive and user-friendly.