United Airlines Change or Cancel Flight
How might we help customers easily change or cancel an upcoming trip in the United Airlines app?
Smartphones have become personalized travel companions for many people. United Airlines identified the need to empower customers to self-service and manage their travel with speed and convenience on their phones. Working with a UI designer, I introduced the ability to change and cancel flights on the app, making United the first major U.S. airline to offer in-app trip management.
Challenge
Help business travelers with changing schedules manage their flights by adding new change and cancel trip features to the United Airlines app.
Solution
Reduce service center calls and in-person agent inquiries by enabling customers to change and cancel a trip on their mobile devices.
Role
Strategy, UX Design, Architecture
Software
iOS and Android
Discovery
In order to understand the current app, I gathered internal data, reviewed existing personas, and mapped the current flow.
Devices
Data analytics on app users and device types revealed that a majority of United app users have Apple devices:
67% of app users have iPhones
12% are using iPads
21% of users are using Android phones and tablets (the data does not differentiate)
Personas
The United Airlines app has 800,000 daily users. I leveraged existing United personas to understand the target audience for this feature.
​
Primary personas
A large share of company revenue comes from business travelers who fly frequently and are loyal customers. This user group is adept at using the app. Common pain points include:
Experience frequent changes to their schedules.
Desire the ability to self-service so that they can manage trip changes independently and expedite the process.
Expect premium treatment because of their frequent flyer status.
Secondary persona
Frequent leisure travelers are another heavy app user group. This group comprises young adults who travel 5-6 times a year, look for bargains, and book travel on short notice. Common pain points include:
This technology native prefers to resolve travel issues using their phone on the app or website.
Bargain trip itineraries often include connecting flights, which sometimes have short layovers, which can cause travel anxiety.
User flow
Next, I collected screens and documented the existing user flow to understand the current app. I also studied other areas like the flight booking path for interaction patterns that could be replicated and modified for the trip management features.
Design
Next, I collected screens and documented the existing user flow to understand the current app. I also studied other areas like the flight booking path for interaction patterns that could be replicated and modified for the trip management features. After studying the flows, I was able to identify opportunities for improvement. I focused on including several key principles:
Streamline navigation
Simplify the amount of effort it takes for users to find key information by reducing the number of steps it takes to complete a task.
Grouping and Proximity
Grouping the change and cancel buttons on the bottom of the Trip Details screen would help bring structure and hierarchy to the page. Additionally, it would focus user attention to common areas of navigation.
Wireframes
Change flow
Cancel flow
Solution
Successfully launched new features, culminating in 10% of cancelations taking place in the app during the launch week.
Review itinerary
Change
​
Cancel
