This is our journey. Offcourse.

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The assignment

“Design a Frictionless Air Travel Boarding Procedure, from the moment you leave house until you step into the bus or taxi to your destination.”

Introduction

As designers we were assigned with simplifying a small part of the air travel boarding procedure. We started by doing research on the travel boarding procedure. We collected new insights during a tour by Rotterdam and Eindhoven Airport. There we spoke with a Air Traffic Controller and a logistics manager about the technical advancements at the airport. We also spoke with travelers and observed their behavior. Based on this information we shaped three concepts and we presented these to VanBerlo. Finally we picked one of these concepts and developed it into a working prototype. In this case study you will find more information about our design process and the final result.

Marissa van Vliet
Interaction design


Daniël de Wit
Prototyping


Arend Kamp
Visual design


Tim Laukens
Concepting


The research

Insights and observations that have driven us in the development of our concepts

Service will become a luxury for a small group of passengers.
Within 5 years service will become more important.
Staff will focus on different types of travelers.
Travelers will ask questions to staff workers, even when signs are in place.
Staff may only explain to travelers what they have to do, they can't do it for them.
Staff workers don't always know about new information during the day.
Travelers will rely upon each other when faced with unexpected events.
The longest queues are at staffed information when unexpected events happen.
Travellers want to have instant reliable information access to be self-reliant.

The concepts





“A device for those with special needs”


A personalized item, that provides travelers with special needs (people in wheelchairs, people with huge luggage, elderly people or children) with information at the right time. Currently it is not clear for travelers what the procedure is for their kind of need. Every situation is different at each airport. We want to help those travellers navigate flawlessly through the airport so they can feel more confident during their stay at the airport.





“A helping hand in an unsuspected situation”


In an insecure and unexpected situation (like a flight cancellation or a missed flight) we want to help connect travelers with the same problem and the same solution. The airport organization will look for different solutions for these problems. Currently travelers have to wait in line before a desk to use these solutions. When people choose a solution inside an app the airport organization will instantly know which people have chosen a solution. These people can then be connected to each other by the airport organization so they can gather at a common spot.





“Super staff member”


An object or device that empowers personnel to provide better support to travelers. The service provided by personnel is already being changed by the upcoming of the self-service machines. Personnel is moved towards the other side of the desk. They cannot ʻhideʼ behind their desk anymore. A more active attitude is expected from personnel. Another result is that personnel is more quickly approached by travelers with questions.



Offcourse logo


Offcourse

VanBerlo found the concept about unsuspected situations most interesting because of the challenges that were lying ahead. We had to come up with a strong interaction for the time when travelers are faced with a negative experience and providing a solution is critical. It is a great UX challenge to show the end-user good alternatives in an intuitive way.

The guidelines

A translation of insights into practical guidelines for designing.

Airlines try to stall a flight as long as possible before they cancel it.

The airport operation service sends information to interested parties.

All communication is currently handled by mail and could be replaced by a backend system.

The handler checks how many people make use of their service.

The handler arranges transport in cooperation with the airport.

Travellers are entitled to services and compensation when their flight is delayed.


The airliner sends a text message to passengers when their flight is delayed.

The handler hands out vouchers with a value that can be redeemed at a shop or restaurant.

Has a flight been delayed or canceled?

Delayed

Passengers are entitled to services and compensation depending on how long they have to wait and how much later they arrive.

Canceled

Passengers are entitled to services, compensation or refund if they have been informed two weeks prior to their flight or later.

How long will passengers have to wait?

Longer then 2 hours

Passengers are entitled to services like food, drinks and overnight accommodations, depending on the time they have to wait.

Longer then 5 hours

Passengers are also entitled to a refund of their ticket. If passengers choose to refund they are no longer entitled to airliner services.

How much later wil passengers arrive?

Later then 3 hours

Passengers are entitled to compensation between € 250 and € 600 depending on E.U. borders and flying distance.

video

Our concept explained in cinematographic quality.

Business Case

Offcourse will change the market from the inside.

A Backend scenario

  • 15:30

    A flight has been delayed, all the 180 passengers have been stranded at the airport.

  • 15:40

    The airliner registers the flight in a backend system. All connected parties have insight in the stranded passengers.

  • 15:40

    All parties involved can indicate what they have to offer. For example, a hotel can offer 45 rooms for a night. The hotel offers the rooms for a reduced price to the airliner.

  • 16:10

    The passenger can pick a solution and gets insight in how the price for a solution is established. Sometimes they get a cashback. In other situations they might have to pay an extra fee.

  • 16:20

    A different airliner has scheduled a flight to the same destination leaving from a different airport. They indicate how many seats they have available. The Passengers register for this flight inside the app (first come first serve). They get redirected by the ground handler to a bus, train or taxi. The original airliner pays for the cost. If the additional cost is larger then the compensation a passenger is entitled to they have to pay an extra fee.

Opportunities for all parties involved

Airliners will have a solution for their clients when a flight is canceled. Other airliners can offer solution to passengers who are stranded and get empty seats filled.

Airport shops and restaurants can get new customers by offering their services. A coffee bar can offer a vouches and receive new customers.

Passengers have rights, which were created by the European Union. These rights are used to get a base price for alternative flights, hotels, food and drinks.

Interaction

How passengers will use Offcourse to find a solution.

Notifications

The lead booker gets a text message from the airliner which redirect them to our web applicaton: Offcourse. They will find more information about their flight, alternative solutions, and their rights as a traveler. The lead booker is also kept informed by notifications.

Flight plan

The main booker receives a text message which redirects them to their flight plan. This is an overview of all his activities. At this point in time there are no delays and their flight will still arrive on time.

Delay

if the flight is delayed or canceled, the traveler will receive a new flight plan.

The traveler will see more updates about their delayed flight, alternative solutions and information about his rights as a traveler.

Solutions

Our research has shown that the ground handler at the airport organises solutions in cooperation with the airliner. The flight will be delayed as long as possible before it gets cancelled, so the new solution can be organised. Offcourse offers alternative flight information to travellers so they won't have to wait before the airliner and the ground handler make their solution available.

Rights

The traveler has certain rights when their flight is delayed. After 2 hours of delay, the traveller is entitled to a beverage. In Offcourse they will be offered a voucher for a cup of coffee. The can pick it up at their favorite restaurant by scanning the QR code.

Visual guide

The Offcourse application is more than just language.

Typography

Titillium Web
#bold

For the heading we used Titilium Web. It is a powerfull font with an extensive set of characters. We used this font to display the important information in a small overview.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Open Sans
#regular

We chose Open Sans for bodytext. The main reason for this choice is readability. It is important that the user can easily read the content and that they feel assured.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Color

The colors that are used are white, grey and blue. This makes the design easy to read and understand. The blue tones are mostly used for highlighting the important information. Also blue is a very trustfull color.

The secondary colors are mostly used for different states. For example ‘delayed’ or ‘on schedule’. We also used this color for the ‘time left’.

255 255 255
# FFFFFF
244 244 244
# F5F5F5
0 76 115
# 004C73
0 50 79
# 00324F
82 182 218
# 52B6DA
# 1AAF5C
# 1ECF6D
# F3C500
# F59D00
# FB381A

The prototype

Try it for yourself!

Open the prototype

Credits

We would like to thank everyone who has helped us during the project. You Rock!