Team
UX/UI Designers
Daniel Bedoya, Christie Cheng
Data Scientists
Olabisi Sunmon, Helen Gaskell
Software Engineers
Jonathan Anderson, Luis Blanca
Project Type
Cross Disciplinary Hackathon
Duration
24 hours (March 2023)
Overview
THE CHALLENGE
Boosting premium cabin bookings.
Tackling the problem.
British Airways operates across different countries. They wanted to increase the number of bookings in premium cabins purchased by leisure customers who belonged to younger generations. Premium is classified as 'Club World' and 'First' on long-haul flights and 'Club Europe' on short-haul flights. Given the challenge, we had to either:
Find new customers
Re-engage existing customers who have not flown recently.
Encourage existing customers to buy a higher cabin.
Encourage existing customers to buy an additional trip.
What did we decide to focus on?
Our goal was to increase the number of leisure customers who purchase a seat in ‘Club World’. To do this, we decided to identify new ways to encourage existing customers to buy a higher cabin.
Encourage existing customers to buy a higher cabin.
PROJECT KICKOFF
Defining constraints.
What can we accomplish in less than 24-hours?
With less than 24 hours to work with, we had to be strategic and realistic. After discussing implementation limitations with our engineers and data availability with our data scientists, we discovered two key limitations:
Our engineers could only build a web app within the 24-hour timeframe to focus on finalising the prototype for the presentation.
Our data scientists had limited access to British Airways' public datasets, forcing us to use data from sister airlines like American Airlines or older datasets.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Informing our approach.
What did we find?
Our data science team was tasked with finding datasets to guide our design decisions. Despite limited access to British Airways' public data, they successfully identified the following:
Gen Zers and Millennials are the highest spenders when they travel.
Millennials are 60% more likely to purchase seats with extra legroom while flying. 68% of millennials and 66% of Gen Zers prefer comfort over speed when choosing a mode of transportation.
70% Gen-Z belong to Premium Loyalty programmes
Key findings- young demographics favour:
Spending. They are often driven by a desire for instant gratification, experiences, and status, which makes spending on trendy products, travel, and services feel rewarding and in line with their values of self-expression, social connection, and living in the moment.
Comfort. They prioritize comfort for its convenience and relaxation, seeking experiences that offer ease and well-being in a fast-paced world.
Loyalty points. Because they offer tangible rewards and incentives, making spending feel more rewarding while aligning with their desire for value and smart decision-making.
TEAM FOCUS
Club world cabins & Avios points.
Comfort, luxury & loyalty.
After discovering that younger generations prioritise spending, comfort, and loyalty points, we developed a strategy to appeal to this audience by:
Highlighting the benefits of upgrading to a higher cabin.
Emphasising the luxury and comfort of Club World cabins.
Emphasising the ease of earning and redeeming Avios points.
USER PERSONA
Who are we designing for?
Meet Shannon.
Our persona is a hard-working individual who frequently travels to new destinations, immerses herself in new cultures, and enjoys leisure activities.
She values disconnecting and relaxation while traveling but finds complex reward systems and limited premium seats frustrating. She’s willing to pay more for comfort, quality rest, and to arrive refreshed.
DESIGN FOCUS
Encourage young travellers like Shannon, a loyal BA customer, to upgrade to a premium cabin.
APP AUDIT
Mapping the existing user journey.
How can you upgrade to a premium cabin?
We analysed the current app and mapped out the user journey for customers who wanted to upgrade their flight using the app.
The existing BA app lacked a user-friendly way for customers to upgrade to a premium cabin. After booking a flight, customers couldn't easily upgrade or track their Avios points.
THE SOLUTION
The British Airways AR experience.
Luxury augmented.
We created an interactive AR experience to inspire upgrades by showcasing the exclusive benefits of Club World, including luxurious seating, gourmet dining, priority check-in, and Avios partners in the terminal.
ESTIMATED IMPACT
Implementation plan.
Data collection.
We would aim to implement our strategy in the industry - by collecting relevant data such as customer demographics, Avios points, click rates, and conversion rates.
Personalisation.
We would then use this information to recommend rewards tailored to each customer. Based on their past travel destinations, popular destinations within their age group, current travel trends, and preferences for Avios hotel partners.
LEARNINGS
Key takeaways from collaborating with the winning team.
How did we end up winning the hackathon?
In a fast-paced and time-sensitive environment like a 24-hour hackathon, effective collaboration and teamwork was essential for achieving project goals.
It was vital to utilise data to inform design decisions, identify user needs, and evaluate the effectiveness of our solution. Data analysis is key to creating user-centred products that meet business goals.
During the hackathon, we had the freedom to be creative in developing innovative solutions. However, it was important to balance creativity with practicality and ensure that the final product met the needs of users and stakeholders while also being viable and feasible.
