Overview
Redesigning the change and cancellation flow for Air Canada due the affects of COVID-19. Our goal was to create a seamless, easy to use, and quick flow for users to be able to cancel or change their flights online.
With the new refund flow, customers are now able to cancel their flights quickly via aircanada.com. We provided them with flexibility by offering customers three different ways to receive their payment that met both customer and business needs.
Role
Lead UX Designer, Booking Flow
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I was the sole designer, working with closely with key stakeholders to come up with a final solution.
Length
March- June 2020
Why change, why now?
Three major problems
The pandemic posed many challenges for Air Canada who had to cancel almost all of their flights due to COVID restrictions and government regulations within Canada and all over the world.
In this situation, there were three main problems we were facing:
Hundreds of flights were being cancelled everyday within Air Canada and its partner airlines.
Customers were reaching out and were upset they weren’t able to get their money back quickly.
Overwhelmed call centres
The cancelled flights caused call centres wait times to be days long with no real solution in place.
These problems were persistent and needed a solution as soon as possible. It was clear that the longer we waited, the worst each problem would get. This would not only cause customer dissatisfaction but impact business goals.
Knowing all the information, it was clear that our objective was to make:
“Immediate changes to existing cancellation flow on aircanada.com to improve customer selection of flight cancellation”
Understanding our goals
Before we deep-dived into a solution, it was vital for us that we understood the goals of both parties involved and how we could give a solution that satisfies what each one needs.
To do this, we created statements that we felt fit our customers’s and business’s needs based on our knowledge of the situation. This step provided us clarity on our problems, especially in a very quick timeline- allowing to better come up with a solution that solves what everyone needs.
Our customers
They were frustrated at our cancellation policies, our wait times, and felt that their money was stolen out of no fault of their own.
Our businesses
We still needed to make money. Our goal was to retain customer satisfaction and loyalty whilst maintaining a business during a pandemic.
Providing customers with flexibility
After understanding what the customers and business needed, we came up with a flexible solution. We felt that the best way to satisfy both parties was to give them options.
Customers who purchased a refundable flight had the option to cancel their flight and receive a full refund but customers who had non refundable flight did not. This allowed us to retain customer loyalty, as we would be providing them with two extra options when cancelling their flight. The options included:
Converting the value of their flight to Aeroplan points (1.5x more)
Converting the full value of their flight to a flight voucher.
Full or partial refund if applicable
By providing two additional options and an incentive to convert to Aeroplan points, this would not only retain customers but provide them additional flexibility and keep both the business and customer satisfied.
The customer’s journey
We began the design process by mapping out the customers journey. This allowed us to better understand the user journey and find ways to simplify an already complex and frustrating flow. The flow allowed us to find small pain points in the current cancellation flow and improve them. This included adding a refund policies page for customers to learn more.
Designing the solution
Since the flow is fairly simple, we wanted to design a simple approach to match. We did this by allowing customers to be able to quickly cancel or change a flight without any interruptions. The idea was to keep the process clean and clear by providing as much information as possible and allowing customers to understand what’s going on. We felt that during such a vulnerable time that this was important.
It was important for us to work directly with copywriters as we wanted to make sure that the content was as easy to understand as the flow itself. Content allowed us to be able to communicate the steps we wanted our customers to take when they navigated through through the flow. By using colour as an accent, we would highlight important content so that customers were able to find all their information quickly and cancel their flights online without any hassle.
At this stage, I worked closely with the copywriter to ensure the content was clear and concise.
Introducing the Air Canada COVID Refund Flow...
The solution
Quick and easy cancellation
Instead of waiting for a call centre representative on the phone, customers are able to log into their account and cancel their booking.
From there they can select from three options, and be instantly refunded for their flight. This reduces call centre wait times, and allows customers to get money back quicker.
Cancellation policies
Customers were extremely frustrated at this time, and we wanted to ensure they had all the information they needed in order to make an informed decision.
To do this, we worked with the content designer to explain the options available, in detail.
Impactful designs = impactful results
As of July 3rd, 2020, the COVID-19 refund flow has processed over 41,000 reservations with a revenue retention rate of over 77% with 86% of reservations converted to a gift voucher.
This new process has allowed Air Canada to save hundreds of thousands of dollars during a very unprecedented time for the airline industry. It has been positively received by customers for its flexibility and seamless experience, allowing to us to not only retain revenue but customer loyalty.
Gift card
Aeroplan miles
Key learnings
After designs, we ran the solution through carriers to get their feedback and thoughts. Overall, carriers were happy to see Rose Rocket implement a much needed Driver Calendar and Settlement but also let us know that the feature wasn’t perfect and could use some improvements.
We knew that given the timeframe, we were able to design an MVP of Driver Calendar and Settlement that we could improve and add to in the next few months once we get more carriers to start using it.
Design generally not specifically
It was difficult to find a good balance between satisfying customers and the business. We knew that the only way to do this was to give customers options and it took a lot of trial and error in order to discover what was the right options to show.
Start small and build
The UX of this project heavily depended on the content. In order for us to provide a great experience for customers and to simplify the cancellation process, the content had to clear and precise.
Next steps
Showroom is nowhere near complete. With user testing and dealer feedback, we plan to make iterations to help ensure that Showroom fits the needs of both dealers and customers. We also have a few features in queue for future release to help better improve the car buying experience for both customers and dealers:
Continuous A/B testing
The DTL (Design Testing Lab) team will be doing A/B testing throughout the year to monitor the process and find ways to improve and increase revenue retention.
Future updates
With certainty of the pandemic, the flow will constantly need to evolve based on future government regulations and COVID updates.
Copyright© 2023 Jane Tran.