Overview

Placed 4th at the 2021 Reply Challenge out of 2000 applicants. With only a team of two and 48 hours to complete, EasyJet challenged us to re-design their user web and app experience and inspire travellers to explore new destinations and jump on the latest opportunities.

As a team of Canadian travel enthusiasts, we first encountered easyJet on our Erasmus semester in university. We remembered being in a new continent for the first time, not knowing where to go but wanting to see everything. When booking trips, we would toggle between travel guides, trip itineraries, Google Maps and our calendars. So when EasyJet challenged designers to re-imagine the travel search experience, we jumped at the opportunity.

EasyJet Web Prototype

Problem

The process of booking travel has become stagnant. The standard approach to search for flights or holidays is to allow users to enter "From", "To", "When", and "Who" before displaying the relevant results.

The classic search approach assumes travellers know exactly where they want to go and when. This is a problem because travelers will miss out on opportunities to see new places, and easyJet will miss out on additional bookings.

HOW MIGHT WE,

Create a platform that inspires travelers who don't know where they want to go yet and allow them to book, budget-friendly flights, and holidays in a fast and seamless way?

Solution

Our solution is the introduction of a new branch of easyJet called easyExplore. The idea is to elevate easyJet to incorporate a travel guide that inspires users to book their next trip. By taking users through an onboarding questionnaire, EasyExplore can generate curated trip suggestions for different travellers based on their interests.

It is important to incorporate the 'exploration' aspect of travel from the initial stages of trip planning.

Establishing a User Journey

Our solution is the introduction of a new branch of easyJet called easyJet Explore. The idea is to elevate easyJet to incorporate a travel guide that inspires users to book their next trip. By taking users through an onboarding questionnaire, EasyExplore can generate curated trip suggestions for different travelers based on their interests. It is important to incorporate the 'exploration' aspect of travel right from the initial stages of trip planning.

Onboarding Questionnaire

EasyJet wants users to start exploring before they've even left their couch. We created a user journey that goes from broad to specific, to help travelers decide on their next trip. We designed a fun, engaging, and easy five-step onboarding questionnaire. Users answer the questions, and easyExplore generates the perfect holiday suggestions.

Travel Guide

Travelers can explore a unique travel guide about a location of their choosing. From here they can get inspired to book new experiences, find places to eat, or read articles about the location they're chosen. Users can also, "Add to my easyTrip". This feature allows users to create travel mood boards and itineraries which will continue to inspire them to book their next trip and/or flight.

Designing for a Mobile Experience

Research & Emphasizing

We completed a Benchmark Analysis to compare easyJet's existing platform to the best practices in the industry. This involved researching other travel related companies, airlines and easyJet's competitors.

We then created a PACT Analysis that helped our team narrow down our research and determine our main problem, solution, and user personas.

User Personas

Name: Jack

Gender: Male

Age: 24 years old

Scenario: planning a bachelor party trip for his mate.

Jack is passionate about beer, music, and a good deal. He will be traveling with 5 other groomsmen and the groom who have put all the responsibility on poor Jack. He would like to travel to a city in Eastern Europe that has lots of hot clubs to party hard and celebrate. Although, he has been struggling with keeping the trip on budget and accommodating all of the members participating in the trip. This is Jack's first time planning a trip and he is worried about getting all of the logistics organized.

Name: Julika

Gender: Female

Age: 24 years old

Scenario: Museum curator and travel enthusiast

She loves to explore new cities like a local, so she is always on the lookout. of authentic experience. She has many friends in countries spread all over Europe, and she visits them often. While visiting friends she likes to stop in other places to explore somewhere new. Her current aim is to find the best last minute deals to tack onto her existing mood. This means that packing in a carry-on is rarely an option for Julika. Her struggles are making sure she's able to visit all her friends without wasting any time and finding the best route that well suits her travelling needs.

Names: Dante & John

Genders: Male

Age: 50 years old

Scenario: Dante and John are two fathers from The Netherlands. Dante is a doctor and John is a teacher.

They are looking to plan a summer family vacation for themselves and their two daughters. John is passionate about food and cooking, and his daughters really love to swim. They know they would like to go to Italy, but don’t know where in Italy. Their daughters are 5 years old and 8 years old, so convenience, ease of transportation and safety are priorities. Both men have busy jobs and don’t have too much time to spend planning their family vacation. They would love an all-in-one platform that allowed them to explore destinations in Italy and book straight from the site.

Names: Beth & Harry

Genders: Female | Male

Age: 50 years old

Scenario: Beth and Harry are a retired elderly couple who have been married for over 40 years.

Their love-story began in highschool and although they bicker quite often, they’ve managed to travel to over 30 countries around the world. They’ve dreamed of having the ultimate relaxation vacation in Greece where they get to enjoy lots of beach time, delicious seafood, and many pictures. They are eager to start planning their trip to Greece but struggle to find a reliable, budget friendly guide that will help plan their trip without the headache of figuring out a new and complicated online website. Beth and Harry prefer having assistance with their bags, and taking affordable direct flights from Britain to Greece. They hope to plan their trip with a budget of $3000.