Headliner
Surfaces the most urgent or contextual information based on where the traveler is in their journey.
View Reservation Redesign
Business Objective
In 2021, the Manage Reservation team initiated the View Reservation redesign to help American Airlines customers confidently self‑serve 100% of their trip related needs online. The objective was to reduce reliance on call centers, improve digital Day of Travel clarity, and increase revenue through ancillary sales all while creating an experience travelers could navigate with ease during the most time sensitive moments of their journey.
PRIMARY
Increase self‑service success by addressing key areas where customers were dropping off or calling for help.
SECONDARY
Increase AAdvantage® enrollment by presenting value and benefits at the right moments.
PRIMARY
Improve Day‑of‑Travel clarity by making trip information simple, scannable, and action‑oriented.
SECONDARY
Grow ancillary revenue by making add‑ons and upgrades easier to find and understand.
Discovery
Research
Our initial discovery combined qualitative insights from users with quantitative analysis from digital behavior and call center data, giving us a clear picture of where travelers were struggling.
Speaking to the User
Through interviews and feedback sessions, we learned that passengers often felt unsure about:
- What actions they could or should take
- Which details were most important at each stage of their journey
- Whether information on the page was fully up to date
Users repeatedly expressed anxiety around missing a step, misunderstanding a policy, or accidentally making changes they couldn’t reverse.
Competitive Analysis
A scan of other travel and service platforms surfaced a consistent industry trend:
- Clear hierarchy
- Predictable patterns
- Single click access to “next step” actions
This highlighted an opportunity for us to simplify and standardize the interaction model.
Current Pain Points
(Data driven)
Are you thinking of keywords you should rank for? Are you including links in your text to additional information?
My Leadership and Strategic Impact
Throughout this redesign, I often guided the team through the natural tension between business priorities and creating the right customer experience. As the organization pushed for revenue outcomes, I helped designers frame conversations around user impact, bring data to the discussion, and collaborate constructively with cross‑functional partners. Sometimes the user experience advanced; sometimes business OKRs took precedence — and I coached the team on how to navigate those trade‑offs thoughtfully and professionally.
A key outcome of this work was the growth of the people involved. One of our junior designers, who led much of the testing, documentation, and validation work, grew significantly in their strategic thinking and communication skills through this project and was promoted to Senior Product Designer as well as Directors award Winner.
This redesign also became one of the first fully data‑driven pages at American Airlines, using analytics, user research, and continuous validation to inform decisions at every step. Despite challenges with platforms, personalities, and delivery pressures, I kept the team aligned, focused, and supported — ensuring we continued to elevate the product while advocating for the customer.
My role in this effort was not just to deliver a better experience, but to strengthen the team, improve cross‑functional collaboration, and embed a more rigorous, insight‑led approach to product design.
This data informed an early hypothesis
Travelers don’t need more information - they need better organized, time relevant information.
Wireframes
Early wireframes helped us validate hierarchy, content strategy, and placement of key actions like:
- Trip summary essentials
- Dynamic “next step” modules
- Travel + flight cards
- Disruption handling
User Testing, early and often
Across multiple rounds of testing with both internal and external users, we continually refined:
- Terminology clarity
- Button placement and action predictability
- Mobile readability
- Information cadence
Our iterative testing ensured the design aligned with user expectations and reduced the “Am I missing something?” anxiety.
Features Delivered
Each feature was designed to directly support a user need or reduce reliance on support channels:
Passenger Card
Consolidates traveler‑specific actions like seat selection and upgrades.
Salutation and Nav bar
Personalizes the experience and clarifies where users are within their trip.
Travel and Flight card
Give a single source of truth across complex itineraries.
Recommender
Offer personalized, relevant upsell opportunities without being intrusive.
Disruption Hub
Equips travelers with real‑time, self‑serve options during irregular operations.
View Reservation Redesign
Business Objective
In 2021, the Manage Reservation team initiated the View Reservation redesign to help American Airlines customers confidently self‑serve 100% of their trip related needs online. The objective was to reduce reliance on call centers, improve digital Day of Travel clarity, and increase revenue through ancillary sales all while creating an experience travelers could navigate with ease during the most time sensitive moments of their journey.
My Leadership and Strategic Impact
Throughout this redesign, I often guided the team through the natural tension between business priorities and creating the right customer experience. As the organization pushed for revenue outcomes, I helped designers frame conversations around user impact, bring data to the discussion, and collaborate constructively with cross‑functional partners. Sometimes the user experience advanced; sometimes business OKRs took precedence — and I coached the team on how to navigate those trade‑offs thoughtfully and professionally.
A key outcome of this work was the growth of the people involved. One of our junior designers, who led much of the testing, documentation, and validation work, grew significantly in their strategic thinking and communication skills through this project and was promoted to Senior Product Designer as well as Directors award Winner.
This redesign also became one of the first fully data‑driven pages at American Airlines, using analytics, user research, and continuous validation to inform decisions at every step. Despite challenges with platforms, personalities, and delivery pressures, I kept the team aligned, focused, and supported — ensuring we continued to elevate the product while advocating for the customer.
My role in this effort was not just to deliver a better experience, but to strengthen the team, improve cross‑functional collaboration, and embed a more rigorous, insight‑led approach to product design.
Problem Statement
How might we help passengers more easily understand and manage their trip details so they feel confident and in control throughout their journey?
Discovery
Research
Our initial discovery combined qualitative insights from users with quantitative analysis from digital behavior and call center data, giving us a clear picture of where travelers were struggling.
Speaking to the User
Through interviews and feedback sessions, we learned that passengers often felt unsure about:
- What actions they could or should take
- Which details were most important at each stage of their journey
- Whether information on the page was fully up to date
Users repeatedly expressed anxiety around missing a step, misunderstanding a policy, or accidentally making changes they couldn’t reverse.
Competitive Analysis
A scan of other travel and service platforms surfaced a consistent industry trend:
- Clear hierarchy
- Predictable patterns
- Single click access to “next step” actions
This highlighted an opportunity for us to simplify and standardize the interaction model.
Current Pain Points (Data driven)
Are you thinking of keywords you should rank for? Are you including links in your text to additional information?
This data informed an early hypothesis
Travelers don’t need more information - they need better organized, time relevant information.
Define and
Design
We paired behavioral data with feedback from Customer Care and frontline agents to identify the most valuable redesign opportunities. By mapping user needs to the trip timeline, we learned:
- Long lead travelers prioritize high‑level itinerary + add‑ons.
- Mid journey travelers need clarity around seat selection, upgrades, and disruptions.
- Day of Travel users want immediate access to boarding passes, status changes, and alerts.
This framing ensured the redesign wasn’t just visually improved but that it was strategically sequenced to support different user mindsets.
Wireframes
Early wireframes helped us validate hierarchy, content strategy, and placement of key actions like:
- Trip summary essentials
- Dynamic “next step” modules
- Travel + flight cards
- Disruption handling
User Testing, early and often
Across multiple rounds of testing with both internal and external users, we continually refined:
- Terminology clarity
- Button placement and action predictability
- Mobile readability
- Information cadence
Our iterative testing ensured the design aligned with user expectations and reduced the “Am I missing something?” anxiety.
Travel and Flight card
Give a single source of truth across complex itineraries.
Recommender
Offer personalized, relevant upsell opportunities without being intrusive.
Disruption Hub
Equips travelers with real‑time, self‑serve options during irregular operations.
Outcomes
The redesigned View Reservation experience delivered measurable impact in production. These outcomes validate that redesigning for clarity and actionability not only improves experience, it drives business results.
Features Delivered
Each feature was designed to directly support a user need or reduce reliance on support channels:
Headliner
Surfaces the most urgent or contextual information based on where the traveler is in their journey.
Passenger Card
Consolidates traveler‑specific actions like seat selection and upgrades.
Salutation and Nav bar
Personalizes the experience and clarifies where users are within their trip.
View Reservation Redesign
Business Objective
In 2021, the Manage Reservation team initiated the View Reservation redesign to help American Airlines customers confidently self‑serve 100% of their trip related needs online. The objective was to reduce reliance on call centers, improve digital Day of Travel clarity, and increase revenue through ancillary sales all while creating an experience travelers could navigate with ease during the most time sensitive moments of their journey.
PRIMARY
Increase self‑service success by addressing key areas where customers were dropping off or calling for help.
SECONDARY
Increase AAdvantage® enrollment by presenting value and benefits at the right moments.
PRIMARY
Improve Day‑of‑Travel clarity by making trip information simple, scannable, and action‑oriented.
SECONDARY
Grow ancillary revenue by making add‑ons and upgrades easier to find and understand.
My Leadership and Strategic Impact
Throughout this redesign, I often guided the team through the natural tension between business priorities and creating the right customer experience. As the organization pushed for revenue outcomes, I helped designers frame conversations around user impact, bring data to the discussion, and collaborate constructively with cross‑functional partners. Sometimes the user experience advanced; sometimes business OKRs took precedence — and I coached the team on how to navigate those trade‑offs thoughtfully and professionally.
A key outcome of this work was the growth of the people involved. One of our junior designers, who led much of the testing, documentation, and validation work, grew significantly in their strategic thinking and communication skills through this project and was promoted to Senior Product Designer as well as Directors award Winner.
This redesign also became one of the first fully data‑driven pages at American Airlines, using analytics, user research, and continuous validation to inform decisions at every step. Despite challenges with platforms, personalities, and delivery pressures, I kept the team aligned, focused, and supported — ensuring we continued to elevate the product while advocating for the customer.
My role in this effort was not just to deliver a better experience, but to strengthen the team, improve cross‑functional collaboration, and embed a more rigorous, insight‑led approach to product design.
Problem Statement
How might we help passengers more easily understand and manage their trip details so they feel confident and in control throughout their journey?
Discovery
Research
Our initial discovery combined qualitative insights from users with quantitative analysis from digital behavior and call center data, giving us a clear picture of where travelers were struggling.
Speaking to the User
Through interviews and feedback sessions, we learned that passengers often felt unsure about:
- What actions they could or should take
- Which details were most important at each stage of their journey
- Whether information on the page was fully up to date
Users repeatedly expressed anxiety around missing a step, misunderstanding a policy, or accidentally making changes they couldn’t reverse.
Competitive Analysis
A scan of other travel and service platforms surfaced a consistent industry trend:
- Clear hierarchy
- Predictable patterns
- Single click access to “next step” actions
This highlighted an opportunity for us to simplify and standardize the interaction model.
Current Pain Points (Data driven)
Data analysis uncovered three critical signals:
- Call drivers were disproportionately tied to trip details. Customers were calling to confirm information that should have been clear digitally.
- Action based tasks (seat changes, upgrades, same‑day travel options) were buried or inconsistent, resulting in unnecessary friction.
- Customers’ needs shifted dramatically over time, what mattered 20+ days out was very different from the final 24 hours.
This data informed an early hypothesis
Travelers don’t need more information - they need better organized, time relevant information.
Define and
Design
We paired behavioral data with feedback from Customer Care and frontline agents to identify the most valuable redesign opportunities. By mapping user needs to the trip timeline, we learned:
- Long lead travelers prioritize high‑level itinerary + add‑ons.
- Mid journey travelers need clarity around seat selection, upgrades, and disruptions.
- Day of Travel users want immediate access to boarding passes, status changes, and alerts.
This framing ensured the redesign wasn’t just visually improved but that it was strategically sequenced to support different user mindsets.
Wireframes
Early wireframes helped us validate hierarchy, content strategy, and placement of key actions like:
- Trip summary essentials
- Dynamic “next step” modules
- Travel + flight cards
- Disruption handling
User Testing, early and often
Across multiple rounds of testing with both internal and external users, we continually refined:
- Terminology clarity
- Button placement and action predictability
- Mobile readability
- Information cadence
Our iterative testing ensured the design aligned with user expectations and reduced the “Am I missing something?” anxiety.
Features Delivered
Each feature was designed to directly support a user need or reduce reliance on support channels:
Headliner
Surfaces the most urgent or contextual information based on where the traveler is in their journey.
Passenger Card
Consolidates traveler‑specific actions like seat selection and upgrades.
Salutation and Nav bar
Personalizes the experience and clarifies where users are within their trip.
Travel and Flight card
Give a single source of truth across complex itineraries.
Recommender
Offer personalized, relevant upsell opportunities without being intrusive.
Disruption Hub
Equips travelers with real‑time, self‑serve options during irregular operations.
Outcomes
The redesigned View Reservation experience delivered measurable impact in production. These outcomes validate that redesigning for clarity and actionability not only improves experience, it drives business results.
Self Service Adoption
7.8%↑
Check in
18.86%↑
Increase Revenue (Add bags)
25.6%↑
Increase Revenue
(Carry on Pet)
340%↑
Increase Revenue
(Instant upsell)
243%↑
Increase Revenue
(Admirals club)
25%↑
Continual Delivery
We treated View Reservation as a living product, not a one‑time release. By applying a continuous improvement model informed by QXScore, customer feedback, and emerging operational needs, we delivered updates yearly that further strengthened reliability, clarity, and value.
