Anxilla: Designing for take off
I designed an intuitive, scalable enterprise solution for Anxilla’s complex white-label workflow, creating a versatile system adaptable to all types of flight upgrades. By integrating consumer UX principles, I optimized the passenger experience and built trust in the platform.
The client
Anxilla is a B2B company that provides a bespoke solution for the airline industry, allowing passengers to purchase a range of ancillary products (aka flight upgrades).
TL;DR
Anxilla aims to boost revenue with a complex bidding system for flight-related upgrades. Their existing upgrade workflows suffered from major design inconsistencies, resulting in low task completion rates amongst airline passengers. Central to this challenge was the need to manage multiple choice points—such as switching between passengers or bidding on different seats.
I was responsible for introducing a scalable and intuitive component design system adaptable to all types of upgrade offerings, while working on their most complex workflow: the neighbour-free seat upgrade.
Role
Sole UX Designer & Researcher.
Duration
Six months.
stakeholder alignment
Defining the scope
Business
challenge
To secure a key airline partnership, Anxilla needed to differentiate with its neighbour-free seat upgrade.
They also wanted to expand their service offerings with multiple upgrade workflows (e.g. meal upgrade, baggage upgrades).
My user testing showed their current design system was extremely confusing to users. The lack of scalability and componentization also risked high development costs to maintain the disparate upgrade solutions. All of this impacted Anxilla’s bottom line interests.
Engineering
challenge
For their white-label product, it was crucial to develop upgrade workflows that could be integrated seamlessly for airline partners with minimal effort and within tight timelines. Without a consistent design pattern, the engineering team faced inefficiencies, as each new upgrade required custom development—resulting in increased timelines, higher costs, and added complexity.
In summary, I learned that they had 2 main needs.
A scalable, consistent & intuitive design workflow to get ready to launch a range of ancillaries, such as seat and meal upgrades.
Responsive & innovative design to showcase to future airline companies, increasing opportunities for airline partnerships.
the challenge
An issue of trust & confidence
A customer survey revealed that 1 in 4 users found Anxilla’s simplest upgrade workflow unintuitive.
key human
challenge
The workflow was inherently complex with multiple choice points, involving tasks like switching between passengers, selecting seats, bidding on upgrades, and understanding the bidding process. Follow up Interviews highlighted that the complexities and inconsistencies further discouraged customers from even trying to place an upgrade bid.
Aside from this, users had a general distrust of the bidding process and the airline industry, all of which meant the designs had to really work well in order to maintain credibility, and achieve target user engagement rates.
I was met with a recurring sentiment from users:
I’m scared of losing my money. Our flight also got canceled once and it was a difficult situation to sort out. So I would rather not attempt anything new."
I'd be too scared to bid, it seems risky and I don't want to lose my selected seat."
The question is then: How might create a trustworthy & reputable ancillary bidding process that maintains credibility, achieves target user engagement rates & reflects positively on the airline’s brand image, whether or not passengers win the bid?
my Approach
Using evidence-based design
I conducted user interviews and usability testing to uncover pain points and evaluate the original platform’s user experience, with a focus on understanding user concerns about the bidding process. In parallel, I performed a heuristic evaluation to pinpoint inconsistencies, usability issues, and areas for improvement. This helped me determine the most crucial issues to address, which include:
No clear process documentation
No clear instruction about the bidding process or what to expect after bidding.
No visibility of system status
No features to prevent slip ups, there is no clear order to complete steps.
Error prevention and diagnosis
Selections for multiple passengers are not shown throughout the process.
Lack of user feedback
Feedback should be prompt, meaningful and perceivable so that users know their actions were detected.
Early experimentation with design patterns
At an early stage, I began to sketch design patterns to test different "types" of interfaces that could house this multi-step process. This helped me expand on my own ideas (aka divergent thinking).
I shared these sketches with a developer on the team to align expectations, and understand feasability at an early stage and narrow down on my design options.
My primary goal was to deliver a functional MVP with an intuitive interface that minimized errors, reduced uncertainty, clarified choice points, and ensured transparent communication to build credibility and meet users’ core needs.
the solUtion
The look and feel matters
The new solution required creating scalable, modular, and reusable systems that simplified development, streamlined future updates, and allowed for adaptability to future types of upgrades.
However from a user-centric perspective, the look and feel of the interface was central to creating a feeling of trust and transparency.
If I was to design a scalable solution, I would have to ensure that it would lead to a positive response from users, which in turn would lead to an increase in willingness to bid on flight upgrades. I therefore employed a human-centered design lens, combining scalable UI principles with user-centric design to enhance the passenger experience.
My goal was not only to resolve usability challenges but also transformed how passengers interacted with and trusted the bidding process.
How I acheived this
I made small yet impactful design decisions focused on incorporating micro-interactions and visual feedback to reduce cognitive load through the multi-step process.
I also addressed user concerns and questions about the novel bidding platform, to improve transparency and remove barriers and confusion that might prevent passengers from placing a bid.
Anchor points for multi-step workflow
Way-finding techniques
Passenger names were placed on the left-hand side, with the main multi-step workflow positioned centrally. This layout leverages user eye-scanning behavior for clarity.
Vertical progression
Steps were arranged vertically to provide a clear and logical order for the user. This vertical layout also allows for scalability to accommodate additional steps based on upgrade type.
Reducing information overload with micro-interactions
Progressive steps
The titles of future steps were visible but inactive until prior steps were completed, ensuring users were informed of the process and what to expect, without feeling overwhelmed.
Pop-up shopping cart
Replaced the on-page cart with a pop-up cart to minimize visual clutter and provided scalability for multiple upgrade selections. This solution supports Anxilla’s goal of offering multiple upgrades, while keeping unrelated information out of view during specific steps.
Skeleton pages
Skeleton loading pages were incorporated to clarify transitions between choice points, such as switching between passengers or flight segments.
Visibility of system status
Passenger cards
Cards displayed updated user choices (e.g., "seat selected," "bid price"), reducing the need for users to repeatedly check the shopping cart, prioritizing ease of recall.
Confirmation of selections
Once completed, each step displays a summary of completed selections, enabling users to scan and review their choices easily.
Flexibile navigation for choice points
Switching between choice points
The workflow allowed users to navigate between passengers or flight segments without losing their previous selections, avoiding a rigid sequential process.
Editing capabilites
Multiple entry points were provided for users to edit or change selections. Either directly on individual steps or through the shopping cart.
Addressing user questions & concerns
Explanation of bidding process
Tile-by-tile guides were included to explain bidding and what to expect after placing a bid, addressing user uncertainty through the whole user journey, from placing the bid all the way to receiving the bid results closer to their flight date.
Frequently asked questions
Based on insights from user testing, an FAQ section was added and made easily accessible via a sticky navigation element at the bottom of the page. All questions were crafted based on real user concerns that I identified through user testing.
Responsive design for mobile
Mobile-first considerations
Recognizing that many users access the platform through email promotions on their phones, I designed a mobile version of the workflow at the lo-fi stage. This ensured the core workflow could adapt to mobile before proceeding to hi-fi designs.
Impact
60% improvement in task completion
Success rates increased from 20% to 80% and participants were able to complete almost every given task on the first attempt. Participants were also able to navigate the multi-step upgrade workflow in a logical manner, and understand the concept of the bidding system.
Anxilla secured a new
partner
The new “neighbour-free seat” upgrade workflow is now being implemented with new and existing airline partners. The engineering team utilized the developer handoff documentation in order to create the new designed platform.
“It was easy to navigate. I can see that there was a lot of thought put into the user’s perspectives.”
"I didn't feel like I was being scammed at any point, which for me is an important aspect."
Key takeaways
Improving the design process
Streamlined
collaboration
My developer handoff included user flows, modular design components, and detailed screen annotations, enabling a seamless implementation of the new design.
I delivered a project that re-conceptualized the digital platform, laying the groundwork for the company to attract and retain new clients through their new scalable, component-based upgrade workflow. I ensured the design process was thoroughly documented, capturing the rationale behind key decisions to support future iterations.
Applying
agile concepts
The team originally used a waterfall design process, often developing the concept in hi fidelity before presenting it to the team. To facilitate iteration, I adopted an agile method, presenting and testing low and mid-fidelity wireframes. This enabled faster feedback loops, streamlined iteration, and better alignment with user needs and team goals.
Evidence-based
design
As Anxilla is a lean start-up, I was the first UX designer on the team. At times this proved challenging as design decisions had been made were often made based on assumptions of ‘what looked right’. I advocated for evidence-based decision making and the value of user feedback, while maintaining an open and collaborative mindset.
Designing beyond
the digital touchpoint
Mapping the user journey revealed a key risk—passengers could lose their selected seat if their bid failed. Consider the story below. Should the extra seat be tied to their existing selection? Forcing users to bid on both could mean losing their preferred seat entirely. I explained this to the client and while they flagged this as a future consideration, this experience reinforced a key lesson—good design extends beyond aesthetics. It must anticipate real user concerns, ensuring functionality aligns with business goals while safeguarding the entire user experience beyond the digital interface.
© Sharmeena Lalloo. 2024