British Airways

Client

British Airways

Services

Digital Transformation, Product Design, Mobile App, Service Design, Innovation

Role

Senior Product Designer

Team

Multidisciplinary team including product designers, researchers, UX strategists, engineers, product managers, and key stakeholders from British Airways.

Awards

Business Traveller Awards Best App (2020, 2021, 2022), BIMA Best Service Innovation, BIMA Best App

British Airways, one of the world’s leading airlines, faced increasing competition in a crowded market. To maintain market share and improve customer loyalty, BA aimed to enhance its Net Promoter Score and overall customer satisfaction. Appointed as the digital transformation partner, our team was tasked with redefining how passengers interact with the brand through the British Airways mobile app. The mission was clear: deliver change fast by providing innovative digital experiences that drive loyalty, efficiency, and satisfaction.

Project Goals

Improve Customer Loyalty: Increase NPS by delivering meaningful digital experiences.
Streamline User Journeys: Redesign critical mobile app journeys to reduce friction.
Empower Customers: Provide simple, intuitive solutions for common service issues.
Drive Revenue: Introduce revenue-generating features aligned with user needs.
Enhance Brand Perception: Create standout digital features that encourage reappraisal of the BA brand.

Phase 1

Discovery

We kicked off by immersing ourselves in the British Airways service model and customer journeys to identify high-impact opportunities.

Conducted interviews with over 200 customers to understand their pain points during the end-to-end travel journey.
Mapped digital and operational touchpoints to identify where interventions could create the most impact.
Worked closely with service SMEs to understand internal operational challenges and how they could be addressed digitally.

Phase 2

Define

With insights synthesised, we translated findings into strategic opportunities and service principles to guide the experience.

Facilitated co-creation workshops to identify desirable and feasible features.
Developed service principles around clarity, control, and proactivity.
Journey-mapped service highs/lows to align priorities with emotional impact.
Conducted internal feasibility sessions with product and engineering.

Phase 3

Concept Validation

Prototypes were rapidly created and tested with users in weekly cycles to validate desirability, clarity, and value.

Designed testable flows for disruption alerts, baggage services, and compensation.
Conducted weekly moderated user testing to gauge comprehension and trust.
Iterated based on feedback from both customers and internal teams.
Explored copy variations and visual cues to improve information clarity.

Phase 4

Agile Delivery

We moved from prototype to production, embedding ourselves in cross-functional squads to deliver real, testable product outcomes.

Worked in cross-functional pods to maintain alignment across teams.
Established a lightweight mobile-first design system to scale visual consistency.
Created redlines, interaction specs, and responsive behaviours for handoff.
Supported QA, UAT, and sprint reviews to maintain fidelity.

IMPACT

New features contributed directly to improved monetisation. Improved NPS with significant increase following feature launches. 80% Avios Member Recommendation with strong advocacy for the updated mobile experience. Winner of 3 industry awards for innovation and digital customer experience.

Final thoughts

The British Airways mobile app transformation redefined the airline’s digital engagement strategy, shifting from a transactional platform to a proactive, supportive customer companion. Through award-winning innovations like Baggage Credit, the experience helped drive loyalty, efficiency, and operational effectiveness. Today, BA continues to evolve the app as a cornerstone of its digital-first service vision.

British Airways

Project Goals

Discovery

Define

Concept Validation

Agile Delivery

New features contributed directly to improved monetisation. Improved NPS with significant increase following feature launches. 80% Avios Member Recommendation with strong advocacy for the updated mobile experience. Winner of 3 industry awards for innovation and digital customer experience.

Final thoughts

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