Welcome to the Future Picks podcast. Our guest is Dorota Ziajka. Dorota is the Product Manager of our Triplake Mobile App solution, and today we’re talking about how airlines can improve customer experience using mobile apps.
In Dorota's own words: "Hello everyone, I’m thrilled to be here today. I’ve had the joy of being the Product Manager for Triplake Mobile Apps for almost two years now. I’m all about mobile apps and aviation—it’s where my passion flies high! In my role, I get the exciting opportunity to blend these interests daily."
What should airlines be looking for in a mobile app?
At the World Aviation Festival in Lisbon last year, one phrase really resonated with me: ‘The first impression of an airline is its mobile app.’ And we all understand the power of first impressions, right? I think airlines should aim for a mobile app that offers a seamless, smooth, ‘on-the-go’ experience.
It’s crucial for passengers to have a user-friendly interface, personalised features, and real-time updates at their fingertips, that’s what they are looking for in the apps. From booking to managing travel, everything should be effortless. Passengers are using apps not just for check-in anymore but for a comprehensive travel experience.
The current trend is showing a significant increase in general mobile app functionalities. Incorporating technologies like React Native has been a game-changer, allowing us to bring sophisticated apps to the market quicker and more efficiently.
Should airlines even have a mobile-first approach?
Absolutely! In today’s world, a mobile-first strategy isn’t just advisable anymore; it’s essential. Many travellers rely on their smartphones for everything related to their journey, from booking to boarding. Recent data shows a significant increase in mobile app usage among also airline customers, with over 80% of passengers preferring to use mobile apps for check-in and boarding passes.
A mobile-first approach allows airlines to meet their customers where they are, ensuring that services like fast check-ins, real-time flight status updates, and airport information are always at the passengers’ fingertips. This strategy improves customer satisfaction and keeps airlines competitive in a digital landscape that’s constantly evolving, offering a kaleidoscope of functionalities like Biometric Boarding, Real-Time Luggage Tracking, Flexible Rebooking Options, and others.
Can you give us an example of a success story?
A standout success story is definitely our partnership with Oman Air. Working in an agile fashion meant that very early in the development process, we handed the app over to Oman Air’s testers, and their feedback was instrumental along the journey.
This collaboration was crucial for customising the app to meet specific needs, marking a significant milestone for Branchspace as it was the first mobile app powered by our Triplake platform to go live. Designed with reusability in mind, it sets a precedent for future airline clients, showcasing our ability to deliver.
Can airlines use mobile apps for retail?
They definitely can. The topic has evolved dramatically over the last few years. Mobile apps have become an important platform for airline retail, offering personalised shopping experiences, exclusive deals, and onboard service ordering. The days when passengers only used apps for checking flights or booking tickets are gone.
Now, it’s like having a personal travel boutique right in your pocket. Imagine receiving a notification for a deal on your favourite seat or a special offer on lounge access you’ve been eyeing, all tailored just for you. This approach is not just about making extra sales; it’s about creating those ‘wow’ moments for passengers, making each trip a bit more special and a lot more personalised.
What were the main challenges you faced during a project and how were you able to overcome them?
Integrating our platform, Triplake, with various systems was a significant challenge certainly, especially when dealing with some legacy technologies. It was overall a very fast-paced process; the interim app was designed & developed in only 3 months and was the first major delivery of Triplake products for Oman Air using multiple interconnected product teams.
The project had an ambitious timeline so rapid adaptation to feedback and evolving design inputs were necessary. But yes, we tackled this by fostering a culture of open communication and collaboration between our team and our airline partner. I think this approach, combined with our agile methodology, led us to success.
What advice would you give to other people in your position?
My advice is to keep your mind open. It’s easy to fall into very granular work, especially when the scope is defined and you’re on a tight deadline. But in this position, you cannot lose the creativity, and the freshness in your overall approach.
It’s important to really love your product and to have a genuine interest in both technology and the industry, then benchmarking becomes natural, not only a habit. I also encourage other mobile app product managers to embrace change and stay adaptable.
The world of mobile apps is changing incredibly fast, and the digital landscape, especially in the travel industry, is constantly evolving. Staying informed about the latest trends and being willing to pivot when necessary is crucial. Also, never underestimate the power of analytics and listening to the users; they should always be at the heart of your approach.
What was your last great trip and why?
My last memorable journey was to Madeira. It was an incredible experience, filled with a lot of hiking and even more exploring the stunning natural beauty of the island, I highly recommend that destination.
The average airline web portals is not broken. It loads, it sells tickets. It technically does what it's supposed to do.
And yet, the experience feels tiring.
You notice it when you try to do something simple. Change a seat. Find your gate. Understand what happens if a flight is delayed. Suddenly you are scanning long pages, decoding airline terminology, clicking back and forth just to stay oriented.
The problem is not with the features, It is effort effort required in getting from A to B.
Airline portals still expect travellers to think like systems. To understand menus, categories, fare families, ancillaries, rules. But travellers arrive with something much simpler. Intent.
They want to get something done and get on with their journey.
This article posits that airline web portals should stop behaving like navigation systems and start acting as intent-aware decision environments. When UX is designed to reduce effort, adapt to context, and quietly support travellers at each stage of the journey, portals become calmer to use, easier to trust, and far more effective for airlines.
The basics still matter more than airlines think
Before talking about AI or personalisation, it is worth being honest about the fundamentals.
You can see that accessibility standards aren’t yet being applied and portals aren’t optimised for mobile, which results in performance drops. Navigation feels heavier than it needs to be. Search often works, but only if you already know what to ask and how the airline expects you to ask it.
These are not exciting topics, but they shape everything that comes after. If a portal is slow, confusing, or inaccessible, no amount of intelligence layered on top will fix the experience.
At Branchspace, we see this repeatedly. Airlines want to move faster, personalise more, experiment. But the UX foundation is not always ready to support that ambition.
Where portals lose traveller trust
The biggest UX issues are rarely dramatic, they are subtle and cumulative:
- A vague error message that offers no next step
- A long paragraph that hides the one thing the traveller needs to know
- Three different words for the same concept depending on where you are in the journey
- A mobile page that technically works but feels endless
In isolation these are small instances, but they compound to create friction for a user. And friction erodes confidence.
Travellers begin to hesitate, scan more carefully, and spend extra effort just trying to stay oriented. They stop trusting that the portal will help them when things go wrong. Good UX goes beyond delight, it is about reassurance.
Decision-making is the real job of UX
Every airline portal is a decision-making environment:
- Choose a flight
- Choose a fare
- Choose a seat
- Decide whether to rebook or wait
The role of UX is not to present all options equally. It is to reduce the mental work required to choose well.
That is where simple principles matter more than flashy ideas: clear visual hierarchy, familiar patterns, plain language, and progressive disclosure.
When these are done properly, travellers stop analysing the interface and start moving confidently through it.
This is also where intent-led thinking becomes powerful. When portals are designed around tasks rather than pages, complexity begins to fall away naturally.
What changes when you design for intent
When you stop designing for navigation and start designing for intent, the portal behaves differently:
- Shift the focus to intent and the portal begins to respond in new ways
- Search leads the experience rather than sitting in the background
- Logged-in travellers with an upcoming trip see what they can do next, instead of being asked to explore
This is the direction we have been taking with platforms like Triplake by allowing the portal to respond to context, trip stage, loyalty status and behaviour.
Where AI actually helps and where it should stay quiet
AI has a role in airline UX, but it works best when it stays in the background rather than taking centre stage. The strongest AI-driven experiences are often the ones you barely notice, because the interface feels simpler and the path forward feels clearer.
That might mean routing a traveller straight to the right outcome based on a natural language query, or surfacing the most relevant rebooking option when a disruption occurs. In other moments, it is about removing repetition altogether, using known preferences to spare travellers from making the same choices again and again.
At its best, AI offers clarity, supports decisions without trying to make them on the traveller’s behalf. People still want to feel in control of their journey, they just do not want to work so hard to get there.
The portal is becoming a living interface
The most interesting shift we are seeing has very little to do with technology and everything to do with behaviour. Airline portals are gradually moving away from being static websites and towards adaptive interfaces that respond to where a traveller is in their journey.
Before the trip, the portal helps you prepare. On the day of travel, it shifts into a supportive role, surfacing the information that matters most in the moment. Afterwards, it follows up, closing the loop rather than simply ending the experience.
Making this work demands modular design systems, flexible platforms, and teams that think beyond individual pages and flows. It is not an easy change, but it is both achievable and increasingly necessary.
