Over the past 7 weeks, I’ve spent more time in the airport than in my own bed at home. What this has resulted in, is me becoming a faux-quasi-David Attenborough of the airport landscape – I’ve accrued many hours just observing how passengers (including myself) interact with boarding passes. In User Experience (UX) land, we call this engaging in ‘experience research’ or ‘ethnographic research’, i.e. watching human behaviour towards a product/service to gain insight on how users interact with it (and how they don’t interact with it). My finding? Current-day boarding passes aren’t designed to be passenger friendly.
In this post, I will only be focusing on Qantas’ boarding passes (I’m loyal to this carrier). But whilst I’m isolating Qantas, I can guarantee that it’s a universal design problem across all carriers – just have a look at Boarding Pass/Fail by @tyler_thompson. I was introduced to this site by @jwswj after I had completed my re-design (see footnote).
Current Design
Redesign
My thoughts on the Current Design vs. Redesign
The placement of information in the current design lacks a natural logical flow
Many of the passengers I observed struggled to easily find their departure gate and boarding time from their boarding passes. Older-aged passengers called on the assistance of their travel companion, whilst younger-aged passengers took on average, roughly about 3 seconds to achieve this task.
I believe that this struggle is due to the lack of a natural logical flow of information in the boarding pass design. Adopting a Western-world reading pattern (from left to right) for the boarding pass, the string of information on the boarding pass can be read as:
The Carrier is Qantas Airways for Flight QF123 leaving on 15 June for me, the passenger,Jordan Sim. I will be seated in 31F in economy class travelling from Sydney to Melbourne and this flight has a boarding time of 7:40am with a sequence number of A123. I have to board at Gate 5 and my service information is Frequent Flyer Bronze QF1234567.
This string lacks a logical flow and the pieces of information do not harmoniously sit together to be easily memorised. Information accessibility is poor. Now compare this to the redesigned boarding pass:
I, Jordan Sim, the passenger, am travelling from Sydney to Melbourne on Flight QF433 on 06 June. I will board at Gate 5 at the time of 3:10pm. When I’m on the plane, my seat number is 39F.
Reading the redesigned boarding pass is easy – the pieces of information harmoniously work together to form a comprehensive string. In other words, the information is easily accessible.
The key difference is that the boarding pass has been designed through the eyes of the passenger (i.e. the customer). The information on the boarding pass directly mirrors the physical boarding process. It begins with the passenger travelling between 2 locations via a plane. The plane departs on a certain date from a certain gate at a certain time. Once the passenger has passed the gate, they have a seat on the plane.As such, it can be seen that customer interactions have been considered in the design of the new boarding pass. This makes it passenger friendly.
</rant>
What are your thoughts/opinions?
Add your comments below 
FOOTNOTE: Whilst I am glad to know that I share a similar opinion as the UX experts towards boarding pass designs, I am simultaneously flat as my designs look similar to Tyler’s even though they were designed completely independent of his.
43 Comments
not bad!
Just some points of observation. The slim design is nice, but I’m of the opinion that keeping the same size but with the new design would: |A|. allow for the design to be backwards compatible with existing infrastructure reducing upgrade costs and |B|. provide a bit more padding around all the information
Another consideration that would be fixed by more padding is that you can have much longer flight numbers and seat numbers e.g. RUS 1727.
Hey Arthur,
Thanks for the feedback!
I didn’t mean for the slim design — I intended it to be similar size as the original ticket (it slimmed down with the width of the blog).
Here’s the full size version– http://twitpic.com/1wpxwx/full
Completely agree with you on the existing infrastructure. Really good point!
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve stuffed around trying to work out which gate I’m supposed to be going to!
The only person the current design serves is the hostie greeting you onboard and at the gate. Your name being the most prominent feature is great for everyone BUT YOU. The “thank you Mr Sim” as you walk down the aisle gives you two seconds of rock star glory until you realise that those two seconds (plus more) were stolen from you earlier as you were trying to work out where on earth you were supposed to be boarding!
Hey Tresna,
Thanks for the comment
I think you’ve nailed it on the head.
The current boarding passes appear to be designed for the airline stewardesses & stewards.
Now it’s time to turn the tables and get the Airline Carriers thinking about their customers as well!
RT @jymmysim: Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned — http://bit.ly/d40YO9
Totally agree about the difficultly of reading boarding passes and really like the design.
Why have you chosen to have the name as “Sim / Jordan Mr”? Is that a constraint? I would much prefer the name written as “Mr Jordan Sim”.
Also, I noticed that boarding passes don’t have the flight time on them. Do you think that is so people don’t get confused with the boarding time?
@ChrisBride
I used the ” Sim/Jordan Mr” format to conform with the old boarding pass naming convention.
Your suggestion of formatting it as “Mr Jordan Sim” is spot on.
As for airlines quoting the boarding time not the flight time…Damian summed it up perfectly.
For me, I think it just comes down to the airline carrier’s convenience. There is one thing that passengers fear the most at airports, and it’s missing their flights. By quoting the boarding time over the flight time, airline carriers are subtly ‘convincing’ their passengers to arrive way before flight time. This means there’s a somewhat generous ‘buffer’ period if any unexpected issues arise last minute. It also ensures, for like over 90% of the time, that the boarding process goes smoothly as all the passengers are at the gate ready to be herded into the aluminium flying can. Well…that’s my take…
The redesign reminds me of concert tickets.
Maybe that’s where they got their inspiration? =)
And now look where wine bottles are getting their inspiration from:
http://ow.ly/i/249r
An interesting labelling technique…
Very well thought-out. I love it!
Cheers man.
Appreciate the feedback
@ChrisBride I think the airlines want people to try make it for the boarding time, not the flight time (to avoid people being late)
Also, on the redesign, the boarding time seems a little hard to find probably because of the 24hr format: e.g. 1510… maybe that should be in 12hr format to make it a little easier to read naturally… and I think because it is written as 4 numbers grouped together, rather than the traditional 15:10 your eye tends to skip over it.
@ DamianKeeghan
Great point on the 12hr format and completely agree with you on the boarding times being quoted instead of the flight times.
I’ll update the re-design and post up a new version tonight.
Cheers
I agree about the 12 hour time. I always go into a small panic every time I think I’ve converted the time incorrectly.
If you did change to 12 hour time, the boarding pass would be inconsistent with the TVs and LEDs screens at airports (which are likely out of Qantas’s control).
Hey Damian & Chris,
Here’s the new set of re-designs, in the 12hr time format. I don’t think the 12hr time format sits as well in the design when you have 3-digit times, e.g. 4:01AM.
So I’ve gotten a 12hr & 24hr time hybrid, which I personally like (but am open to feedback).
AM – 12hr time:
http://twitpic.com/1x9k1d/full
PM – 12hr time:
http://twitpic.com/1x9k94/full
PM – 24hr time:
http://twitpic.com/1x9kbo/full
12hr & 24hr time hybrid:
http://twitpic.com/1x9k4z/full
@servantofchaos Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned– http://bit.ly/d40YO9
Awesome redesign! one piece of feedback would be the black text on a red background (bottom left corner) should prob be avoided.
I think a lot the things brought up in the comments is preferential for certain countries/cultures.
For example, the passenger name.
What if people had Chinese names (where surnames were written before the first name, normally)?
then the Mr GivenName Surname format wouldn’t work too well.
I think the the current format SURNAME / GIVEN NAME TITLE
is quite good as it clearly separates the surname and given name.
Likewise for the time, Australians are probably not too used to 24 hour time, especially written in 1350 format, but this may differ for people in other countries.
great stuff jimmy!
Thanks for the feedback David!
Rather than the black on red, would you recommend white background and black text?
Also great heads up on Chinese names (never knew their surnames were written before their firstnames).
@rosshill Thoughts? [New Blog] Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned– http://bit.ly/d40YO9
Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned http://bit.ly/d40YO9 #UX
I also thought about the average boarding pass designs, here is an nice example: Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned http://bit.ly/d40YO9
I want wallet size! RT @jymmysim Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned http://bit.ly/d40YO9 #UX
like the design.
wallet size is a good idea or passport size. cause i normally put mine inside my passport. Even the size of train ticket, printed on both sides would be really good.
but i think eventually, it will be digital. and we won’t need to print these things out and we will just have it our mobiles and be scanned in. surely there should be an app for that =p
Hey Matt,
Appreciate the feedback
You share similar thoughts with @pkattera around the size of the boarding pass.
You’re right on things heading completely digital, in the future. But I think it’s still a long way away, because not everyone (across all ages) owns a smart phone.
So until that day comes, it looks like we’ll be stuck with our printed boarding passes. More, so, we’ll be stuck with the current design, until Qantas overcomes the current constraints (see next comment).
In the meantime, talking mobile, Qantas is already using Mobile Check-in for their domestic flights. One of my work colleagues used it and said it was great!
Hi guys,
Firstly, I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to read this post, provide really constructive feedback and re-tweet it onto your followers. It means a lot to me & I’m completely blown away by the positive response I’ve received.
Just thought I’d close the loop (hopefully, only for now) and give you an update on the boarding pass re-design.
After tweeting the article to @QantasUSA, they quickly responded and informed me they had passed it onto their internal team that managed boarding passes.
Their response was:
”
“The team agrees but software/3rd party constraints don’t give us the latitude to make the required amends. However, we are keen to make changes as soon as the opportunity arises! Thank you for the feedback.
It’s great knowing Qantas is a brand that listens to its community and has acknowledged the limitations of the current boarding pass design.
Once again, and I can’t say it enough, but…
A really big THANKYOU to all of you
Something that this post has pointed out that I haven’t considered too much (although now I wish I had) is that even the newer carriers that promised to do things differently have done a lot of the simple things the same way as the established airlines.
I really like the re-design – it makes a lot of sense. It is certainly a hell of a lot easier to read and understand and is a classic example of applying good UI design to a common item.
One thing that might be worth considering. From a printing point of view, the Syd -> Melb part of the ticket would be printed on demand – should it be in black as well for cost/ease/etc? Or at least the same red as the logo? All of the dynamically generated content is in the one colour, except that section. I understand the desire to make it stand out, but should there be a compromise?
Hi RupertG,
Thanks for the feedback!
Interesting point you raise regarding the printing ink. Definitely an angle I hadn’t previously considered. I’m now curious as to finding out whether a colour print would impose a significant additional cost.
Awesome commenting around the 'Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned' post– http://bit.ly/d40YO9
RT @jymmysim: Awesome commenting around the 'Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned' post– http://bit.ly/d40YO9
Hi Jordan
I dont think the flight number is that important that it should be first, when i am at an airport i am thinking “i am on the 7.00am flight to Sydney, what gate and what time is boarding”
maybe where you have Syd-Mel instead of having a plane have the flight time
Hey @Rexster,
Thanks for the feedback.
I like the idea of pushing the flight time around the Syd-Melb area. The plane icon seems somewhat redundant and more meaningful information could be put there. However, I’ve been thinking about your comment for a couple of days now and this is why it’s taken me some time to reply.
I wonder whether the flight time should still be published on the boarding pass. As a passenger I’m thinking I need to be on the “7:00am flight to Sydney” up to the point of being in the airport and receiving my boarding pass. From there my thought process changes to I need to be at Gate X at 6:45am. So in this case, would the flight time still be as valuable? I genuinely don’t have an answer to this, so any more ideas would be great
I think it is great – but one major issue is the tiny size of the service information. As a regular Qantas lounge user, I am used to flashing my boarding pass and the person at the gate seeing “Platinum” or whatever it is in big bold letters and letting me in. If you had to queue up for someone to read the tiny print (i.e. if you had to hand it over physically to someone) that would be an inconvenience – it would see longer queues at the lounge entrance and/or Qantas having to put more staff on.
But otherwise I love it. I fly about 30-40 times a year, and still struggle finding my boarding time & gate on the tickets…
Hi Tim,
Great insight on the various status, e.g. Silver, Gold, Platinum.
I definitely think that this status could be popped into the bottom left hand corner of the boarding pass in large font, so that it’s highly visible when you flash it to the air stewardess/steward. The other details (Seq Number and carrier) could be pushed aside to the right. What do you think?
Interesting read RT @rexster: Check out @jymmysym blog post on Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned http://bit.ly/d40YO9
Bloody @rexster: can't get my handle right! Check out @jymmysim blog post on Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned http://bit.ly/d40YO9
Nice
Refining your inference of a sentence to the order in which data elements are presented, I’m pretty sure that you can demote the date. If the person has the boarding pass in their hand, I’m guessing there’s a 99.something large% probability that they are at the airport on the right day
I’ve done a bit of travel, and know that the bits that I want to know immediately are flight number (for looking up on the screens), gate number and boarding time. All the other information is secondary for my purposes (although a hat-tip to the guy that made mention of the need to identify lounge access at 10 feet).
My other suggestion would be to prepare for output to the thermal printer style that Virgin Blue now use. It seems likely that’s the likely hardware change, if one was to occur. I’d be placing the bar code right at the top of that one.
(Pointless trivia) You may be interested to know that the barcode readers that Virgin Blue use for Check-In kiosks do not appear read a PDF displaying the barcode on the screen of an HTC Desire. I agree that I was most likely being a tool at the time.
C!
Hi Cameron,
Thanks for the feedback and the insights around the mobile checking for Virgin Blue.
I can now see your point around not having as much of a need to publish the date on the boarding pass – they would be receiving the pass on their day of departure.
I am unfamiliar with the printing output that Virgin Blue currently uses. Can you elaborate any further on this?
Cheers
Hi
Thanks for the response.
Virgin Blue use a thermal printer kind of like those that supermarkets use for printing their receipts.
C!
Here’s something I whipped up for my idea. I didn’t spend very long on it, but it’s what i imagined in my head
- Portrait, bullet points
- aligned headings
- width similar to a wallet or passport, would be optimal.
http://twitpic.com/21fbsd
Hey @akafatty,
Really appreciate the feedback and redesign.
I am particularly interested in the portrait design – something I hadn’t thought of before, and one that definitely challenges the current landscape convention
Smarter people (and better designers) than you have talked about this elsewhere. Please go have a look:
http://www.metafilter.com/88290/A-Better-Boarding-Pass
tl;dr: You don’t have a fucking clue about the airline industry, go back to school.
Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned http://bit.ly/cHsG0M Full-sized version: http://bit.ly/99WiVw Nice!
11 Trackbacks
@qftravelinsider @qantasusa Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned– http://bit.ly/d40YO9
Excellent – Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned– http://bit.ly/d40YO9 #UX /via @jymmysim
RT @mryap: Boarding pass designed through the eyes of the passenger (i.e. the customer) http://bit.ly/99GImZ
RT @jymmysim: [New Blog] Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned– http://bit.ly/d40YO9 #donline #UX
RT @jymmysim: [New Blog] Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned– http://bit.ly/d40YO9 #donline #UX (via @HuMun)
RT @nikski: RT @jymmysim: [New Blog] Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned– http://bit.ly/d40YO9 #donline #UX (via @HuMun)
I like it, makes more sense with a logical flow to follow RT @jymmysim (new blog) Qantas Boarding Pass redesigned — http://bit.ly/d40YO9
RT @jymmysim: [New Blog] Qantas Boarding Pass: Redesigned– http://bit.ly/d40YO9 #donline #UX
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