WestJet

The beginning of a long distance journey, wherever you’re going, whatever the reason, often starts with flying. WestJet sought a partnership to redesign one of the most important aspects of their guests journey, the in-flight experience. We designed and built an experience that empowered WestJet to deliver world leading services from entertainment, flight tracking, seat controls, calling for assistance, ordering food, drinks and more.

Speaking to frequent flyers we gathered insights into the importance the in-flight experience had on guests journeys. Research showed that 93% of guests watched movies for entertainment during flying and that 76% interacted with the flight map, both of which they saw as the most important. When asked what guests would like to see, flight time remaining ranked the highest (96%), followed by flight map and movies (83%), other categories such as TV shows, internet and onboard menu ranked lower but were still highly desired. Using these insights and by analysing the industry landscape we could ideate on how WestJet will deliver innovative and world leading services and define the information architecture.

Having identified what guests wanted, brainstormed potential functionality and established the information architecture, we then designed the experience and interface. We innovated further by introducing third party applicaitons such as YouTube, Spotify, and developing a ‘Wellness Centre’ that featured meditation from Headspace and Calm. By partnering with FlightPath3D we integrated an interactive 3D map where guests could track their flights and discover information about their destinations. We even expanded the brand guidelines by develping dark mode for the first time to help guests relax into low lit cabin environments.

Successfully designed, built, developed and implemented a global entertainment system. We integrated with third parties and partnered with Sony for the ongoing development to implement the most viable product (MVP) and continue the introduction of more features over time. We successfully deployed WestJet’s In-Flight Entertainment System Connect (IFEC) to a fleet of over 150 aircraft, over 700 flights per day to more than 100 destinations with over 22 million guests a year.