Creating a Seamless Omnichannel Service

Reducing Fragmentation Between Channels

Excess Baggage operated luggage storage, insurance, retail, and travel accessory services across 15 international airports and 18 rail stations.

As customer numbers and spend increased, the organisation committed to digitising its services to support a more coherent omnichannel experience.

The challenge was not introducing digital touchpoints, but ensuring that online services reduced friction in high-pressure, time-critical airport contexts while integrating cleanly with physical locations and operational systems.


Challenge

Several services relied on fragmented booking and operational flows. The online booking process for left luggage and storage, in particular, required unnecessary steps and fields, increasing interaction cost at moments when travellers were already under stress.

In parallel, new services such as remote baggage check-in, confiscated item return, and excess baggage handling introduced additional complexity across channels.
The core challenge was to reduce interaction cost for customers while maintaining operational clarity for staff across locations.

Excess baggage store in Dubai
Excess baggage store in Gatwick

Role

As UX Designer, I led and delivered UX work across booking services, point-of-sale systems, and revenue-driving interfaces in airport environments across the UK, Europe, and the Middle East.
My responsibilities included:

  • Redesigning booking and payment flows for luggage services
  • Designing interfaces for new revenue services, including digital weigh scales
  • Supporting omnichannel consistency across web, kiosk, and in-store systems
  • Using service blueprints to align customer experience with backend processes

Approach

Optimising the Booking Journey
The left luggage and storage booking flow was streamlined to reduce unnecessary steps and form fields, with a clear focus on speed, clarity, and predictability.

Key improvements included:

  • Clearer progression through booking steps
  • Reduced cognitive load during data entry
  • Early visibility of pricing and storage duration
  • Support for post-booking actions such as charge tracking and retrieval reminders
  • The goal was not only to improve usability, but to lower interaction cost at scale across multiple locations.

Service Blueprinting for Omnichannel Alignment

To support consistency across digital and physical touchpoints, I created service blueprints mapping frontstage user interactions, backstage staff actions, and supporting systems and dependencies.

In a security-constrained, time-critical environment like airports, service blueprints were essential to align customer-facing flows with staffing, logistics, and physical space constraints that could not be resolved at interface level alone.

This work exposed misalignments between customer expectations and operational reality, helping teams coordinate changes across departments rather than solving issues in isolation.

Solutions were typically piloted in a limited number of locations, validated against real operational constraints, and only then scaled across airports and stations, ensuring consistency without disrupting local workflows.

Luggage Weight Check

Problem to solve

Passengers often face stress and inconvenience at the airport due to the uncertainty of their luggage weight, which can lead to unexpected fees and delays. There is a clear need for a quick and efficient solution that allows travellers to easily check their luggage weight before boarding, avoiding unnecessary costs and improving the overall airport experience.

Benefit

  • Save time and avoid unexpected fees: By knowing the weight of your luggage in advance, you can avoid costly overweight charges and reduce stress at the airport.
  • Enhanced user experience: The intuitive interface and multilingual support make the service accessible to travelers from all backgrounds.
  • Cost-effective solution: Powered by the affordable and versatile Raspberry Pi, this service offers a practical and efficient solution for airports and airlines.

Feature

  • Precise weight measurement: Accurate weighing technology ensures reliable results.
  • Multilingual support: Available in 15+ languages to cater to a diverse international clientele.
  • Flexible payment options: Accepts both NFC and coin payments for convenience.
  • Cross-selling opportunities: Offers the potential to promote additional airport services, such as luggage wrapping or priority check-in.

Post & fly service

Problem to solve

Travellers rushing through airport security with prohibited or restricted items face a dilemma: dispose of the items or find a quick, reliable solution. The current process can be stressful and inconvenient, involving potentially losing or damaging valuable belongings.

Desired Outcome

Seamless solution for confiscated items: Post & Fly aims to offer a user-friendly experience for travellers with prohibited or restricted items:

  • Streamlined online portal: A user-friendly website allows for easy selection of retrieval options and tracking of items.
  • Timely processing: Efficient collection and processing of confiscated items by Post & Fly staff.
  • Transparent timeframe: Passengers have a clear 30-day window to retrieve their belongings.

UX Methods

  • Empathy mapping: To understand the emotional journey of travellers facing item confiscation and identify pain points.
  • User interviews: Conducting interviews with travellers who had experienced similar situations to gather insights and feedback.
  • Mental models: Understanding how users perceive and interact with the service to ensure the design aligns with their mental representations.

Operational dashboards

Problem to solve

in a fast-paced airport environment, a fragmented dashboard experience can lead to confusion, frustration, and decreased efficiency for both employees and customers. The lack of a unified design system across different services can hinder employee productivity and create a disjointed experience for customers.

Desired Outcome

  • Unifies the user experience: Creates a cohesive and intuitive interface across all services offered by the company, reducing confusion and improving efficiency.
  • Enhances employee productivity: Streamlines workflows and provides easy access to necessary tools and information, enabling employees to perform their tasks more effectively.
  • Optimises for a fast-paced environment: Prioritises clarity, simplicity, and quick access to information, considering the time-sensitive nature of airport operations.