An AI assistant that helps travelers navigate flight disruptions and rebook with peace of mind.
Timeline
January 2025 - March 2025
Role
Design Lead, User Researcher
Skills
UI/UX Design, UX Research, AI Design
Snow is an intelligent travel assistant that learns your preferences and uses real-time insights to support decision-making during flight disruptions. Designed to guide travelers with clarity and confidence, Snow takes the stress out of rebooking and other travel tasks.
Feature Update
Booking Assist
Auto Rebook
Northwestern’s EDI program partners with industry leaders annually for its interaction design course. This year, we collaborated with a major U.S. airline to reimagine the customer experience during irregular flight operations—disruptions such as delays and cancellations, also known as “IROPs.”
How "IROPS" affect our client:
For customers: it's the stress and confusion of disrupted trips, often due to limited agency, transparency, or support.
For airline staff: it's the overwhelming task of fielding requests and rebookings during these high-pressure periods.
For the business: it means overstaffing “just in case,” leading to inefficiencies when operations are running normally.
We began our journey on the ground at the airport, observing travelers and Customer Service Agents (CSAs) in their environment. We even had the opportunity to speak to some of them.
Standing in line and rebooking flights were among the most common pain points for both travelers and employees.
Uncertainty while waiting causes anxiety: Travelers feel anxious standing in line without knowing how long they’ll wait or what kind of help they’ll receive.
Human interaction builds trust:
Travelers rely on real people for support, especially when stressed. It helps them feel seen, heard, and reassured.
Guidance, not just access:
Many travelers freeze up when unsure what to do. They don’t just need tools, they need help deciding how to use them.
Our solution needed to remain digital, whether through the app, employee tools, or kiosks. We also had to balance user needs with business goals: enhancing customer autonomy and employee efficiency, while preserving the airline’s gold standard of service.
Lisa Zhang
Age: 33, School Teacher, Infrequent Traveler
“I feel at ease when someone is there to guide me, especially in emergencies.”
David Cruz
Age: 26, Software Engineer, Occasional Traveler
“I’d rather fix things myself than wait on hold or explain my issue twice.”
Jordan Smith
Age: 40, Risk Consultant, Frequent Traveler
“I just want the fastest way through—whatever works best in the moment.”
Guide and reassure travelers during disruptions, without removing the human touch?
