Flight status
EXISTING PRODUCT REDESIGN
responsive web
A responsive redesign of WestJet's Flight Status experience with an objective to make flight changes clear, actionable, and responsive across devices. Not a visual rebrand.
TIMELINE
May 2026
2 weeks
role
Sole Product Designer
Self-initiated
Scope
Information hierarchy
Responsive web
STATE SYSTEM DESIGN
EXISTING BRAND DESIGN SYSTEM
TOOLS
Perplexity
Research
ChatGPT
Product Reasoning
Design, Ideation
Claude Design
Claude Code
Design System + UI
Targeted refinement
the current experience
THE problem
The redesign restructures Flight Status around four levels of information:
Current state → What changed → Current flight details → Passenger action
What changes is structure: which information leads, what gets demoted, and what actions appear based on how disruptive the flight state actually is.
Flight Status: Search Entry
Start with the search that fits the task
Flight detail
Know what changed and what it means
state system
Flight Status has one job: surface what matters most right now. As the flight state changes, so does the passenger’s priority. I focused the redesign on three core states: On time, Delayed, and Cancelled.
key product desicions
DECISION 01 • Search Entry
Flight Status supports two distinct retrieval tasks: searching by flight number or browsing by airport.
The redesign separates the two entry modes into tabs inside a single search card. Each tab shows only the fields relevant to that task. A Recently Viewed panel surfaces repeat access without cluttering the primary search flow.
Tabs add one extra step if users enter through the wrong path, but remove competing fields and reduce unnecessary scanning increasing task focus.
DECISION 02 • Plain-language delay summary
A Delayed label signals a problem, but not its magnitude or impact. Showing 20:39 beside Scheduled 20:15 still asks passengers to work out the difference themselves.
The redesign adds a plain-language summary above the times: "Departing 24 minutes late. Your arrival time has moved to 22:11." The raw values remain visible for verification.
A change summary must stay synchronized with schedule updates. In return, passengers understand the delay and its downstream impact without interpreting raw timestamps.
DECISION 03 • Cancelled State
On-time and delayed states help passengers monitor a journey. Cancellation changes the task: the priority becomes understanding what happened and where to go next.
The redesign moves Manage Trips and Advisories forward, while the original schedule remains as muted reference. Gate and terminal details recede because they no longer help the passenger act.
guidance vs. product boundary
Flight Status can guide recovery without claiming ownership of rebooking, refunds, or eligibility. It points passengers to trusted recovery surfaces instead.
RESPONSIVE ADAPTATION
intentded outcomes
Time taken
reflections
Here's what I would validate next.
This redesign reinforced that information hierarchy in a travel product cannot remain static when the passenger's situation changes.
Before shipping, I would validate three areas more deeply:
Operational coverage
Whether the proposed hierarchy works across additional real WestJet states beyond the three states represented.
Data availability
Which change comparisons and contextual actions can reliably be supported by WestJet's existing systems.
Real travel conditions
The interface alone could not prove medical accuracy or safety. The challenge was positioning Clairo as useful without implying clinical validation or presenting it as a replacement for professional care.