Northern Pacific Airlines
Reimagined Booking Experience
Year
2022
Discipline
Product Design, UX Research, Design Systems
Industry
Aviation, Travel
Overview
Northern Pacific Airlines wanted to reimagine their booking experience with a bold, visually distinct approach -- using a globe as the central design pattern for route selection. With a limited route network connecting San Francisco, New York, and Las Vegas to destinations in Japan, Korea, and China, NPA differentiated itself by routing through its Anchorage, Alaska hub and offering layover packages that let travelers experience Alaska before continuing their journey. The project centered on selling those packages and building a digital experience worthy of that vision.
My Role
Served as experience lead -- keeping the design team on track, stepping in to refine and structure the design system, and preparing it for development handoff with clear naming conventions and component structure.
Problem
The globe-based destination selector was an untested concept with no proven precedent. Beyond that, it was unclear how to sell the Alaska layover packages, how users could upgrade mid-booking, and how to handle the complexity of changing dates and selecting in-destination experiences.
Solution
Ran guerrilla testing sessions using a mobile prototype -- prioritizing mobile since desktop real estate made it more forgiving. Rather than testing full booking completion, the sessions focused on wayfinding: could users find where to change a flight, and did they understand the Alaska package concept? Feedback led to refinements in destination selection and improved accessibility. The approach was middle-of-the-road complexity -- enough to stress-test the concept without overwhelming testers.
Outcome
The globe selector didn't survive development constraints and was replaced with dropdown navigation, using the globe as a visual element rather than an interactive one. The experience launched and was briefly live before Northern Pacific Airlines ceased operations. Despite the closure, the interface was documented in use on YouTube before the site went offline.
What I'm Proud Of
Extending NPA's brand language into the full booking experience -- helping a startup airline stand out in a crowded space through a digitally focused, visually distinctive approach that took their vision seriously.
