Kayak builds modern shopping experiences with airline visual content
KAYAK has long been recognized for its responsiveness and prioritization of user experience. When their airline partners requested content that was flexible, modular, and visual, KAYAK listened. They wished to display this airline visual content to help convey pandemic-related reassurance as well as highlight other important aspects of the trip (seats, lounges, services, and other amenities). To do so, KAYAK expanded their partnership with ATPCO to include customized Routehappy content, such as Premium UPAs, to help customers visualize their flight experience.
This initiative built on the standardized Routehappy content that KAYAK had already integrated, such as airline infographics, UTAs (Universal Ticket Attributes), and Amenities.
The business need
Airline visual content differentiates products and informs travelers
As products and services have become more sophisticated, airlines and travel retailers have recognized the need for more visual and compelling content. Airline visual content allows retailers to differentiate their products and convey information regarding what travelers can expect on their upcoming flight experience more easily than in words.
This visual content needed the ability to be easily updated, accommodating changes in messaging. Additionally, KAYAK wanted the ability for airline content to be highly targeted by cabin, fare brand, subfleet, route, time of day, and more.
Amenities, a part of Standardized Routehappy content, are available across 469 ATPCO Community Participant airlines, or 99% of flights.
The solution
KAYAK improved experience with customized Routehappy content
ATPCO’s customized Routehappy content was launched on KAYAK’s site in late December 2020, making it one of the first metasearch engines to utilize the full suite of Routehappy content. Thanks to the flexibility of customized Routehappy content, which enabled the company to easily experiment with visuals and messaging, the metasearch was able to conduct A/B testing quickly before enabling it for all its domains and locales.
Customized airline infographics enabled the metasearch to incorporate the airline’s own unique voice and media. This visualized information simultaneously simplified the shopping experience for the consumer while allowing KAYAK and their partner airlines greater flexibility in differentiating their unique products and services.
Customizable carousels give airlines the ability to visually highlight the unique features of their products while giving shoppers a clear understanding of what to expect.
The results
Educated airline travelers lead to more conversions
Integrating retailing content from ATPCO enables shopping channels to better educate airline travelers on the trade-offs and benefits of higher fare classes, leading to increased conversion and upsell. KAYAK accomplished just that by making the jump to customized Routehappy content and integrating it across their platform.
Conclusion
In responding and reacting to the requests of its airline partners to add more flexible, modular visuals and messaging to their flight details, KAYAK expanded its use of Routehappy content and took the next step toward a modern flight shopping experience.
Airlines spoke, KAYAK listened: Read how KAYAK harnessed the psychological power of visual content