Online Check-In Redesign for British Airways
A complete re-platform and redesign of a 13-year-old legacy experience - simplifying and modernising check-in for over 100,000 passengers.
In 2023, 53% of British Airways’ customers couldn’t check in online.
My product team and I fixed that. In 2024, we launched a new user experience, re-platformed onto AWS, rebuilt according to BA’s new design system, and simplified every step for passengers.
Legacy System, Modern Problems
BA’s online check-in hadn’t been redesigned since 2010.
The experience no longer aligned with our design system, failed to meet accessibility standards, and was technically rigid.
Without editable templates or documentation, updates were manual, inconsistent, and risky.
Pain Points Uncovered
User success rate: just 47%
Exit surveys and Splunk data revealed
22% entered check-in, although they were ineligible to check in online
Broken seat selection (32% seat allocation success rate)
Poor messaging and error handling
Insights via Medallia uncovered colourful customer sentiments:
F****** abysmal. Nothing works, I can't do anything. F*** you BA
You are a dogs*** organisation
You idiots! I select passengers, I select number of bags.. then it sends me back to select passengers giving an error.. can't contact anybody.. the app does not work either, go f*** yourself you useless scam company
What We Changed
Replatformed. Reimagined. Rebuilt.
Designed for over 100 booking scenarios
Early component testing via BA’s design system
Collaboration with other BA product teams to reuse improved components
Reduced steps, simplified APIS, clarified next steps
CAA-aligned accessibility + WCAG 2 compliance
Created a resilient standalone experience to reduce airport pressure
Results: First Flights Take Off
MVP launched in 2024 for all domestic flights from London Heathrow
Soft launch feedback: stable, intuitive, much improved
MVP scope: Direct travel, free seats, no paid baggage, multi-passenger flows
What Changed?
Pre-redesign: 67% check-in success, 53% failed goals
Post-MVP: Reduced drop-offs, reduced support calls, improved satisfaction scores
