When every flight is the same, the airport can be the difference
When every flight is the same, the airport can be the difference
45,000+ more returning visitors per month. Live in 6 months, from strategy to platform. The starting point for Brussels Airport's long-term digital investment.
TL;DR
TL;DR
Air travel is a commodity. Brussels Airport needed experience, not price, to compete with Europe's major hubs.
November Five mapped the full passenger journey and rebuilt the digital experience in React around how travellers actually feel throughout the journey, not just move.
The platform launched in 6 months and added 45,000+ new returning visitors per month.
It became the foundation for Brussels Airport's ongoing digital investment.
ABOUT CLIENT
ABOUT CLIENT
Brussels Airport is Belgium's primary international airport and one of Europe's major aviation hubs, serving around 180,000 digital visitors a month and competing for passengers and retail revenue against larger continental rivals.
Brussels Airport is Belgium's primary international airport and one of Europe's major aviation hubs, serving around 180,000 digital visitors a month and competing for passengers and retail revenue against larger continental rivals.
SERVICES
SERVICES
Product strategy
Customer journey research
UX design
Visual design
Frontend development (React)
YEAR
YEAR
2018
2018
+45,000
+45,000
Returning visitors per month
Returning visitors per month
6 months
6 months
Strategy to live MVP
Strategy to live MVP
180,000
180,000
Monthly visitors at launch
Monthly visitors at launch
THE CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE
A premium hub in a commodity business
A premium hub in a commodity business
Air travel had become interchangeable. Passengers chose flights on price and route, not on which airport they passed through. Brussels Airport wanted to take pole position among European hubs, and price could not get it there. Experience was the only edge left. The question was where digital could genuinely help. Most airport sites were built around operations: departures, arrivals, parking, check-in. Passengers do not think in those categories. They think about when to leave, where to go first, and how long security will take. The working assumption: travellers return to a product that removes uncertainty at the moments that create it.
Air travel had become interchangeable. Passengers chose flights on price and route, not on which airport they passed through. Brussels Airport wanted to take pole position among European hubs, and price could not get it there. Experience was the only edge left. The question was where digital could genuinely help. Most airport sites were built around operations: departures, arrivals, parking, check-in. Passengers do not think in those categories. They think about when to leave, where to go first, and how long security will take. The working assumption: travellers return to a product that removes uncertainty at the moments that create it.
THE SOLUTION
THE SOLUTION
A passenger-first digital journey, mapped from real behaviour
A passenger-first digital journey, mapped from real behaviour
November Five combined desk research, user interviews, analytics, and physical walkthroughs at the airport to find three patterns in how passengers behave. They expected self-service at every stage. They expected the experience to hold up across devices. And they wanted control, especially over security wait times and check-in decisions. We mapped the end-to-end journey, marked the moments that mattered most to different travellers, and built a digital platform in React that surfaced the right information at each stage. The platform went live in 6 months and added 45,000 returning visitors a month.
November Five combined desk research, user interviews, analytics, and physical walkthroughs at the airport to find three patterns in how passengers behave. They expected self-service at every stage. They expected the experience to hold up across devices. And they wanted control, especially over security wait times and check-in decisions. We mapped the end-to-end journey, marked the moments that mattered most to different travellers, and built a digital platform in React that surfaced the right information at each stage. The platform went live in 6 months and added 45,000 returning visitors a month.
SUCCESS DRIVERS
SUCCESS DRIVERS
SUCCESS DRIVER 1
SUCCESS DRIVER 1
Build for the passenger's journey, not the airport's floor plan
Build for the passenger's journey, not the airport's floor plan
Airports organise digital around operations: check-in, security, gates. Passengers navigate by their own timeline. We mapped the journey through the traveller's eyes, using interviews and walkthroughs alongside analytics, then built the information architecture around those moments. It felt intuitive because it matched how people actually move through an airport.
Airports organise digital around operations: check-in, security, gates. Passengers navigate by their own timeline. We mapped the journey through the traveller's eyes, using interviews and walkthroughs alongside analytics, then built the information architecture around those moments. It felt intuitive because it matched how people actually move through an airport.
SUCCESS DRIVER 2
SUCCESS DRIVER 2
Design for how travellers feel, not only what they do
Design for how travellers feel, not only what they do
Passengers carry time pressure and a low tolerance for uncertainty. Showing live security wait times before they were needed, presenting check-in options with context, and confirming flight status proactively were decisions about emotional state, not just usability. This is what we call MX, designing for how a moment feels. The 45,000 lift in returning visitors reflects a product people trusted enough to come back to.
Passengers carry time pressure and a low tolerance for uncertainty. Showing live security wait times before they were needed, presenting check-in options with context, and confirming flight status proactively were decisions about emotional state, not just usability. This is what we call MX, designing for how a moment feels. The 45,000 lift in returning visitors reflects a product people trusted enough to come back to.
SUCCESS DRIVER 3
SUCCESS DRIVER 3
Treat the launch as a foundation for future growth
Treat the launch as a foundation for future growth
The engagement delivered a live MVP in 6 months. The more valuable output was a long-term digital vision for how the passenger experience should evolve. Brussels Airport went on to invest significantly more in digital on that foundation. A clear forward strategy turns a single project into a roadmap, and a vendor into a partner.
The engagement delivered a live MVP in 6 months. The more valuable output was a long-term digital vision for how the passenger experience should evolve. Brussels Airport went on to invest significantly more in digital on that foundation. A clear forward strategy turns a single project into a roadmap, and a vendor into a partner.
Get in touch
When the digital product you're building is core to your business, the margin for error is different. So is the kind of partner you need.
If that's where you are, let's talk.
Get in touch
When the digital product you're building is core to your business, the margin for error is different. So is the kind of partner you need.
If that's where you are, let's talk.
Get in touch