Travel, hospitality & leisure

Airlines & airports. Every delay is a promise tested in public.

The rules decide what the passenger is owed.

Airlines, airport operators, ground handlers and loyalty programmes, where a fare is a contract, a delay is a regulated event and every passenger expects to be told what happens next. We design booking, disruption, assistance and loyalty journeys with passenger rights built in, and the systems that tell people the truth in real time.

Talk about airlines & airports Read the rulebook
The number we move
Time from disruption to rebooking or refund
Where we work in airlines & airports
  • Full-service & low-cost airlines
  • Airports & operators
  • Ground handling & cargo
  • Regional connectivity
  • Loyalty programmes
  • Airport retail & lounges
Rules mapped
8 rules · 5 areas
Disciplines that lead
TechnologyProduct
Frameworks we build to
PCI DSS v4.0.1 — Payment Card Industry Data Security StandardDPDP Act 2023 — Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023GDPR — General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679WCAG 2.2 AA — Web Content Accessibility GuidelinesISO/IEC 27001:2022 — Information security management systems
An aircraft wing in silhouette seen through a cabin window against a dusk sky
Airlines & airportsThe journey is the product; the rules define the promise.

Where the rules biteMap of all forty-one industries

  • Claims Advertising & claims: Often shapes the work
  • Regulator Sector regulator: Shapes most of the work
  • Payments Payments: Shapes most of the work
  • Data Personal data: Shapes most of the work
  • Security Security & incidents: Often shapes the work
  • Access Accessibility: Shapes most of the work
  • AI AI governance: Sometimes shapes the work

What is shifting

Refunds got faster, and families sit together by rule.

India tightened refund and seating rules, Europe’s accessibility law reached airline websites and kiosks, and face-based boarding spread across airports. Each shift names what it demands, with a fact you can check.

Silhouetted travellers stand by a wall of tall windows in a sunlit departure hall
Every passenger is waiting for the next piece of information.

  1. Refunds and free changes became a rule, not a goodwill gesture.

    It demandsBooking and change flows that show the free-change window and the refund route for each fare.

    SignalDGCA’s revised refund requirements, in force since 26 March 2026, give flyers 48 hours after booking to cancel or change free, except close to departure.

  2. Families travel together by rule.

    It demandsSeat allocation that keeps young children beside a parent, recorded and visible at check-in.

    SignalA DGCA air transport circular of 2024 requires airlines to seat children up to 12 years old with a parent or guardian on the same booking.

  3. Accessibility law reached airline websites, apps and kiosks.

    It demandsBooking, check-in and travel information usable with assistive technology on every channel.

    SignalSince 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act covers air passenger services’ websites, apps, e-tickets, travel information and self-service terminals.

  4. Boarding is moving to the face, by consent.

    It demandsBiometric journeys with clear consent, a manual alternative and data that does not linger.

    SignalUnder the DigiYatra framework, face-based boarding is voluntary and the traveller’s identity data is held in a wallet on their own phone.

The rulebook

Every fare is a contract, every delay has a clock.

DGCA’s passenger requirements, the dark-pattern rules, EU passenger and accessibility law, payments and data, read for an airline or airport programme. Your legal team keeps sign-off.

Frameworks we build to

  • PCI DSS v4.0.1 — Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
  • DPDP Act 2023 — Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
  • GDPR — General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679
  • WCAG 2.2 AA — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
  • ISO/IEC 27001:2022 — Information security management systems

Frameworks we design and build to — not a claim of certification.

Advertising & claims

Often shapes the work

  1. Central Consumer Protection Authority

    CCPA dark-patterns guidelines, 2023

    Drip pricing — the guidelines’ own example is a flight price rising between checkout and payment — basket sneaking and false urgency are named unfair practices.

    We designFares show every fee from the first screen; seats, bags and insurance are opt-in.

    CCPA · Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 30 November 2023 Official text: CCPA dark-patterns guidelines, 2023

Sector regulator

Shapes most of the work

  1. Directorate General of Civil Aviation

    DGCA requirements on denied boarding, cancellations and delays

    Cancellations notified two weeks ahead, or an alternate flight or refund; late cancellations compensated up to ₹10,000 by block time; denied boarding up to ₹20,000; facilities during long delays.

    We designDisruption flows calculate each passenger’s entitlement and offer it in the app.

    DGCA · CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV, Rev. 4 (effective 15 February 2023) Official text: DGCA requirements on denied boarding, cancellations and delays

  2. Directorate General of Civil Aviation

    DGCA rules on air-ticket refunds

    Card refunds within seven days of cancellation; agent and portal refunds within 14 working days; a 48-hour window after booking to cancel or change without extra charge, except close to departure.

    We designBooking and change flows show the window and the refund route for every fare.

    DGCA · Civil Aviation Requirements on refund of airline tickets, revised 24 February 2026 (in force 26 March 2026)

  3. European Union

    EU air passenger rights

    For flights from the EU, and to it on EU carriers: compensation of €250, €400 or €600 by distance for cancellation and denied boarding, plus care and assistance during delays.

    We designEntitlements are calculated by the rules engine route by route, not by hand.

    Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 · Article 7 Official text: EU air passenger rights

Payments

Shapes most of the work

  1. PCI Security Standards Council

    PCI DSS v4.0.1

    Card data protection across booking, ancillaries and airport retail, including the requirements on payment-page scripts in force since 31 March 2025.

    We designPayment pages ship with a script inventory and change detection.

    PCI SSC · PCI DSS v4.0.1 Official text: PCI DSS v4.0.1

Personal data

Shapes most of the work

  1. Government of India · European Union

    DPDP Act, 2023 and GDPR

    Passenger, payment and biometric data collected per purpose with consent and withdrawal as easy as consent; EU passengers’ data handled under the GDPR.

    We designBiometric and travel data are kept only as long as each step needs, with consent logged per purpose.

    DPDP Act, 2023 · DPDP Rules, 2025 · Regulation (EU) 2016/679 Official text: DPDP Act, 2023 and GDPR

Accessibility

Shapes most of the work

  1. Directorate General of Civil Aviation

    DGCA requirements for passengers with disability or reduced mobility

    Airlines may not refuse carriage because of disability or reduced mobility; where fitness to fly is in doubt a doctor examines the passenger, and any refusal is given in writing, with reasons, at once.

    We designAssistance is requested once at booking and passed to every team that needs it.

    DGCA · CAR Section 3, Series M, Part I, as amended 21 July 2022

  2. European Union

    European Accessibility Act

    Since 28 June 2025, passenger-transport websites, apps, e-tickets, real-time travel information and self-service terminals serving the EU meet accessibility requirements.

    We designBooking, check-in and kiosks are built to WCAG 2.2 AA and tested with disabled passengers.

    Directive (EU) 2019/882 · applies from 28 June 2025 Official text: European Accessibility Act

Compiled 3 October 2026. Our reading of typical programmes, not legal advice. Rules change; your counsel confirms how each one applies to you.

Challenges

Your customers’ problems, and your own.

What we hear in almost every airlines & airports brief — on the customer’s side of the screen, and on yours.

Your customers

  1. Know what is happening

    Real-time status, gates and connections pushed before the passenger has to ask.

  2. Disruption without a queue

    Rebooking, meals, hotels and refunds offered in the app, as the rules require.

  3. Assistance booked, not begged

    Wheelchairs, escorts and assistive devices requested once and honoured at every touchpoint.

Suitcases ride a stainless-steel baggage carousel in a quiet arrivals hall
Disruption is counted in bags, rebookings and refunds.

Your operation

  1. Rules that differ by route

    Indian, EU and other passenger rights apply to the same airline, flight by flight.

  2. Ancillaries without dark patterns

    Seats, bags and insurance sold as clear choices, never pre-ticked.

  3. Data from many systems

    Reservations, departure control, baggage and airport systems have to tell one story.

What we build

Six disciplines, weighted for airlines & airports.

A typical programme here draws on each discipline in this mix. Every line names what it builds for the industry and links to the capability that does the work.

Leads Core Supports Share of a typical programme, by role · illustrative
  1. 01

    Technology & Intelligence

    Leads

    Integrations across reservations, departure control and airport systems, so every channel tells one story.

  2. 02

    Product & Experience Design

    Leads

    Booking, disruption, assistance and check-in journeys with passenger rights built in.

  3. 03

    Brand Design

    Core

    Airline and airport identities and wayfinding that work in a hurry and in every language.

  4. 04

    AI Design

    Core

    Rebooking and service assistants with evaluations, guardrails and people owning the exceptions.

  5. 05

    Marketing Technology

    Core

    Loyalty, disruption messages and pre-trip communication on one consented passenger record.

  6. 06

    Campaign & Content Design

    Supports

    Route launches and fare campaigns with every price shown in full.

Programmes

Fix disruption first, then the booking around it.

The way in walks booking, disruption and assistance journeys against the passenger requirements, and ranks the fixes by cost and by complaints. Lengths are typical, never promised.

The way in

Disruption and booking-flow audit

We book, change, get disrupted and ask for assistance the way passengers do, and check each step against DGCA’s requirements and the dark-pattern rules.

Package
Sprint · Fixed fee
Typical length
2–3 weeks
It sets
Time from disruption to rebooking or refund, as a baseline
  • Product experience audit
  • Technical & code audit

What it hands over

  • An entitlement and notice gap register against the CARs
  • A disruption journey redesign with self-service rebooking
  • A fix list ranked by complaints and by cost
Start here

  1. 02Milestone · 4–9 months

    Self-service disruption platform

    Real-time notices, rebooking, meals, hotels and refunds offered in the app and on the web, calculated to the rules for each route.

    MovesSelf-service rebooking rate during disruption

    Services: End-to-end UX & UI design · Custom CRM or operations platform · System integration

    Enquire about Self-service disruption platform

  2. 03Project · 8–12 weeks

    Accessible booking and check-in

    Booking, check-in and assistance requests rebuilt to WCAG 2.2 AA and the European Accessibility Act, and tested with disabled passengers.

    MovesAssistance requests fulfilled as booked

    Services: Accessibility audit (WCAG 2.2 AA) · Front-end build

    Enquire about Accessible booking and check-in

  3. 04Milestone · 4–8 months

    Loyalty programme and passenger record

    Loyalty, preferences and communications on one consented passenger record, used in booking, at the airport and in disruption.

    MovesRepeat bookings from loyalty members

    Services: Loyalty strategy & programme design · Customer data & identity foundation

    Enquire about Loyalty programme and passenger record

How success is measured

The number we moveTime from disruption to rebooking or refund

  • Time from disruption to rebooking or refund
  • Self-service rebooking rate during disruption
  • Complaints per 10,000 passengers
  • Assistance requests fulfilled as booked

AI, under the rules

AI rebooks and explains, people own every exception.

Each use case has an owner, an evaluation set and a log; compensation and refunds follow the rules engine, never a model’s judgement.

Use case 01

Disruption rebooking assistant

Measured bySelf-service rebooking rate during disruption

Tested forOWASP LLM06 · Excessive agency

agent / disruption-rebooking-assistant Guarded
  1. TaskOffers each affected passenger rebooking options and their entitlements under the rules for the route.
  2. GuardrailEntitlements come from the rules engine, never the model; anything outside the rules goes to an agent.
  3. HumanDuty managers own exceptions and every compensation decision.
  4. LogOptions offered, entitlement calculated and the passenger’s choice.

Ships only with its evaluation set, its guardrail and an owner

Use case 02

Travel-information assistant

Measured byAnswer accuracy on an agreed evaluation set

Tested forOWASP LLM09 · Misinformation

agent / travel-information-assistant Guarded
  1. TaskAnswers questions on baggage, documents and assistance from approved policies and live flight data.
  2. GuardrailCites the policy it relies on and never invents a fee or an exception.
  3. HumanThe customer team reviews flagged answers daily.
  4. LogQuestion, policy cited and answer.

Ships only with its evaluation set, its guardrail and an owner

Use case 03

Complaint summary

Measured byTime to first response on complaints

Tested forOWASP LLM02 · Sensitive information disclosure

agent / complaint-summary Guarded
  1. TaskSummarises a complaint with the flight record, the notices sent and the entitlements applied.
  2. GuardrailEvery line links to its source; it makes no recommendation to reject.
  3. HumanAn agent decides every complaint.
  4. LogThe summary and its sources.

Ships only with its evaluation set, its guardrail and an owner

Work and insights

The work, anonymised until clients approve.

Projects in this industry are published once a client approves the write-up. Until then, here is what we have written on the rules that apply.

A typical programme · composite

A regional airline rebuilt its disruption journey so passengers on a cancelled flight see their options, their entitlements and a rebooking in the app within minutes, with every step logged against the passenger requirements.

Anonymised and illustrative: the shape a programme takes, never a named client.

Insights

Questions

What digital, customer and operations heads ask us first.

Something else on your mind? Ask us directly

Q.01Do you work with airports as well as airlines?

Yes: airport operators, ground handlers and cargo businesses as well as airlines. Airports need wayfinding, real-time information, accessibility and retail journeys; airlines need booking, disruption and loyalty. The rules differ, and so does the work.

Q.02Can you calculate compensation automatically?

We design and build the rules engine and the journeys that calculate entitlements route by route — DGCA requirements in India, Regulation 261/2004 for EU flights — with your legal team approving the rules and people owning every exception.

Q.03How do you handle accessibility?

Booking, check-in and assistance are built to WCAG 2.2 AA and the European Accessibility Act, with assistance requested once and passed to every team that needs it, and tested with disabled passengers.

Q.04Will a chatbot decide refunds?

No. Refunds and compensation follow the rules engine your legal team approves; the assistant explains the options, and a person owns every exception.

Keep exploring

More in travel, hospitality & leisure, and every other industry.

All forty-one industries

Let’s build what happens next.

Tell us what you’re building. We’ll answer straight.

Book a discovery call

Three ways to start

  1. 01About 2 minutes

    A quick question

    You get A reply from a lead, not a sales queue

  2. 02About 8 minutesMost useful

    A project brief

    You get Options and a first scope after one call

  3. 03About 15 minutes

    A formal RFQ or RFP

    You get Receipt confirmed and a named bid lead

Every engagement starts with a written scope and a quote agreed before work begins. How each package is priced

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