TravelHub — Diane Chiang

Hurry up and wait!

The Challenge

Catching a flight is a vicious cycle of trying to get to the next checkpoint to wait for your turn. From getting stuck in traffic while getting to the airport, waiting at the check-in counter, passing through the security line, or walking to the boarding gate, time is a huge stress factor.

The Solution

TravelHub predicts travel and wait times for airport travelers – keeping them updated from home to the plane – all while informing them of Discover merchants and deals along the way.

Sponsor
Discover

Role
UX/UI Design

Platform
Mobile App

Industry
Travel & Hospitality

Guessing how much time you need before flying is hard. Much of the journey is spent commuting, walking, and waiting again and again.

So we built a mobile app to help people catch flights on time.

How TravelHub Works

Input your flight details.

Travelers input their flight details into the app: date, destination, flight number, and time. The app estimates the amount of travel time needed based on the input and breaks each activity down into blocks.

Let the app guide you.

TravelHub reminds travelers of their upcoming trip. When it’s time, the app navigates the traveler from their house to the airport, through check-in, through TSA security lines, to the boarding gate, and onto the flight.

Stay up to date on flight changes.

The app sends notification alerts when there are changes – including delays and flight cancellations – and adjusts trip times accordingly.

Make the most of your time.

Discover highlights nearby partners and offers to enhance the travel journey so travelers can shop and dine. Pit stops are added to the timeline and TravelHub will notify travelers if they’re short on time.

AR for Discover Partners

While traveling, conveniently locate nearby Discover merchants and offers through the app’s augmented reality (AR) feature. Find dining, shopping, entertainment, hotels, and lounges on the go and discover new experiences.

Board right on time.

The ideal travel experience is one where you take your time and feel at ease. TravelHub navigates travelers so they find their way and maybe discover a new coffee shop or restaurant along the way.

The Tech Stack

FlightLookup API

FlightLookup’s API provides airline flight schedules and connecting flights for airports around the world. Information captured includes departures and arrivals. This data would allow TravelHub to track flights for travelers.

Google APIs

With Google’s Distance Matrix API, we can calculate travel times and distances for multiple locations. The Directions API provides detailed navigation and route information based on the desired origin and destination.

MyTSA API

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Security Checkpoint Wait Times API captures the last 25 wait times for US airports. With this, TravelHub can inform travelers how long security lines are and budget time accordingly.

Discover APIs

Discover has two APIs that identify merchants, partners, and special offers worldwide. The City Guides API identifies accepting merchants in popular destinations. The Privileges API provides access to special offers for Discover cardholders.

Discover Lounge Locator

Discover’s Airport Lounge Locator identifies airport lounge locations that participate in the Diners Club International Lounge program. The ATM Locator provides information on ATM locations for cash access for Discover cardholders.

Time Series Analysis

Based on existing data sources, we can predict future travel times through time series analysis and forecasting. This data science model uncovers correlations between data points and provides an accurate outlook of the future.

Final Thoughts

There’s Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Waze, but travelers need more than a GPS navigation map. What if there’s an app that helps travelers with every part of the journey? Wouldn’t we all feel more relaxed knowing we’ll board our flight at the right moment?

TravelHub is easily scalable from country to country. With API Integration and syncing with multiple data sources, we can help travelers navigate through cities and airports.

What do we need next to make this happen?

Future development includes validating the idea with travelers and Discover merchants to get user feedback on specific features. We can then leverage a data analytics platform to drive and measure merchant sales and traveler satisfaction.

What have we not considered?

Although API Integration is easily implemented from a technical perspective, we will need to source the specific APIs globally for specific destinations. We need to be weary of feature creeping and driving TravelHub beyond the original user intent.