Product: Porter Airlines iOS & Android app

Role: Main Product Designer

Scale: 110K+ MAU · 4.8★ iOS · 4.5★ Android

Overview

Check-in is the number one reason customers download the Porter Airlines app. By 2024, the app had become the most-used digital channel for check-in—surpassing the website and airport kiosks.

But finishing check-in didn’t always feel reassuring. For many passengers, especially those traveling cross-border, the experience ended with uncertainty instead of confidence.

This project focused on a deceptively small moment:

What happens right after check-in ends?

What I noticed in the real world

In 2024, multiple issues surfaced around the post–check-in experience, especially for cross-border passengers:

• Inconsistent screens for passengers who were cleared vs. blocked for digital boarding passes, amplified in multi-passenger bookings

• Missed opportunities to promote border-control apps (ArriveCan, MPC)

• Passengers being called to the gate for document checks, slowing boarding and frustrating both customers and agents

Through on-site research at Toronto Billy Bishop Airport and conversations with customer service teams, I identified the root problem: After online check-in, passengers lacked clear, actionable information to move confidently through the airport.

Reframing the problem

Rather than treating these as separate fixes, I reframed them into a single, user-centric problem to solve.

How might we make the end of check-in feel clear, complete, and trustworthy—no matter the passenger or itinerary?

That shift unlocked a more cohesive solution.

Designing a calm, consistent ending

Approach

I followed a standard but rigorous design process:

• Discovery: Customer research, stakeholder alignment, and deep collaboration with operational teams

• Analysis & Ideation: Competitive analysis, internal audit, and rapid ideation (Figma AI)

• Validation: Usability testing, design critiques, and accessibility review

Solution

• Introduced a new Check-in Confirmation page at the end of the check-in flow

• Created a consistent experience across passenger scenarios and platforms

• Integrated ArriveCan and MPC promotion in a contextual, non-disruptive way

• Updated Booking Details with a new “Check-in & Boarding” section to centralize post–check-in information

Although the solution touched only a few pages, it accounted for complex scenarios

• Domestic vs. cross-border travel

• Single and multi-passenger bookings

• Cleared and blocked scenarios

• Support service needs

• Fare types and interline bookings

Impact & learnings

Released in October 2025, this new feature improved clarity for passengers on their day of travel and created a more predictable experience for both customers and gate agents.

This project reinforced my belief that strong product design comes from connecting fragmented problems into a cohesive, user-focused solution rather than delivering isolated fixes. By focusing on reassurance, consistency, and real-world behaviour, we turned the end of check-in from a question mark into a clear next step.