Product Management Usability Testing 6th February 2006

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Agenda 1.Background Current policy Reasons to change New policy Principles of new policy 2.Objective for testing 3.Whats new Flight confirmation page MMB change (for existing bookings) 4.Where it takes me 5.What we want to test 6.Test scenarios

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Background - current policy We know: –Todays policy is not understood by customers and staff –We are making it work today by excess man power (7million changes globally p.a.) and by taking a hit on punctuality –Todays policy is largely first come first served until we reach our % targets of each cabin –Its broken At any one time we cant tell a customer what they are entitled to: –A gold card holder never knows if he will be able to select a seat or not –A Club World customer doesnt know if he is entitled to select at seat or not at time of booking –A mother travelling with small children doesnt know if she will be able to select a seat BA is not differentiated from any other airline in this area as the majority of other airlines operate their seating policy in the same way

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Background - reasons to change Simplification A new policy that is easy to understand and communicate (both internally and externally); Promote self-service Customers utilising self service check-in channels will have greater choice of seats, including more desirable seats previously not available. The choice of seats will visibly decrease over time. Self service is key to T5; Reward our most valuable customers Current first come first served policy penalises our late (high value) bookers;

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Background - new policy Extra custom - more control Can select a seat when they book and change it at any time until they check in, via any channel Premier, Gold and Silver Executive Club members and oneworld equivalents Those travelling in FIRST Those travelling in full fare tickets booked in J,C,W,Y Those travelling on a corporate dealt ticket Exceptions: Extra Care passengers travelling with infants & those for whom we have a legal obligation Everyone – more choice Full choice of all available seats when online check in opens (unable to request a seat or state a seat preference before check in opens) Extra care – more help Allocated a seat before online check in opens; can change their allocated seat when they check in, via any channel Passengers travelling with children aged 2-11 Other special needs Group bookings of more than 9 in economy, 6 in Club Exceptions: Extra Custom passengers travelling in the Euro Traveller cabin (Y,B,H) will be allocated a seat according to preference due to the moving curtain

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Background - principles of the new policy Eligible passengers are able to choose from ALL available seats. Previously we held seats back; Far more seats will be available through online check-in (eg. 28 in old policy, 194 in new!) because we are allocating seats to fewer people before check-in opens; This means that some people (typically those paying a lower fare) will no longer be able to choose a seat at time of booking; The best seats will be available for selection (exit rows/bulkhead/front row); We are improving the seat map so that passengers can make a more informed choice about where they sit; If we change a passengers seat we will let them know via MMB; Passengers wont be able to change their seat after boarding pass is issued.

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Seat Blocking - today U U B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B BB B B B B B P PPP P P PP P P P P P P P P PP P P P P P PP P P P P P P P P PP P P P P P PP PP PP P P P P P P PP P P P P P P PPP P P P P P P PP PP PP P P PP PP P PP P P P P P P P P P P P P P PPP P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P PP PP Un-accompanied Minors Buffered by Airports Bulkheads - blocked U B B

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Seat Blocking – new policy K G C J F B H E A D Bulkhead WT+ CabinWT Cabin U U P P PP P P P P P P P P P P P P P P PP PP P P P P P P P P P P PP P P P P P PP P P P

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Objectives for testing Understand customers reaction to new screens (not the policy!); Understand the customers perspective and preferred process for researching and choosing a seat on ba.com; Ensure that all ba.com customers are able to find out when/where they are able to choose their seat; Ensure that those passengers eligible to choose their seat are doing so in the majority of cases;

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February New functionality - flight confirmation page New seating button will appear on flight confirmation page for ALL bookings made on ba.com.

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Where does the button take me ? On clicking the link the system will THINK (ie. determine the eligibility of the booking) and take it through to one of three places: 1. Custom - at least ONE sector of your booking is eligible for seating (it may be that some sectors are not eligible for seating); 2. Special care - BA will allocate your seat(s) 3 days prior to departure; 3. Everyone else - only able to choose seat(s) at time of check-in; However, (perhaps confusingly) the three pages will have the same look and feel to ensure consistency.

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Custom – at least one sector is eligible for seating

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Special care – BA will allocate 3 days prior to departure No consent required as they are not choosing seats.

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Everyone – able to choose seats at check-in Again, no consent required. Does the more information answer all of their questions? Would they like more information shown (such as when check-in opens?)

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February There is another way to get to the 3 new screens For existing bookings, customers can access the same three seating screens via Manage my Booking (MMB). The MMB landing page will be tailored according to seating eligibility within the booking. 1.CustomWill see an important message asking them to choose their seats if they havent already done so; 2.Special CareWill see links to seating (previously greyed out); 3.Everyone Will see links to seating (previously greyed out). All links will take customers through to the same three screens already mentioned.

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Whats new for Custom group in MMB? Customers eligible to choose seats, who have not yet done so, will be prompted to choose their seat with an important message. Shortcuts will contain a link through to seating. Wording to be defined but will be tailored and read either choose/view seats or something similar.

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Whats new for Special care and Everyone Key difference - these customers will always be able to access information on seating. Today – if they are not able to choose a seat the button is simply greyed out, with little explanation. The seating link will take customers through to one of the three pages outlined earlier. Question – are customers able to find seating information easily? Does it meet their needs?

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February MMB – other sources of seating information Seating information will be available through other tabs (yet to be mocked up). These will be located in either: a)Before my flight, or b)On board Understand where customers would look for seating information. Does the information provided satisfy their needs? Would they like to seat maps even if they werent allowed to choose a seat?

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February What we want to test a)Different sectors might mean different eligibility; b)EuroTraveller preference capture is new and complex; c)BA initiated seat changes – customer reaction to the information; d)New seat map information;

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February a) Different sectors might mean different eligibility; Do customers understand why they are able to choose a seat on one sector and not the other? EDI – LHRineligible for seating (discounted fare) LHR – MIAeligible for seating (full fare)

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February b) Euro-Traveller preference capture is new and complex Euro-traveller preference capture – option 1 In line with our competitors, BA do not offer any pre-seating in the Euro- traveller cabin because of the complexity of the moving curtain Preference is requested for each passenger in the sector. Do they work out that they potentially wont be sitting next to each other? Does the information adequately explain the process?

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February b) Euro-Traveller preference capture is new and complex Euro-traveller preference capture – option 2 Only once preference is captured for the booking. Will the information adequately explain why this is the case. Does anyone mention that they would rather NOT sit next to others in their party?

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February c) BA initiated seat changes – customer reaction to the information Under the new policy we will advise customers if their allocated seat has been changed. At present, we will only be advising customers via MMB and will NOT be sending out proactive communication (for example, )

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February d) New seat map information Example of the current seat map

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February d) New seat map information Emergency exits will be highlighted in red; under current policy these seats are always kept for allocation at the check-in desk (except for shorthaul); Warning message (bottom) shown if passenger selects these seats; customer will be unable to confirm seats until they have checked the box accepting that they fulfil the criteria; Toilets, galleys and bulkheads will be shown; Cot positions highlighted showing whether occupied or available for selection; until check-in opens the cot seats will only be visible to bookings with an infant in them. Other passengers will see them as occupied until check-in opens at –24hrs;

Product Management Seating Implementation 6th February Test scenarios