CheapOair
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UX Audit
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Travel OTA
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North America
A full-funnel audit revealing why CheapOair was losing conversions not to competitors, but to its own interface.
MY ROLE
Solo UX Auditor
DURATION
Under 2 weels
PLATFORMS
Desktop · Mobile Web · iOS
Type
UX Audit Engagement
Guest users
Pre-login only
6 pages audited
15 OTAs benchmarked
40+ annotated issues
500+ reviews analysed
The product was loosing to itself
CheapOair's flight booking experience had a structural credibility problem. Its SUS score of 53.25 placed it in the "Poor" category 36 points below Expedia's 89. Analysis of 500+ user reviews revealed the core issue wasn't pricing or inventory: 39% of negative feedback cited fee transparency and trust as the primary frustration.
53.25
SUS Score "Poor" category
Industry benchmark: 89 (Expedia · Google Flights)
39%
Of negative reviews cite trust & fee transparency
Source: 500+ App Store & Play Store reviews
Every 1% conversion improvement = millions in incremental revenue at CheapOair's traffic volume UX was a direct revenue lever
40%+ of support tickets related to fee confusion a servicing cost problem with direct P&L impact beyond satisfaction scores
Hotjar data confirmed 3× abandonment spike at the Review page the exact moment fees appeared for the first time
The real challenge wasn’t about designing another dashboard. It was about creating a unified, scalable platform that simplified complexity for both marketers and analysts while directly improving speed and campaign ROI.
How i approach it
A single-method audit is an opinion. I used a four-layer triangulation model to ensure every finding was supported by at least two independent data sources removing personal preference from the equation and grounding every recommendation in evidence.
Research
4-layer triangulation GA/Hotjar behavioral data + 15-OTA competitive matrix + Nielsen heuristics + 500+ user reviews. Every critical finding required two independent sources before entering the priority matrix.
Scope decision: Pre-purchase funnel only (landing → confirmation). Post-booking flows were equally problematic but 90% of revenue leakage occurs before payment.
Built a 6-dimension competitive matrix across 15 OTAs to make the gap concrete and undeniable not a qualitative opinion but a structured data comparison.
Challenges
01
40+ issues with no prioritisation signal everything looked equally urgent
Synthesised into 4 strategic pillars by root cause. Severity ratings stayed as supporting detail, not the primary framework.
02
Dark patterns were commercially defended hard to argue removal without evidence
Triangulated Hotjar rage-clicks + review language + abandonment data. Turned the argument from opinion into a business case.
03
Seat selection: highest dwell time in the funnel but also highest abandonment
Identified the root cause as upsell interruption before map access not map complexity itself. Targeted intervention, not a full rebuild.
Tradoff
Audit scope defination
Option A
Full end-to-end audit including post-booking, modification & cancellation flows
Chosen
Pre-purchase funnel only landing page through booking confirmation
Chose because: 90% of revenue leakage and trust damage happens pre-payment maximum ROI within a 2-week engagement.
Given up: Post-booking UX (modification, cancellation) remained unaudited a known gap for a follow-up engagement.
Decisions that move the metrics
40+ findings, synthesised into 4 root-cause recommendations. Each one maps directly to a measurable outcome ordered by business impact, not effort.
Highest ROI
Transparency
Radical transparency
Show total-inclusive pricing from the search results page not at checkout. Hotjar confirmed a 3× abandonment spike at the exact moment fees appeared. This single change addresses the most damaging moment in the entire funnel.
Most broken page
Flow integrity
Seat selection overhaul
Remove upsell modal interruptions before map access. Show seat prices inline on the map. Give "Skip" equal visual weight to "Continue." Users averaged 4+ minutes here with the highest abandonment of any step the problem was hostile UX design, not user indecision.
Mobile first
Disclosure
Progressive Disclosure
Fix filter persistence on mobile filters were resetting after every selection, requiring users to re-open the panel for each refinement. Establish one primary CTA per page across all 6 pages. This was the most frequently violated heuristic across all 3 platforms.
Trust Recovery
Flow integrity
Flow Integrity
Back-navigation must preserve booking progress not restart the flow. Ads must be visually distinct from organic results. These two patterns were cited in 1-in-4 negative reviews as the primary reason users stopped trusting the product.
Measuring What Matters
Strategic targets derived from competitive gap analysis and behavioral data not post-implementation measurements. All outcomes require A/B testing per change to validate independently. Baselines are proprietary to CheapOair.
Audit Baseline · Current
53.25
SUS Score "Poor" category
Target: 80+ after Phase 1 & 2. Industry best-in-class: 89 (Expedia). The 36-point gap is structural, not cosmetic.
Audit Baseline · Current
25-35%
Checkout Abandonment
Driven by Review page fee transparency + seat selection friction removal. The 3× abandonment spike at Review is the single highest-leverage fix in the funnel.
Strategic Target
2-3x
Conversion Rate Improvement
Based on competitive SUS-to-conversion benchmarks at equivalent traffic. Requires all 4 recommendation pillars implemented together.
Strategic Target
40%
Fee-Related Support Tickets
Upfront fee transparency eliminates the #1 driver of post-booking complaints a direct servicing cost reduction with measurable P&L impact.
Honest in Two Directions
What I'd do differently
Run 6–8 moderated user sessions alongside the behavioral audit. Hotjar tells you where users struggle only conversation tells you why. The emotional weight of the fee surprise moment needed user voice, not just scroll-depth data, to convey its full business impact.
Core learning
Dark patterns compound invisibly. Each one might lift a short-term metric while silently eroding reviews, return rates, and brand equity. CheapOair had strong inventory and competitive pricing the UX was the ceiling, not the floor. Removing it doesn't require rebuilding the product; it requires the honesty to stop defending what's broken.