Case study: Smooth Airways (built-in visa guidance)

Smooth Airways integrates real-time visa checks directly into the flight booking process — helping users understand visa requirements before checkout, not after. Instead of building another generic travel app, I focused on the core user pain: uncertainty around visa eligibility when booking cross-border flights.

Key Feature:

Once a user selects a destination, the app checks visa rules based on their passport (auto-detected) — then displays:

→ Visa required/visa not required

→ Visa types available

→ Processing times

→ Embassy/official links

→ eVisa or visa-on-arrival options

Inspired by how travel insurance widgets appear contextually, this feature is non-intrusive, helpful, and conversion-friendly.

This design is backed by research: 36% of travelers abandon trips due to unclear visa rules (IATA, 2023). And for airlines, reducing that friction means higher completion rates and even new revenue streams.

Role: Product Designer

Design tools used: Figma

Year: (Q2) 2025