How KLM Enhances the Digital Travel Experience with Optimal's User Insights Platform
Flagship carrier of the Netherlands
At the intersection of technology and travel, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has established itself as a digital innovator in the airline industry. Facing the unique challenge of serving diverse European markets, KLM recognized that creating intuitive online experiences across language barriers would be critical to maintaining their competitive edge. Through strategic partnership with our user insights platform, KLM embarked on a comprehensive digital transformation journey focused on customer-centric design and multilingual optimization. This collaboration has revolutionized how travelers interact with KLM's digital touchpoints, creating a frictionless experience from first search to final booking.
Challenge: Navigating the Digital Airspace
KLM faced significant challenges in organizing their complex digital ecosystem across diverse international markets. With BlueWeb serving as their core e-commerce platform for flight booking and travel management, KLM needed to ensure that both English and Dutch-speaking customers could easily navigate their services.
Additionally, the company needed to optimize the information architecture of Transavia, their budget airline subsidiary within the Air France-KLM Group, ensuring a consistent experience for users in both the Netherlands and France, regardless of language preferences.
Solution: Charting the Perfect Digital Journey
KLM implemented our user insights platform to tackle these information architecture challenges with precision:
- For BlueWeb's core e-commerce website, KLM conducted thorough tree testing exercises in both English and Dutch. This approach helped them evaluate how effectively users could navigate the interface, with the explicit goal to improve the information architecture of their primary revenue-generating platform.
- For their consumer-facing content organization, KLM deployed closed card sorting exercises in both English and Dutch. These tests focused specifically on categorizing common user queries under core information architecture tabs such as baggage, check-in, and sustainability initiatives.
The team also conducted a comprehensive assessment of the website layout and information architecture of Transavia, ensuring that French and Dutch language users could navigate with equal ease across their budget airline offering.
Results: Metrics That Soar
KLM's strategic use of UX research tools delivered tangible results:
- The tree testing exercises revealed distinct navigation patterns between English and Dutch users, enabling KLM to create language-specific information architectures that increased booking completion rates and reduced support inquiries.
- By focusing research on core customer concerns—baggage, check-in, and sustainability—KLM gained unique insights into how information organization influences customer confidence and booking behavior.
- The comprehensive assessment of Transavia's multilingual interfaces identified navigation pain points that, once resolved, streamlined the booking process for budget-conscious travelers in both the Netherlands and France. This improvement reduced abandonment rates and accelerated conversion timelines.
Flying Toward Long-Term Success
KLM's investment in information architecture research continues to deliver sustained benefits:
- The refined navigation systems have improved the overall user experience, leading to more intuitive customer journeys and increased traveler satisfaction across international markets.
- The optimized BlueWeb platform has strengthened KLM's digital presence, making their website a preferred destination for travel bookings and contributing to their competitive advantage in the airline industry.
- Continuous refinement of both English and Dutch interfaces has established a culture of evidence-based improvement, where user feedback directly shapes platform evolution.
KLM's case demonstrates how sophisticated UX insights transform information architecture from a basic utility to a strategic advantage, directly impacting customer satisfaction, booking conversions, and ultimately, business performance in the competitive airline landscape.
Want to learn how you can get started gathering meaningful user insight with our user insights platform? Reach out to us today.
