Problem Identified, Baggage Cost Options.

The booking process will always involve flyers learning an airline’s luggage policy. There are multiple ways to find out about the restrictions on AA.com. Only one link directly connects to finding the chats that will help flyers calculate the total bag cost based on their flight route.

  • I approached two well-traveled people for this exercise, Lois and Caitlyn. Lois once held status with AA, while Caitlyn has little experience with the airline. The exercise was to go on AA.com and find the luggage cost for three different types of baggage, while I observed their interactions.

Prompt:

Before buying a ticket, what is the final cost of your luggage, 1 Carry On, 1 Checked bag, and 1 Guitar from San Diego to Charlotte?

  • Caitlyn started in Travel Information > Bags Tab in the header. She ended up circling around the same category tabs without the ability to find any of the bag costs.

    Caitlyn used the charts to find that her carry-on bag would be free while her 1st checked bag was $30. She felt the guitar would need to be checked because she was not confident there would be overhead space availability stated in AA’s musical instrument policy.

“Better to play is safe.”

Her luggage cost is $60.00 total.

  • Lois used the search feature to locate the bag options window.

    She had previous knowledge of AA’s baggage policy, being a past status holder. In the past, her 1st bag was free as an AAdvantage member. As a non-frequent flyer, her 1st checked bag was $30. She found out that smaller musical instruments could be considered carry-on luggage first come, first serve. However, there is nothing confirmed on the size that would not be considered too large to carry on. She decided to run with the assumption that the instrument would fit within restrictions to be her carry-on. AA allows one carry-on and a personal item. Lois mentioned that her “carry-on” would qualify as a personal item.

“The only reason felt I confident in my answer is because I travel, it has nothing to do with the site.”

Final baggage cost $30.00

  • The process of searching through charts and text to find out bag costs could be similar to Google flights, where you add the bags into the cost of the flights. A second solution could be a Luggage Calculator. All the data from the chats could be compressed into a window where the user enters the number of check bags or specialty item and their destination to see a final cost and options.