Journey Map — Flight Cancellation and Recovery

title "Flight cancellation — Skylark Airways disrupted-passenger journey"
subtitle "Short-haul leisure trip, evening flight cancelled for a technical fault"
note "Illustrative example: Skylark Airways is fictional; the persona, quotes and figures are invented. Passenger-rights rules vary by jurisdiction."

persona "Elena Rossi"
  role: Travelling home with her two children, aged 6 and 9
  goal: Get the family home with the least disruption and fair compensation
  needs: Honest updates | Somewhere to sleep | Food for the children
  quote: "Just tell me what happens next."

phase "At the airport"
stage "Check-in"
  time: 16:30
  actions: Checks in online | Drops two bags
  touchpoints: App, Bag drop
  thoughts: "Smooth so far."
  emotion: +1 Relaxed
  opportunity: Offer fast-track security to families
  owner: Airport operations
  metric: Bag-drop queue 9 min

stage "Delay alert"
  time: 18:45
  actions: Gets a 45-minute delay notice | Waits at the gate
  touchpoints: App push, Gate screen
  thoughts: "The app says 45 minutes; the gate says please wait."
  emotion: -1 Uneasy
  pain: App and gate screens disagree | Delay extended in 30-minute steps
  opportunity: One source of truth for app and gate | Honest estimate with the cause
  owner: Operations control
  metric: Delay estimates accurate to 15 min 52%

stage "Cancellation"
  time: 21:10
  actions: Hears the cancellation at the gate | Joins the transfer-desk queue
  touchpoints: Gate announcement, Transfer desk
  thoughts: "It's past the children's bedtime and nobody is telling us anything."
  emotion: -2 Distressed
  pain: Announced at the gate 10 minutes before the app | One desk for 180 passengers | No meal vouchers offered
  opportunity: Push rebooking options before the announcement | Automatic meal vouchers in the app
  owner: Ground handling
  metric: First information after cancellation 38 min

phase "Recovery"
stage "Rebooking"
  time: 22:30
  actions: Rebooks in the app onto the 07:05 | Seats the children next to her
  touchpoints: App, Chat assistant
  thoughts: "The app was faster than the queue."
  emotion: 0 Resigned
  pain: Family seats not held together on rebooking
  opportunity: Keep family bookings seated together by default
  owner: Digital
  metric: Self-service rebooking 64%

stage "Overnight"
  time: 23:30–05:30
  actions: Takes the shuttle to a hotel | Sleeps five hours
  touchpoints: Hotel voucher, Shuttle bus
  thoughts: "Five hours' sleep before a seven o'clock flight."
  emotion: -1 Exhausted
  pain: Hotel shuttle runs every 40 minutes
  opportunity: Push hotel and shuttle details with the rebooking
  owner: Customer care
  metric: Passengers in a hotel within 2 h 77%

stage "Compensation"
  time: Days 2–30
  actions: Submits a claim online | Uploads meal receipts
  touchpoints: Claim form, Email
  thoughts: "Paid in 11 days without having to argue."
  emotion: +2 Satisfied
  opportunity: Pre-filled claim sent to every affected passenger
  owner: Claims
  metric: Claims paid within 14 days 88%