Google Flights Product Sense: Serving Travelers After They Buy a Ticket

You are a product manager on Google Flights. How would you make the experience better for travelers once they have booked a flight? Define the goal, pick the travelers and the moments you would focus on, propose solutions, prioritize them, and explain how you would measure success. ```hint Start from who holds the booking Google Flights usually hands the traveler to an airline or a travel agency to complete the purchase. Work out what Google can actually know and do after that handoff before choosing which part of the trip to improve. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - What does "after booking" cover: the wait before departure, the day of travel, disruptions such as cancellations, or the rest of trip planning such as hotels and ground transport? - Is the goal traveler trust and satisfaction, more return visits to Google for the next trip, or revenue from related travel searches? - Can we assume Google learns about the booking (for example through the handoff or a confirmation email the traveler lets Google read), or must the traveler add it? - Which travelers matter most: frequent business travelers, leisure travelers, or people booking for a family or group? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A goal grounded in Google's position as a search and comparison service that usually does not hold the booking - The journey after purchase broken into moments (confirmation, waiting for departure, check-in, travel day, disruptions, the rest of the trip) with the pain points of a chosen segment - Solutions that work within what Google can see after the handoff, including how bookings reach Google with the traveler's consent - Prioritization by impact, effort and dependence on airline and agency partners, with a clear first release - Success metrics and guardrails covering trust, notification fatigue, privacy and partner relationships ### Follow-up Questions - Airlines want travelers to use their own apps after booking. How would you make your solution attractive to them rather than a threat? - How would you decide when a flight alert is worth sending and when it is noise? - If the traveler booked through an agency and the flight is cancelled, how far should Google go in helping them rebook?