Two domestic airlines subjected their websites to extreme makeovers and feature expanded travel planning options.
The two airlines have vastly different operations and finances. Delta flies hundreds of routes, and operates the discount Song airline. Orlando-based AirTran has had mild profitability in its most recent financial quarter while flying an almost exclusive domestic schedule, the Bahamas being the only destination outside the continental US.
Both airlines recently updated their websites, and fans of the color blue will be delighted as both have went with varying shades in their designs. Also, the two airlines are using Expedia’s WWTE travel booking engine to offer hotel, car, and vacation package booking options from their sites.
Delta’s changes look to be mostly on the homepage, where it has supplanted the typical corporate white background and lengthy list of navigations links on the left side of the page with a few straightforward elements. The designers have made a little use of a href=http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php>Ajax coding for a News and Offers section. Ajax allows a web application to change the content of a web page without reloading the whole page.
AirTran notes in a press release that it has streamlined its pages with better functionality in mind. Those changes seem to be search-focused, with visitors able to update their travels dates on the flight results page instead of navigating back to the homepage. AirTran has incorporated a full site search capability as well.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
