Gastronomi-Concep
Pre-flight gastronomy for Iberia — menu visibility, Business Class pre-selection, and flows that work from checkout to cabin.
Experience Design
Ancillaries
Role
Product Design · UX Design · Service Design
Timeline
1,5 years
team
Catering, Operations, Cabin Crew (TCPs), Product, Engineering, Digital (brand) and PM.
platform
Web
Overview
On long-haul flights, food is a key part of the Iberia experience. However, passengers boarded without knowing what they would eat or drink. The lack of menu visibility before departure limited planning and, for Business Class, prevented meal pre-selection based on individual preferences.
Gastronomi concep is a new ancillary module integrated into Iberia's booking process. It is designed as a service that connects passengers, catering, operations, and cabin crew prior to departure.
Scope: Highly operational. The digital menu is more than a list on a screen; it is part of a logistics chain involving inventory, loading times, meal identification on board, and waste reduction on the ground.
The Challenge
Passengers in the dark
Passengers could not view meal or wine descriptions before boarding, leading to uncertainty, reduced perceived quality, and missed opportunities to reinforce the brand.
Business Class travelers were unable to pre-select their starter, main course, or dessert, resulting in a premium cabin experience that lacked a premium digital component.
Night-flight passengers had no way to indicate a preference for rest, causing service to disrupt their sleep.
Operations disconnected from digital
Catering teams prepared and loaded meals without accurate passenger preference data prior to departure.
Cabin crew had no clear process for managing the transition from digital pre-selection to physical meal delivery.
These issues led to food waste and operational inefficiency, with incorrect meal types, quantities, and timing.
The strategic goal is to elevate Iberia's gastronomic offering to global airline standards by providing transparency for all passengers, pre-selection for premium travelers, and a process that functions effectively in real-world operations.
Discovery
In-depth analysis of operational processes.
I led research into Iberia's operational processes, focusing on how meals are delivered to the aircraft rather than starting from the user interface.
Catering and Operations: Assessed inventory constraints, loading schedules, and the process for determining meal quantities for each flight.
Cabin Crew (TCPs): Examined how crew identify, serve, and manage pre-selected meals on board, as well as the information required by both crew and passengers.
User and business research
Mapped the ancillaries checkout process to identify when passengers are most receptive to additional offerings, while also considering periods of high cognitive load.
Identified two primary needs: information for all passengers and personalization for Business Class travelers.
Confirmed that any digital solution must integrate passenger choices with catering data and crew actions to ensure a seamless process.
Stakeholder alignment. Facilitated cross-functional workshops with teams that do not typically collaborate on the same roadmap:
Stakeholder | What they owned |
|---|---|
Catering & Operations | Inventory, loading, waste |
Cabin Crew (TCPs) | On-board service & identification |
Product & Engineering | Checkout integration |
Digital | Brand UI & design system |
Key insight: A gastronomy module is not successful if it only performs well during checkout. It must also function reliably in real-world conditions, with accurate data, clear crew handoff, and realistic constraints.
The Solution
Integrated checkout module. A new gastronomic module is integrated into the booking flow as a seamless step in the purchase journey, rather than as a standalone page.
Universal Menu Visibility (all passengers). Passengers receive early access to meal and wine descriptions, including ingredients, options, and pairings. This ensures they know what to expect, allowing Iberia’s onboard experience to begin before takeoff.
Business Class Pre-Selection (premium passengers). Business Class travelers can select their starter, main course, and dessert in advance, making gastronomy a deliberate premium touchpoint rather than an afterthought.
Selections are integrated directly into catering preparation data prior to departure.
"Do Not Disturb" (night flights). This option allows passengers on night routes to prioritize rest over service, reducing interruptions and aligning crew actions with passenger preferences.
Operational handoff design
Pre-selection data is structured for Catering to ensure accurate counts and minimize waste.
Clear TCP identification patterns enable crew to match meals to passengers efficiently.
The user interface aligns with Iberia Digital brand standards, ensuring consistency across the booking ecosystem.
Impact
Passenger experience
Reduced uncertainty by providing clear expectations of onboard food and wine before boarding, resulting in a stronger brand perception.
Premium differentiation was achieved by positioning Business Class pre-selection as a thoughtfully designed gastronomic service rather than a standard cabin offering.
Rest was prioritized by aligning the "Do Not Disturb" service with passenger preferences on night flights.
Operational efficiency
Operational readiness improved as catering teams received accurate meal preference data before departure.
Food waste was reduced through improved forecasting enabled by pre-selection, replacing guesswork in meal loading.
Crew clarity increased as digital choices were translated into actionable onboard service patterns.
Product & service design
The ancillaries flow was upgraded from an invisible add-on to a visible value proposition during checkout.
Service design methodology was applied end-to-end, ensuring backstage constraints shaped the user interface rather than the reverse.
The module was designed for seamless checkout integration and is scalable within Iberia's booking architecture.
What I Learned
Effective service design begins behind the scenes. My experience with Catering and TCPs provided deeper insights into optimal UI than competitor benchmarks.
Passenger needs vary. Universal visibility and premium pre-selection serve distinct purposes, requiring one module to deliver two separate experiences.
Operational data is a key design deliverable. The information provided to Catering is as important as the passenger-facing interface.
Checkout is a critical decision point, not just a screen. The module needed to integrate seamlessly into a process where users are already considering price, dates, and seats.
Premium is in the details — pre-selecting a dessert is small; feeling known before you board is not.