Every airport moment.
A little more certain.

Magical Airport began with a design-team-led ambition at Grab: help travellers through more of their trip. I worked as PM and designer, turning that ambition into a shared vision and a focused first release.

An airport ride gets someone to a terminal, but their uncertainty starts before pickup and continues after drop-off. Magical Airport began as a design-team-led initiative at Grab to help through more of that journey. I took on PM responsibilities alongside design, helping the team connect a long-term vision to a first release we could build.

My role: PM & product designer
AI-assisted iOS implementation
The initiative: Design-team driven
Vision and Phase 1

Your flight, connected to your ride

Link a flight for travel reminders and updates in Grab.

How the project started

We started by mapping the whole trip. I helped set the direction as both PM and designer.

Understand the trip
Mapped the journey and prioritised traveller pain points.
Shape the experience
Designed the vision, from early ideas to SmartCards.
Make it buildable
Scoped Phase 1 and built iOS components with AI.

Customer journey map with ten stages, traveller scenarios, app touchpoints and pain points, from planning a trip through returning home. — Customer journey map
Ten stages, from planning a trip to getting home.

Prioritising 53 traveller pain points

Six stages of traveller uncertainty.

Planning the tripWill I forget something important?Explore 13 pain points

Destination choice: Unsure where to travel; search results feel generic and geared toward tourists rather than personal interests.
Personalisation gap: No planning tool recognises my travel style, past trips, or real preferences.
Saved‑info chaos: Recommendations and notes are scattered across chats, docs, and bookmarks, making them impossible to retrieve later.
Research apathy: Checking seasons, visa needs, and vaccinations is tedious, so I postpone it.
Review doubts: Hotel and activity ratings feel unreliable; photos may not match reality.
Planning drag: Building itineraries, comparing prices, and coordinating with providers eats up hours.
Forgetting critical documents (passport, visa) under extreme time pressure and cognitive load.
Group friction: Friends or family can’t align schedules and no one wants to own the planning.
Business admin: Corporate rules, budget limits, and “hotel‑near‑office” mandates complicate bookings.
Booking gaps: Add‑ons like baggage or seat selection are missing until the last minute, causing extra fees.
Lack of a single, trusted source for critical travel information (visa rules, local customs, safety).
Flight risks: Airlines shift schedules, forcing me to rebook connecting services.
Wake‑up rush: Constant fear the household will oversleep and miss the flight.

Booking the rideWhen should I book the ride?Explore 11 pain points

Price & surge pain: Airport trips often surge.
Unsure when to book a cab: No idea how early to leave, how long the ride will be, traffic conditions, or even my departure gate.
Cancel penalty: Flight delays or emergencies mean I’m charged for a ride I can’t take.
Vehicle fit doubts / Ride mismatch: Unsure which car fits luggage, stroller, or child seat; wrong vehicle compromises safety.
Grab availability gap: Grab may be unavailable or simply too hard to prebook when accessing outside SEA.
Group fare headache: Splitting cost, route, and timing with friends is clunky.
Grab is not affordable and is not competitive with other ride-hailings.
Terminal lookup: Digging through confirmation emails to find the right terminal or gate.
Food clock: Unsure if I have time to grab food before the pickup arrives.
Scenic or grocery stop wish: Want to add a quick stop without creating a new booking.
DIPC worries: Driver may arrive too early when I’m not ready or too late when I’m rushing.

On the way to the airportWhat if we don’t make it on time?Explore 5 pain points

Getting late: Traffic jams, rain, accidents, or roadworks threaten on‑time arrival.
Unexpected breakdown: The car dies, the unhappy driver leaves you stranded in the middle of nowhere, traffic is gridlocked, and the clock is ticking.
Driver issues: Refuses basement pickup, luggage help, or requested stop; cancels because child seat needed.
Language gap: I struggle to explain directions or special requests.
In‑ride discomfort: No water, loud music, boredom, or hunger with no easy fix.

At the airportWhere is my terminal or gate?Explore 13 pain points

Drop‑off chaos: Crowded curbs mean the driver drops me far from the entrance.
Heavy‑bag slog: Trolleys are scarce; wheelchairs hard to source.
Overwhelmed at the Airport: I couldn’t find the terminal, gate, or baggage area, and the driver dropped me off far from my gate.
Check‑in pain: Long queues, last‑second baggage fees, toiletries confiscated.
Terminal mix‑ups: Airline switches terminal or gate and I have to sprint across the airport.
Difficulty locating washrooms, baggage claim, customs, immigration, lounges, shops, dining, and other amenities in sprawling, confusing terminals results in wasted time, long queues, and inefficient navigation that hampers business-critical tasks.
Arriving Early: Arrive before counters open or and have nothing to do
Food & shops hunt: Either not enough time or can’t locate decent food or shopping.
Lounge uncertainty: Unsure of lounge location, access rules, or card eligibility.
Currency & duty doubts: Confused about exchange rates and duty‑free limits.
Access needs: Airport layout is rough for elderly travellers, kids, or heavy baggage.
Amenities gap: Basic amenities—prayer rooms, kids’ play areas—are hard to find.
Gratuity rush: In the scramble I forget to tip the driver or staff.

In flightWhat do I need when we land?Explore 3 pain points

In-Flight Gap: nothing to do in-flight, no airport or visa info in the plane’s media center, and no way to advance-book a ride from airport to hotel.
Arrival‑time haze: Unsure how long immigration and baggage will take, so don’t know when to request a ride.
Duty‑free rules blur: I don’t know alcohol or customs limits for the new country.

After landingHow do I find my pickup?Explore 8 pain points

No connectivity (no local SIM/data) upon landing, preventing access/downloading ride-hailing, maps, or communication.
Ride choice stress: Unsure which transport option is safe, roomy, and fairly priced.
Payment confusion: Unsure if I need cash, card, or e‑wallet; exchange rates sting.
Driver uncertainty: Allocation screen drags; ETA is too choppy at the airport, and I don’t know how far the driver truly is.
High risk of scams: Unofficial taxis quote inflated fares or bait‑and‑switch me.
Pickup mayhem: Curb is crowded; app localisation errors make meeting the driver tricky.
Low visibility of Grab pick-up points and confusing official communication, adding to arrival stress.
Local transport puzzle: Deciding between ride‑hail, rental, metro, especially late at night.

How we prioritised the pain points

Stress

How badly could the problem affect the trip?

Coverage

How many travellers could face it?

Grab fit

Could Grab help at the right moment?

Why airport confusion became a priority

Finding the terminal, gate or baggage area combined traveller stress, broad relevance and a direct connection to Grab’s airport ride. This pointed us toward guidance before drop-off. Choosing a holiday destination was common, but fell outside Grab’s role.

Scoring method

These were team planning judgments. Stress ranged from mild annoyance to a trip-threatening problem; coverage ranged from a small minority of travellers to roughly half. Both used five-point scales. Grab fit used three: unrelated, adjacent or core.

We kept opportunities with stress of at least 3, stress and coverage totalling at least 6, and Grab fit of 2 or 3.

Feeling lost at the airport: Stress 3, coverage 3, Grab fit 3. Difficulty finding the terminal, gate or baggage area—including drop-off far from the gate—met all three selection criteria.
Choosing a holiday destination: Stress 3, coverage 5, Grab fit 1. Common and frustrating, but solving it would pull Grab into general travel planning.

Ride timing, vehicle fit and pickup visibility also passed. These connected travel needs with the moments Grab already serves.