AI in Travel Tech: Key Findings
- CheapOair’s app-first loyalty model increased engagement through explainable AI and gamified UX, showing how brands can turn mobile interactions into repeat visits and retention.
- Hybrid AI-human support reduced response times and improved satisfaction, offering a scalable model for trust-based customer service in fast-moving industries.
- Transparent recommendations and ethical gamification increased traveler trust, showing how clear, non-manipulative design drives long-term loyalty.
Design today must do more than just look good.
It has to work hard to earn loyalty. And in travel, the numbers make that clear.
The global market for travel loyalty programs is now worth $28.6 billion in 2025, according to the 2025 Travel Loyalty Program Market Report.
It highlights just how important it’s become for brands to keep customers engaged with experiences that feel personal, meaningful, and genuinely rewarding.
In an exclusive DesignRush interview, Nipun Joshi, associate vice president of product at Fareportal, talks about how CheapOair, an online travel agency (OTA), is building loyalty through thoughtful mobile design.
His team’s approach centers on three principles:
- Reward behaviors travelers already value with timely, in-app deals and native loyalty features
- Design for how people actually travel, with real-time tools and cross-platform consistency
- Build trust through explainable AI and ethical gamification, making every interaction feel clear and earned
Through these pillars, and a culture of continuous experimentation, CheapOair is creating technology travelers can trust, and keep coming back to.
Who Is Nipun Joshi?
Nipun Joshi is the associate vice president of product and AI experiences at Fareportal, the parent company of CheapOair and OneTravel. He oversees the strategy and development of Fareportal’s digital platforms. A published AI researcher and member of the IEEE AI Policy Committee, Joshi champions responsible, transparent innovation that puts users first. Under his leadership, CheapOair’s mobile app earned the 2024 Travel Weekly Gold Magellan Award for mobile innovation.
1. Build Loyalty Features That Strengthen What Travelers Already Value
CheapOair’s approach is refreshingly simple: design loyalty features that make the travel experience smoother and more valuable.
“Our mobile app is designed to deliver a travel experience that’s not only seamless but also rewarding,” Joshi explains. “We offer app users access to specially curated travel deals tailored to their preferences and booking behavior.”
The CheapOair app keeps its focus on timeliness and relevance.
Personalized deals arrive when users are already planning or browsing, creating moments of delight that feel organic.
The team also built loyalty mechanics directly into the app’s value exchange. Travelers earn ClubMiles loyalty point multipliers for mobile bookings, turning habitual use into tangible reward.
As Joshi puts it, it’s about making loyalty “a natural part of how people already engage with travel,” rather than a separate, cumbersome system.
By reinforcing the brand’s promise, CheapOair ensures loyalty feels earned.
2. Design Mobile Tools Around How People Actually Travel
Loyalty only works if users enjoy the experience of earning it.
For Joshi’s team, that starts with designing for real-world mobile behavior: travelers who are planning, booking, or changing plans on the go.
“Mobile users often need quick, intuitive tools for on-the-go decisions, which differ significantly from desktop users who may be planning more complex itineraries,” he says.
This insight inspired a range of real-time features designed to meet travelers exactly where they are and make every step of the journey easier.
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The team also keeps accessibility and inclusivity front of mind. Travelers have diverse needs, from families managing multiple bookings to first-time flyers.
Supporting this range means building flexible tools that maintain consistency across mobile, desktop, and live support channels.
By designing around user context, not just conversion goals, CheapOair makes the mobile experience an extension of the traveler’s rhythm: practical, responsive, and human.
3. Use Explainable Personalization and Ethical Gamification To Build Trust
Personalization has become a buzzword in travel tech, but Joshi’s team believes it’s only powerful when users understand and trust how it works.
“One trend that continues to be underestimated is the role of transparent, context-aware personalization in mobile travel booking,” Joshi says. “We believe that personalization should be intuitive and trustworthy.”
In CheapOair’s case, personalization means showing the reasoning behind those suggestions. If an alternative airport, date, or deal is recommended, the app explains why.
This transparency helps travelers feel in control and builds long-term confidence in the brand’s AI.
That same sense of trust guides CheapOair’s use of gamification. Seasonal campaigns let users earn points through lighthearted, travel-related challenges.
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“By aligning these campaigns with major cultural moments, we’ve created opportunities for travelers to discover deals while interacting with the brand in a more playful way,” Joshi says.
But unlike some brands that use gamification to push constant engagement, CheapOair focuses on joyful interaction over pressure. This principle extends to its strict ethical UX standards.
“We don’t practice any deceptive tactics and work hard every day to make sure we stay compliant,” Joshi adds. “Every pixel of our UX must meet strict compliance and transparency guidelines.”
For CheapOair, responsible design is a philosophy. When users trust that every recommendation, alert, and reward is genuinely for their benefit, loyalty deepens naturally.
What Agencies and Brands Can Learn
For marketers and agency teams, loyalty isn’t built through points alone, it’s earned through clarity, relevance, and respect.
CheapOair’s app shows that when personalization is explainable and design is ethical, brands don’t just drive repeat bookings, they build lasting trust.
Brands that design with clarity, accountability, and genuine customer value at every touchpoint will turn mobile engagement into lasting relationships.
Looking to help brands elevate customer loyalty through smarter digital experiences?
Explore leading mobile app design agencies on DesignRush.
