Southwest Airlines Website Usability Study
Class: Accessibility Considerations in HCI
Project Purpose: Assess the usability of a website for users who are blind or have low vision.
Southwest Airlines is a popular airline in the United States, with a reputation for hospitality, heart, and excellent customer service. However, many may not know that in 2002 Access Now Inc. filed a lawsuit against Southwest with the claim that their website was inaccessible to BLV users and thus violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The suit was ultimately dismissed, as websites had yet to be recognized as “public places of accommodation,” so Southwest's website did not need to meet ADA guidelines. Since then, new legislatures have been passed requiring websites to be accessible to people with low vision or blindness.
About
Is the Southwest Airlines website accessible to people who are blind or low vision?
How satisfied are users who are blind or low vision with their experience on the Southwest Airlines website?
What specific challenges do blind or low vision users face while navigating the website?
Research Questions
Method
Complete a flight search
Review flight prices and find cheapest flight
Check flight status
Find “disability-related accommodations” page
Usability Test
Simplify Page Content: Users struggled with the confusing organization of the homepage and the overwhelming amount of content it contains. Clutter should be removed or easily avoided.
Consolidate Website Navigation: The website includes multiple navigation bars and menus throughout the web page that include redundant information, which should be removed.
Clarify Southwest-specific Terminology: Phrases specific to Southwest, such as “Early Bird” and “Wanna Get Away,” confused users who were unfamiliar with the website. Unfamiliar terminology should be removed or made more clear.
Add Initial (Optional) Onboarding: this can be beneficial for users who are blind and need assistance, but don’t have anyone around. The onboarding can be as simple as a brief overview of the different sections on the site.