In 2015, Delta invited AKQA to pitch for Digital Agency of Record. By that time we had been Delta’s Mobile Agency of Record 6 years — our work included the Fly Delta mobile app, kiosk, in-airport signage, and more — and we were thrilled at the opportunity to expand our remit even further.

As part of the pitch, Delta asked us a simple question: how do you inspire people to travel for leisure?

Our answer surprised them.

This wasn’t the first time Delta tried to answer that particular question. Indeed, over the years, Delta had released several experiences aimed at helping customers chose a destination, from digital travel guides to interactive quizzes that asked fliers if they preferred beaches or mountains.

Every one of those past attempts was a beautiful, highly-interactive experience. But none of them ever resulted in a significant increase in bookings. Why? Because they were targeting the wrong audience.

As you can see in the above, Delta’s previous efforts were targeting travelers who didn’t know where they wanted to go — only 2% of their potential audience. Instead, our opportunity lay in a much bigger piece of the pie — those who had a few destinations in mind but needed help in narrowing down their choice based on a variety of factors.

Our solution was remarkably simple: Give customers the ability to compare destinations across flexible dates.

We called it “Open Destination”.

The ability to compare destinations across flexible dates was only the start.

What was particularly exciting about Open Destination is that it could give customers the travel equivalent of a Cart, allowing them to turn planning into an ongoing and evolving thread, instead of a series of individual flight searches.

In addition to allowing customers to add and remove destinations when inspiration struck, trip collections could also be used socially, allowing influencers and customers to share their favorite recommendations with ease. Or — in our boldest moment — allow friends from different parts of the country to find a joint destination while splitting the cost of travel evenly.