Airline shoppers plan around destination, dates, budget, and loyalty status. They compare fares and departure times, and after choosing a flight, they decide on extras such as seats, meals, and baggage.
This article shows how to use Smart Recommender in Insider One to inspire route discovery, help undecided travelers book, and raise revenue per booking with relevant extras. It includes an A/B test walkthrough and strategies for each step of the booking flow.
Before you start: Make sure your product catalog includes the attributes this article filters on, such as Departure City, Destination City, Flight Type, Class, Product Type, and Is Promoted. Create missing custom attributes on the Product Attributes page and mark them as filterable.
What you can achieve with Smart Recommender
Route inspiration on the homepage
Show popular destinations from the traveler's departure city or seasonal deals such as Summer Escapes.
Add-ons after flight selection
Recommend seat upgrades, meals, extra baggage, or airport transfers once a flight is chosen.
Travel cross-sells
Suggest hotels, car rentals, or insurance linked to the destination.
Offers for repeat flyers
Show frequent routes, preferred times, or loyalty-tier offers to returning travelers.
Checkout reminders
Remind travelers of extras such as baggage or insurance before payment.
Localized suggestions
Personalize destinations and extras by location, language, and travel history.
A/B testing
Test bundles, headlines, product card designs, and add-on placement.
Walkthrough: Test discounted versus popular routes
When a traveler is still comparing options on a flight detail page, alternative routes can help them decide. This walkthrough tests which type of alternative converts more undecided travelers.
Both strategies show flights from the same departure city as the flight being viewed:
Variant A: Recommend the most discounted flights.
Variant B: Recommend the top-selling routes.
Step 1: Create the recommendation strategies
Navigate to Recommendation Strategies and click Create. Configure the first strategy as follows:
Select Product Detail Page as the page type.
Select Highest Discounted as the algorithm.
Enter the number of products to recommend.
Add two filters: Departure City + matches the item they're currently viewing, and Flight Type + matches the item they're currently viewing. Connect them with an AND connector.
If you do not have Departure City and Flight Type attributes, create them on the Product Attributes page and turn on the Filterable toggle.
Create the second strategy with the same settings and change only the algorithm:
Select Top Sellers as the algorithm instead of Highest Discounted.
Note: Keep every other setting identical between the two strategies. If more than one setting changes, you cannot tell which change caused the difference in results.
Step 2: Launch the campaign
Navigate to Web Smart Recommender and click Create.
Select the integration method for the widget.
On the Segments step, target all visitors, since the goal is to convert undecided travelers.
On the Rules step, use Page Rules to target flight detail pages. To reach only travelers who are still deciding, you can target users who spend at least 10 seconds on the page.
On the Design step, assign one strategy to each variant and set the traffic allocation for each variant.
Click Edit Design to open the Advanced Product Card Designer and customize your product cards.
Select the locales and stores where the campaign appears.
Review the campaign details, confirm that every setting matches your goal, and click Launch.
Note: Every attribute you show on a product card must exist in your product catalog. To show more information, create custom attributes on the Product Attributes page.
Step 3: Track campaign metrics
Navigate to Smart Recommender Analytics.
Find your campaign in the Campaign and Variant Metrics table. When the test period ends, click the campaign name.
Compare Conversion Rate, Direct Revenue, and Average Order Value (AOV) for the two variants. This shows whether discounted or popular routes convert more undecided travelers.
If one variant clearly wins, set its traffic allocation to 100% so every visitor sees the better strategy.
After you find a winner, test the same comparison on the homepage.
Step 4: Optimize your campaigns
After the campaign has run long enough to collect data, use Smart Recommender Analytics to improve it:
Engagement funnel: Review product impressions, click-through rate, add-to-cart rate, and conversion rate to see where shoppers drop off.
Campaign and variant performance: Compare AOV, Conversion Rate, and Direct Revenue in the Campaign and Variant Metrics table, then refine or scale the winning variant.
Product-level impact: Open Top 100 Product Analytics to see which recommended products perform best. Give extra visibility to strategic products that perform below expectations.
Category trends: Use Category Analytics to find the categories that drive the most conversions, and decide whether to prioritize them or promote weaker ones.
Use cases by page type
Home page
Limited-time flight deals
Show discounted fares that are available for a short time.
Create a strategy with the Highest Discounted algorithm.
Add the filter Is Promoted + is present to show live deals only.
Turn on the Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity toggle. Set the affinity attributes to Departure City, Destination City, Flight Type, and Class.
Pick up where you left off
Help returning travelers resume planning with the flights they viewed before.
Create a strategy with the Recently Viewed algorithm.
Exclude products purchased in the last four weeks.
Target returning users on the Segments step.
Note: Recently Viewed and User Based rely on each user's past behavior. Target returning users so these widgets always have data to show.
Tip: Place the widget below the hero banner and A/B test titles such as "Continue Planning Your Trip."
Flight detail page
More from your departure city
Suggest other destinations that depart from the same city.
Create a strategy with the Viewed Together algorithm.
Add the filter Departure City + matches the item they're currently viewing.
Turn on the Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity toggle.
No segment is needed. This works for new and returning travelers.
Tip: Place the widget below the calendar or seat selector.
Flight comparison
Help travelers compare similar flights on the same route.
Create a strategy with the Similar Products algorithm.
Add two filters connected with an AND connector: Departure City + matches the item they're currently viewing, and Destination City + matches the item they're currently viewing.
Leave Attribute Affinity off.
Tip: A/B test three versus five recommendations.
Cart or booking summary page
Extras for your flight
Offer seats, meals, or baggage that travelers often add to the selected route and class.
Create a strategy with the Purchased Together algorithm.
Add the filter Product Type + is one of + Meal, Seat Upgrade, Baggage Upgrade.
Target travelers with economy tickets in the cart, where extras are not included.
Confirmation page
Complete your journey
Offer hotels, airport transfers, or rentals at the destination after booking.
Create a strategy with the Most Popular algorithm.
Add two filters connected with an AND connector: Destination City + matches the item they're currently viewing, and Product Type + is one of + Accommodation, Airport Transfer, Rental.
No segment is needed.
Tip: Test this widget on the confirmation page and in a follow-up email.