“We are excited to have the opportunity of working with Qatar Airways. They have continued to put the customer first and remain a game-changer in the aviation industry, proving time and again why they are masters of their craft”, -Moritz Engler, CEO of Inflight VR
Brought to you by Inflight VR
The technology Qatar Airways is using comes from a company by the name of Inflight VR. The virtual reality company, based in Munich (Germany), serves in the travel and leisure industry. The company is already doing business with a number of established airlines and other travel companies. These include:- Spanish flag-carrier Iberia
- Turkey-based holiday airline SunExpress
- Star Alliance (within its lounges)
- and European budget bus company FlixBus
Conclusion
While no one is really complaining about normal 2D entertainment (aside from old seatback systems), the prospect of having more virtual reality experiences onboard aircraft will offer some advantages in the future.
Passengers can get an immersive entertainment experience while airlines could theoretically save on the cost of installing full systems in their aircraft. The benefits of this could be big as the airline would also save on fuel due to the decrease in onboard weight relative to the weight of a VR headset.
Of course, if this becomes the norm then there are a few challenges to overcome. This might include the added task of hygiene and cleaning of headsets after every flight, as well as showing non-tech-savvy passengers how to properly use the devices.
Do you think virtual reality headsets are the future of inflight entertainment? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.