Lufthansa pilots virtual reality

When German carrier Lufthansa flew its inaugural direct flight from Frankfurt to San Jose recently, it was no ordinary cruise. It was also a pilot run of Lufthansa's Flying Lab experiment – a platform 30,000 feet above ground to test out new digital products and services from not just the airline, but also other brands.

On the inaugural Flying Lab, which Lufthansa co-created with Samsung and featured the Gear VR and Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, the subject of testing was Virtual Reality. Passengers were treated to a VR ride in which they could experience 360 degree views of interesting destinations. Through VR, they could also get a glimpse of what travelling on Lufthansa’s business class looked like. On the first Flying Lab, a live conference on board was also tested with talks on digital innovation by Mercedes Benz and Instagram executives live-streamed directly to passengers’ smartphones.

“Flying Lab is a space where brands can test out and pilot innovative digital experiences,” explains Alexander Schlaubitz, Vice President Marketing of Lufthansa. “Silicon Valley is the hotbed of innovation – it was fitting we tested the concept on board a flight to San Jose,” he says, adding that the Flying Lab would be taken to other destinations as well. While the subject of the first Flying Lab was VR, the theme could change with changing partners.

Is there any ROI in this for Lufthansa? Schlaubitz says the Flying Lab offers a way for the carrier to be agile and speedily test out new products live. It’s also throwing open its flight cabin doors to other brands to use the Lab. “So many companies are coming up with fantastic apps. There are so many opportunities for us to offer a contact point with customers for them. As a canvas, the travel space is bigger than any other category for digital innovation.”

As Shubhodeep Pal, Vice President, Products and Operations at Simpliflying, an aviation marketing consultancy, who was on board the Flying Lab explains, “The Flying Lab must be understood for what it is - an experiment with a captive audience in-flight. Through it Lufthansa seeks to understand the future of in-flight experience and to trial products.”

For example Pal says it could trial products such as Neuroon sleep mask, Sleepphones headphones and Travelrest travel pillows. “As such ROI is primarily an understanding of future trends.”

Lufthansa is not the only one of course, innovating on flight or partnering with other brands. Last year Qantas rolled out a Virtual Reality experience for its premium passengers offering them Samsung Gear VR headsets in select first class cabins of A380 flights. Others like Virgin Atlantic and Etihad too are reportedly experimenting with VR technology.

“I am quite certain that in-flight entertainment of the future will have VR as an option. Not only is it a uniquely immersive experience, carefully crafted scenarios might calm edgy passengers -- apart from a multitude of other use cases. Smart glasses that use AR might also be inducted into the flight experience,” says Shubhodeep Pal.

On Indian skies, while VR does not as yet appear to be on the horizon, domestic airlines such as Indigo have certainly shown how brands can leverage the flight cabin well. Several FMCG brands have done sampling of their new products on board Indigo flights. And currently, Nissan Motors is running a contest for travelers on Indigo’s domestic flights whereby one lucky passenger stands to win a redi-Go car.