When you check-in for your flight, the typical process involves walking up to the person behind the desk, giving them your details, having them pull up your records, and then check-in your luggage if you have any. In some cases the process is fast, but in other cases it can take a while as well, which is why Virgin Atlantic has decided to partner up with IT specialist, SITA, to see if there is anything that can be done in terms of improving efficiency and the travel experience of their passengers by introducing wearable technology.Before you think that this means that passengers will get to wear Google Glass during the flight, that is not the case. Basically what is happening here is that Virgin Atlantic staff will be the ones wearing Google Glass which will be used to pull up all sorts of information for the passenger, such as dietary and refreshment preferences, flight information, the weather, and maybe even translation services for foreign languages. This program will be a trial program that will run for six weeks and will only be applicable to Upper Class passengers, but assuming everything goes according to plan, it is expected to be rolled out on a wider scale.
According to Dave Bulman, Director of IT, Virgin Atlantic, “While it’s fantastic that more people can now fly than ever before, the fact that air travel has become so accessible has led to some of the sheen being lost for many passengers. Our wearable technology pilot with SITA makes us the first in the industry to test how Google Glass and other wearable technology can improve the customer experience. We are upholding Virgin Atlantic’s long tradition of shaking things up and putting innovation at the heart of the flying experience.”
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