Last year, Meta teamed up with Lufthansa, the renowned German airline, to bring their Quest 3 headsets on board for passengers to enjoy. This initiative turned out to be quite popular, and now Meta is planning to roll out these entertainment programs on even more airlines.
The introduction of Travel Mode by Meta last year was a game-changer. Anyone owning a Quest 2 or newer model can now use it to overcome the common VR user challenge of motion discrepancies, whether they’re on land, in the air, or at sea.
Building on this, Meta launched a trial run in June to offer passengers in Lufthansa’s Allegris Business Class Suite the chance to experience Quest 3 on select flights. Travelers could indulge in watching movies and TV shows on virtual screens, enjoy spatial and 360-degree videos, engage in guided meditation, and even play games like Connect Four and chess.
In just a short time, this effort has engaged nearly 4,000 travelers. Due to its evident success, Meta is keen to extend this innovative inflight entertainment to more airlines.
Sarah Malkin, Meta’s Director of Entertainment Content at Reality Labs, shared enthusiasm about this development. She stated, “This activation is a significant milestone for our Travel Mode and immersive services. We aim to broaden this feature to more airlines and enhance our product offerings.”
While Meta hasn’t specified which additional airlines might be included, it’s likely this experience will remain exclusive to Business and First Class passengers. These travelers typically enjoy numerous amenities like lay-flat seats and gourmet meals.
Airlines have been experimenting with XR headsets as passenger perks for a while. Back in 2015, Qantas was one of the pioneers, offering first-class passengers Samsung Gear VR headsets for in-flight entertainment. Other airlines like Air France, Iberia, British Airways, and Singapore Airlines also dipped their toes into VR headset trials, although those programs have since been phased out.