Emirates has become the world’s first airline to introduce virtual reality on its digital platform, allowing would-be flyers access to 3D seat models as part of a visualisation engine displaying a 360-degree view of the interior of both the Emirates A380 and the Emirates Boeing 777. This has been designed especially to give customers a chance to explore their seats, the cabin and the Emirates onboard product before flying, with complete visual access across Economy, Business and First Class cabins, as well as the iconic Onboard Lounge and Shower Spa on the A380 using navigational hotspots.
“As we continually invest to provide our customers with an unmatched travel experience onboard and on the ground, we also work very hard to give our customers a world-class digital experience”, said Emirates’ Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand (Digital) Alex Knigge. “We are pleased to be the world’s first airline to introduce this cutting edge web VR technology, which offers our customers an immersive opportunity to learn more about the fantastic Emirates experience before they step on board.”
Any VR headset (like Google Cardboard) can be used by customers to enjoy hands-free cabin navigation and seat selection, with the most valuable feature being the seat models, benefiting from high-quality graphics which aim to be as close to reality as possible. The immersive experience is now available for the three class Emirates A380 but will soon include renderings of Emirates’ entire fleet including all configurations of the A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft.
Anyone heading to emirates.com on their mobile devices or the Emirates app (i0S and Android) will be able to explore their seats before checking in online with the 3D seat map. This feature has been included to allow anyone to navigate from one seat to another to get a proper feel of the aircraft and what kind of end-to-end experience they can expect before booking their preferred seat from within the 3D environment.
While implementing the technology is new for Emirates, the airline has stated that they are committed to conducting continual usability studies with customers and frequent flyers in different geographies to identify further opportunities to enhance its digital user experience.
———-
