Australian airline Qantas has announced that they will be bringing Samsung’s new Gear VR headsets to their first class cabins. These VR headsets will allow people to watch in-flight media, as well as let them take virtual trips to other destinations, encouraging tourism. They can play a variety of scenes in VR in order to make it easier to sleep, too. Note that this is only in their swanky first class cabins. Everyone else will have to use seat-back televisions like savages.
Qantas will be running a trial period for in-flight VR for three months. Though the technology is expensive, it’s actually a lot more space-saving than giving everyone their own personal TV screens. The VR headsets will be available on select A380 flights from Australia to Los Angeles.
Perhaps the most interesting VR experiences involve the plane itself. The headsets will allow passengers to see a VR simulation of landing the plane, from the plane’s exterior. In the future, cameras might allow VR users to see the whole world around the plane without leaving their seat. That’s a lot cooler than just looking out a window. Games and other multimedia functions will follow, should the test period be successful.
Source: Qantas