Thanks to an agreement with Samsung, Qantas first-class seats on the Australia-Los Angeles route will be equipped with Gear VR viewers for virtual full-immersion during the real flight. Anyone who purchases a first-class ticket on an Airbus A380 in service on the route will therefore find Samsung-branded goggles next to their seat that allow them to enter a completely virtual world.
As a promotional launch, for the first three months the Gear VR headsets will also be available to Qantas passengers in the International First Lounges at Melbourne and Sydney airports. Among the proposed virtual subjects there will be tourist tours of Los Angeles or of the main Australian cities, as well as the more usual videogames and Hollywood films, and special contents conceived expressly by Samsung for Qantas passengers.
“It's a new way to serve our customers,” says Olivia Wirth, director of the “brand, marketing & corporate” section, “and Qantas has always been at the forefront of offering its passengers the best and most exclusive experience of flight".
Whether the Gear VR headsets become a permanent first class feature at Qantas will depend on passenger satisfaction, but Qantas is confident that VR will be well received and add a new dimension to in-flight entertainment. Gear VR headsets will appear in the International First Lounges in mid-February, and will be available on aircraft from March.
