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The future of air travel is highly digitalized and promises a more simplified and seamless travel experience for passengers. Find out what some of these trends are, and how these are set to change the whole experience of traveling by air.

It’s an exciting time for both air travel and airport industries as so many hi-tech innovations are being introduced and developed to make passengers’ air travel experience safer, more easeful, and more memorable than ever. 

First, there are airports. From the metaverse to digitalization to more immersive technologies being applied, airports have never seemed so sleek and dare we say, sexy. No longer just a hub in between travel destinations, airports have become a large part of what makes the whole travel experience unique and special. 

Then, innovations for air travel and air mobility have offered passengers a peek at the future of going airborne in style. From eVTOLs to how digital twinning could change how airplanes are created, it’s exciting to see these new changes and how swiftly we could be using them all very soon.  

Airports Just Got Sleeker

Talk to any traveler about their top five favorite airports, and they would be able to enumerate those off the top of their heads. Airports have ceased to become in-between hubs for travelers. Their architecture, their interior design, and the amenities they have to offer passengers about to board their flight have a lot to do with the whole pre-travel experience that amplifies the anticipation and excitement of traveling by air. 

Now, digitalization seeks to improve the airport experience by ensuring ease, safety, efficiency, and simplicity. All travelers want hassle-free check-ins before their flight, and if they can have a convenient and comfortable experience while getting ready to board the plane, then all the better. 

Virtual Queuing - If there’s one thing travelers hate the most it’s long check-in lines. With virtual queues, physical lines have become obsolete. Virtual queuing enables passengers to book their slot in the queue digitally, making checking in hassle-free and painless. The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has recently launched a trial of its virtual queuing system. Working in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), this was rolled out for passengers of United Airlines. 

Immersive Shopping - Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom added a positively posh spin on your typical airport terminal beauty kiosk. By partnering with luxury brands such as Chanel and Dufry, an exciting and elevated shopping experience was presented to passengers in the form of a beauty spaceship, replete with AR screens allowing curious passengers to try on products virtually. 

Super apps and integrating the travel experience -  Some airlines have diversified their brand to expand into the many facets of travel and leisure. AirAsia has done this by transforming into a “digital lifestyle brand” and unifying threads of what makes travel satisfying—shopping, car rentals, and tourist attractions. Similarly, JetBlue has launched an app that offers hotel bookings and theme park tickets. Lastly, Singapore Airlines has its own app called Paisly that behaves like a travel guide to destinations, curating a selection of must-see locations as well as gems only a local would know! 

Takeoffs and Landings

Technology takes flight with metaverse applications, digital twinning, and the latest in urban air mobility. 

The Metaverse - The Metaverse is a virtual playground with endless possibilities for application. For the travel industry, the metaverse can be used to further hype up or amplify the anticipation travelers feel before they decide to buy a ticket to their dream destinations. If travelers can have a sweet sampling of what’s to come via the Metaverse, they would be more inspired to take the plunge and travel more often. 

In a flight context, Emirates has introduced a 3D 360-degree tour of their planes’ cabins, which may be experienced via their official app’s web VR technology.

More astonishingly, the Metaverse can also be used to train remote airline staff, and cabin crew, and even have applications in airplane maintenance and airline operations. 

Digital Twinning - Speaking of the Metaverse, digital twinning (DT) means having a digital counterpart to an object in real life. Imagine if engineers can create an airplane by collaborating with other engineers from around the world without ever having to be in the same room!  

That’s exactly what Boeing has set out to do. The airplane juggernaut aims to build and connect 3D “virtual twin” replicas of their jets and their corresponding production system to run simulations. 

Urban Air Mobility - Think of these as next-generation helicopters. Urban air mobility covers existing and new technologies for helicopters, electric vertical- takeoff -and-landing aircraft (eVTOL), and unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones. United Airlines has invested  $1B in Archer’s eVTOL aircraft. 

The Future of Flight

This is just a small sampling of the latest hi-tech trends in the air travel and airport industry. No doubt it’s fast-paced and ever-evolving, with more advancements being integrated to make our overall travel experience safe and memorable. All of these trends enhance travelers’ air travel experience, add value to airline brands and even support health guidelines for our world slowly recovering from a pandemic. We can only look forward to more in the months to come as we plan our next flights. 

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