When a
frequent flyer arrives at the airport for yet another flight, the travel
experience begins to get mundane. Its been said that travelers believe the
flying experience has been steadily declining over the past few decades. Every
airline has fallen into the same routine. When a traveler begins their journey
at the airport they go through the same process: checking in, boarding,
watching the safety video, receiving a complementary drink, and dividing the
flight time between the on-flight entertainment system or dozing off for the length of the flight. Flying really has no sparkle anymore. In
attempt to revamp the flying experience, there is one airline that stands out
in starting to make a presence. Virgin Airlines is an airline known to
integrate new technology in the flight experience. Virgin America also recently
received attention for making giving their safety video a bit of excitement to
say the least. Virgin Airlines is trying to gain customer loyalty by enhancing
the travel experience for customers.
More
specifically, it was recently announced that Virgin Atlantic would be testing
the new innovation of wearable computer technology, Google Glass, as a means of
personalizing the travel experience for upper class flyers. Google Glass is a
hands free technology that is able to connect with the Internet through spoken
voice. With Google Glass, flight attendants will be able to check travelers in,
update passengers on flight information, give passengers an accurate and
detailed forecast of the weather in their destination and even translate any
foreign languages. Flight attendants are said to also be able to store traveler
information, like dietary restrictions, on Google Glass to provide a unique and
personalized experiences for upper class flyers. Google Glass is giving flight
attendance an easy way to connect with travelers while simultaneously being a helpful resource
for flyers.
Photo from: Virgin-Atlantic.com
Articles
suggest however, that this technology will not be limited to airline staff in the future, but will
eventually be worn by both travellers and tourists. Google Glass would enable
travelers to have a map of an airport in front of their eyes, which could lead
them, for example, to the nearest restaurant or restroom. With this first step,
it will not be long until travellers are wearing Google Glass while touring, to give
them directions to their hotel, or even bits of information of the painting
they are looking at in a self-guided museum.
While this
dramatic step in technology seems to have many benefits in terms of efficiency,
one cannot help by wonder what its repercussions may be. With a device capable
of reaching the online world instantaneously, are we soon going to see the
diminishing of jobs in the tourism industry? It would seem as though perhaps the
job of a tour guide may become obsolete when tourists will be able to use
Google Glass to find unlimited information on any site or attraction.
Furthermore, with every new advancement in technology it is clear that we are moving away from real human
interaction. It is important to consider what the effects of human interaction
will be when something like Google Glass is the norm. When people are wearing a computer screen in front of their face, there seems to be no need to
talk to anyone around you. Even when a tourist is walking on the street, they
will no longer think to ask someone directions when they can ask Google Glass
to open up a map of the location they are looking for.
Though
Virgin Atlantic is aiming to take positive strides in forming relationships between
flight attendants and passengers, is this really possible to do when all of the
conversation is essentially coming from an electronic super device? One would
be curious to know whether Google Glass will he helpful as a CRM tool, or will
it just serve as a form of IT useful to make Virgin Atlantic’s service
more efficient.
Written by:
Jessica Gourdji
Ludovic Sacier
Sources:
1. Virgin Atlantic Staff to check in passengers using Google Glass (2014) http://www.rustourismnews.com/?p=29752
2. Virgin tests Google Glass at check-in (2014) http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/11/travel/virgin-google-glass/
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