Alaska Airlines Brings Virtual Reality to the Skies
Alaska Airlines proves yet again that it's ahead of the curve. Starting Monday, September 24, first-class passengers on select routes can experience their very own virtual reality experience on board their flight.
In collaboration with SkyLight, an American-French company that specializes in "immersive in-flight entertainment," Alaska is now offering first-class passengers on some routes the opportunity to use new VR technology. The Allosky headset features HD resolution, bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities and a "sleek, lightweight design."
"Alaska Airlines is excited to be the first airline in North America to trial virtual reality headsets as an inflight entertainment device," said Brett Catlin, Alaska Airlines' managing director of guest products. "We're thrilled to partner with innovative companies like Skylights that share our desire to enhance the guest experience."
For launch, the headset will be offered exclusively on board Alaskan-operated flights between Seattle (SEA) and Boston (BOS) and Boston (BOS) to San Diego (SAN). Passengers have a choice between both 2D and 3D viewing experiences, as the headset will provide "forward-facing 360° content" designed to capture the feeling of sitting a private movie theater despite being thousands of feet in the air.
Some films offered via the Allosky headset include "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," "Ready Player One" (which passengers can experience in digital 3D) and "Ferdinand." Short VR films will be including subjects such as freediving, classical music and acrobatics.
Originally presented at the 2017 APEX Expo, the headset has since been deployed commercially in Europe via Air France's "millennial-targeted" subsidiary, Joon. VR headsets are offered in business class on long-haul Joon flights.
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