Will Wearable Tech Change The Way We Fly?

| Transportation & Logistics

scandit wearable device

Wearable technology might play a role in improving your next travel experience as airlines adopt new methods for checking-in and boarding passengers for flights. Virgin Atlantic recently finished a six-week trial of wearable devices at London’s Heathrow Airport. Virgin utilized Google Glass and the Sony SmartWatch to upgrade the flight experience at the gate.

Passengers on Virgin Atlantic flights were greeted by name upon check-in, and were sped through the boarding process by wearable technology utilized by airport staff. Virgin Atlantic staff were able to provide up-to-the-minute flight information, boarding times and flight updates to travelers with the blink of an eye, or the flick of a wrist, providing what many felt to be a smoother flight procedure.

After a brief adjustment period, airport staff reported that they felt comfortable with the devices and empowered to provide travelers with a better overall experience. With the reduction of paperwork, Virgin also saw an increase in productivity. While this is only a trial, recent survey data suggests that the majority of travelers are already on board with the use of wearable tech at the airport.

While we haven’t heard any reports of airport staff using wearable devices to scan boarding passes, we expect to see this in the future as the adoption of these devices becomes more common across the industry. With wearable barcode scanning already a reality with Scandit, we think it’s only a matter of time.