In the not-too-distant future, a traveler’s face will replace a boarding pass, and recognition software will replace the gate agent scanning each traveler’s ticket. Airline executives separated by distance will be able to use virtual reality eyewear to walk together through an airplane cabin and solve design problems.

In this same future, autonomous vehicles could help passengers check in and airplanes push back.

The future is now as the aviation industry embraces new technology as enthusiastically as it does jumbo jets packed with well-behaved, premium-fare paying passengers.

According to a 2017 survey by the International Air Transport Association, air travelers are just as excited about this modernization. About three quarters of those interviewed by the association expect to be able to check their bag in three minutes (78 percent), pass through immigration in 10 minutes (74 percent) and browse the internet in flight (73 percent).

Another industry study reports that airlines and airports are consistently spending money to make technological advances happen because it is critical to meet ever-higher demands from passengers.