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The pioneering airline piloted smart glasses and smart watches in February to determine if the devices could enhance customer service for high-end travelers at check-in.

Virgin Atlantic Airways has a long tradition of technology innovation, particularly in the customer experience area. It was the first airline to install seatback TVs in all cabins, allow mobile connectivity and SMS text messaging on board, and offer drive-thru check-in. Now Virgin Atlantic is the first airline to pilot wearable technology in a bid to provide their most personalized service yet.

The pilot follows a recent Virgin Atlantic study of 10,000 consumers worldwide, conducted to understand their expectations for the future of air travel. Dave Bulman, Virgin Atlantic’s director of IT, says the findings highlighted consumers’ interest in using technology to enhance the end-to-end flight experience.

Reflecting on the results, Bulman tasked his IT function’s innovation team with identifying opportunities to test new technologies that could help fulfill some of the desires consumers expressed in the study. In concert with air transport IT specialist SITA, the team agreed that wearable technology was worth investigating.

“Wearable technology seems to interest consumers, and it could potentially provide us with opportunities to differentiate Virgin Atlantic’s service,” says Bulman. “Of course, we had to figure out how we could apply this exciting new technology in our environment.”

To that end, Bulman’s team designed a simple six-week pilot. Having engaged with other parts of the business to check the pilot’s feasibility and confirm the availability of appropriate customer and flight data feeds, the team launched the pilot in February 2014.

The pilot compared three types of devices: Google Glass, smart watches, and smart phones. Concierge staff in the airline’s Upper Class Wing at Heathrow Airport tested the functionality of the devices, as well as different data flows, to see if and how wearables could improve the customer’s travel experience. Specifically, staff used the devices to obtain information about passengers—for example, their names, flight information, and meal preferences—so that they could greet passengers by name at check-in, as they got out of their limousines at Heathrow Airport. Concierge staff also gave passengers information on anticipated flight disruptions, as well as local weather and events at their destinations.

“We sought to determine whether the information concierge staff provided to passengers enhanced or detracted from those interactions,” says Bulman. “We anticipate removing pieces of information that proved less valuable to customers during the pilot from future process flows.”

Bulman’s team also wanted to explore the security of wearable technologies. Even though the wearable devices Virgin Atlantic tested can currently only store limited amounts of data, confirming the security of passengers’ personal information is a top priority for the airline.

Customer reaction to the trial was generally positive. Because the pilot focused on some of the airline’s most frequent travelers who were already very familiar with Virgin Atlantic’s traditional check-in process, they promptly noticed a difference. “Some passengers were so intrigued by the technology that they asked to try on the glasses,” says Bulman. “In general, customers commented that the wearable-enhanced interactions with check-in staff made their journeys easier.”

Although wearables remain in the exploration stage for Virgin Atlantic, if the pilot proves effective, Bulman predicts the airline could roll out wearable technology at other airports and even with other airport staff. “We would like to test using wearable technology to interact with customers in our airport lounges,” says Bulman. “We’d also like to see if wearable technology could improve the efficiency of the flight turnaround process. Those represent several use cases where these devices could be revolutionary.”