Meta Expands Quest 3 In-Flight Entertainment to Additional Airlines Following Successful Lufthansa Pilot

Last year, Meta made headlines by teaming up with the German airline, Lufthansa, to introduce Quest 3 headsets to their passengers. The initiative seemed to be quite a hit, and now, Meta is setting its sights on bringing this in-flight virtual reality (VR) experience to a larger number of airlines.

Originally, Meta rolled out the much-anticipated Travel Mode with the Quest 2 and its successors. This feature helps tackle the long-standing challenge for VR users: the mismatch between their movements and the motion of an airplane. Traditions of seasickness and airsickness in VR are tackled in a new way with this feature.

With the introduction of Travel Mode, Meta took another leap last June by launching a pilot program (pun somewhat intended) for Lufthansa’s Allegris Business Class Suite. Selected flights allowed passengers to immerse themselves with a Quest 3 headset, letting them enjoy movies, TV shows on virtual screens, spatial videos, select 360-degree videos, guided meditation sessions, and fun games like Connect Four and chess.

In just that short span of time, nearly 4,000 travelers have experienced VR entertainment during their flights, driving Meta to consider expanding this service to more airlines soon. This success story is highlighted by Sarah Malkin, the Director of Entertainment Content at Reality Labs by Meta. She describes this milestone as pivotal and emphasizes the company’s commitment to extending their immersive service offerings and enhancing their range of products.

The big question remains: Which airlines will be next? While nothing’s been confirmed yet, it’s a safe bet that this experience will first be reserved for Business and First Class travelers. These are passengers who are already accustomed to a slew of luxuries, like lay-flat seats, noise-canceling headphones, gourmet meals, and premium drinks.

Interestingly, using XR headsets as an exclusive travel perk isn’t a brand new idea. Back in 2015, Qantas was ahead of the curve, offering Samsung Gear VR headsets as entertainment for first-class passengers. Since then, several other airlines like Air France, Iberia, British Airways, and Singapore Airlines have flirted with similar VR headset programs, although most of these were eventually phased out.