Qantas to amuse first-class passengers with Samsung's Gear VR

Qantas, Australia’s largest airline, is set to entertain first-class guests with Samsung’s virtual reality headset in the near future. If you’re lucky enough to fly in Business Class on the airline, you might be set up with a Gear VR and a Galaxy Note 4 to play with while you fly. The Note 4 will come pre-loaded with a unique application that gives users a 360 degree view of the Qantas first-class lounge in LAX, a video that puts you on the runway to watch A380s land and take off, and even a VR boat ride that takes you down a Northern Territory river in Kakadu. Unfortunately, the Gear VR’s availability will be quite scarce in the beginning, as they’ll only be offered for first-class passengers on A380s traveling from LA to Sydney or from Melbourne to LA. Additionally, only four headsets will be provided by Qantas for the outbound flight to LA, four for the inbound flight from LA, and two each for Qantas’ Sydney and Melbourne first-class lounges.

Olivia Wirth, a Qantas Group Executive, explains:

Whether the user wants a virtual tour of our new Los Angeles First Lounge or experience an A380 landing from the tarmac, this technology gives us a completely new way to connect with our customers. From an inflight entertainment perspective, it’s an industry first. Qantas is committed to being at the forefront of innovation to give our passengers the very best and latest in-flight experiences, like accessing the virtual worlds of their favourite Hollywood blockbusters from the comfort of their seat 40,000 feet above the ground.

The first-class passenger lounges are forecasted to receive the headsets as early as mid-February, while the planes won’t get the devices until mid-March.

Due to Qantas’ inventory constraints, you may just want to pick a Gear VR up for yourself. If you’d like to check out the technology further, head to our overview and hands-on video here.