Google Glass inflight trial from Spring Airlines

Chinese carrier is first airline anywhere to trial the device inflight

Chinese low cost carrier Spring Airlines became the first airline to take Google Glass into the sky.

Google Glass was worn and used during a flight from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in late May 2014.

Spring Airlines says it is embracing wearable devices to stay at the forefront of passenger service innovation.

Details of the specific functionality provided via the Google Glasss devices are scarce, other than Spring Airlines (9C) saying that by wearing Google Glasses, Spring Airlines’ flight attendants can get passenger information more intuitively.

Reports say that they are currently only using Google Glass to identify the names and seat numbers of passengers, allowing cabin crew to serve passengers who want to to buy food more accurately and timely.

The Google Glass, similar to a smart watch, can control photo capture and video calls and identify directions through voices, featuring the functions of internet access, text processing and emails, etc.

Spring has a reputation as being a really innovative airline.

In March 2014, it initiated a quick boarding access for passengers who wear smart watches at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG).

In 2013 they had a promotion where female flight attendants dressed as maids and their male colleagues as butlers on some flights.

spring-airlines maids

About Spring Airlines

Spring Airlines is China’s first and only low-cost airline and was founded in 2005 by Spring Travel.

Headquartered in Shanghai, China’s financial capital, with bases at both Shanghai airports – Hongqiao and Pudong – as well as Shenyang in northeast China and Shijiazhuang, Beijing’s new gateway airport.

Spring operates a fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft, one of the youngest fleets in the world today.

N.B. Image credit: Spring Airlines

Internet links

Spring Airlines (9C)