Lufthansa introduced virtual reality (VR) as a marketing strategy which enabled people to experience what it is like to fly on Lufthansa just before they board a jet.

In order to inspire people to experience what is travel about, and not getting just from A to B, Lufthansa’s implemented a virtual reality at two of its US hubs: Newark and JFK. Virtual reality (VR) headsets like Oculus Rift, HTC’s Vive, and Samsung Gear VR kits were installed at the gate, and at check-ins that supplied a 360-degree view of the in-cabin experience, the service provided by flight attendants and all other perks of the premium economy [seating]. Participants would sit inside a rounded ball chair, wearing a custom-painted Oculus Rift DK2 headset, and holding a Sony Playstation motion controller to interact with the virtual experience.

Lufthansa worked with specialist partners like 3spin, a German digital shop, to create the virtual reality (VR) content. The marketing strategy was to sell upgrades for a product people don’t know yet. Travelers could now not only see the product but also have the virtual experience of the product.

Image credits: http://vrscout.com/

Tapping into the potential of virtual reality (VR) further for marketing its service, Lufthansa launched ‘Travel Compass’, an interactive experience that lets people use virtual reality (VR) content on a rotatable public installation. Passerbys and shoppers could take control of a 360-degree tour of areas of Hong Kong, Miami, New York, and Tokyo. Thus using virtual reality (VR) has given the airline an opportunity to provide more immersive marketing experiences.

Image credits: www.coloribus.com

Torsten Wingenter, Head/Digital Innovations at MediaPost’s OMMA conference held during South by Southwest (SXSW) 2016, promoted virtual reality(VR) as a marketing strategy to attain competitive advantage among the airline category’s major players. He advocated virtual reality as a tool to bring back the excitement of flying.