Any experienced traveller knows that preparing your in-flight entertainment can be as important as packing clothes. Sitting on a flight that’s 8+ hours long isn’t the most exciting prospect, and purely relying on the airline-supplied roster of films and TV shows is a gamble. So we all like to take our own tailored selection, be it a book, music or videogames. Meta has made that process even easier, providing VR gaming on flights thanks to a new update.
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Quest Travel Mode
VR headsets are great at providing immersive environments or big virtual screens to view content on, making them ideal for in-flight entertainment. Meta trialled this years ago with the Oculus Go, its 3DoF tracking meant there was no need to worry about external tracking factors. For Meta Quest, this ability has been a long time coming. Why? Because Meta needed to tune its algorithms to account for the motion of the plane.
This week Meta introduced a Travel Mode for Meta Quest 2 and 3, enabling users to enjoy immersive content on their flight. Whether that’s a movie or a mixed-reality game, all those hours at 35,000ft should flow by. So make sure you’ve either loaded up your Quest with suitable content before you head off. Or you can try accessing the plane WiFi to access shows.
Activating Travel Mode
Currently, the Travel Mode is an experimental feature which Quest users will need to activate. Doing so will allow you to toggle Travel Mode on and off from Quick Settings. Meta also notes that: “depending on which airline you’re flying, your headset may automatically detect when you’re on an airplane and recommend turning on Travel Mode to make the experience as seamless as possible.” Optimised for planes, Meta has said work is ongoing to support additional modes of transport, like trains, for example.
You’ll need to check that your Quest’s system software is on v65. It’s also worth noting that Meta Quest Pro is not supported.
Lufthansa VR
Tieing in with the Travel Mode announcement, Meta has launched a new program in collaboration with Lufthansa. Customers of the new Lufthansa Allegris Business Class Suite will have access to Meta Quest 3. They’ll have to:
- Enjoy an immersive cinema experience with select movies and TV shows
- Listen to prominent travel podcasters and see their stories come to life through spatial videos and select 360-degree video content
- Discover travel destinations from a bird’s-eye view with virtual sightseeing previews before you arrive
- Play interactive games like Connect Four and Chess
- Relax with active meditation exercises or enjoy a passive, lean-back experience
“The Lufthansa Group has already been using extended reality in training and marketing for some time—and now, during this test case, we are first mover for this innovative entertainment offering. Through the cooperation with Meta, two innovative market leaders can open the next chapter of in-flight entertainment and offer guests completely new experiences,” says Björn Becker, Head of Future Intercontinental Experience Lufthansa Group.
VR gaming on flights is the latest innovation for Meta Quest headsets. But have you also tried the new Lying Down mode? Let us know your thoughts on them both.
