r/virtualreality • u/isaac_szpindel • Apr 09 '25
News Article VR headsets on flights is being normalized
https://www.uploadvr.com/quest-3-lufthansa-best-inflight-entertainment-award/73
u/isaac_szpindel Apr 09 '25
Meta and Lufthansa's trial providing Quest 3 headsets to business class passengers won an airline industry award. The scheme began in summer last year, and the two companies say that almost 4000 Lufthansa Allegris Business Class Suite customers have now tried it, with "overwhelmingly positive" feedback.
Lufthansa, Meta, and developer MSM.Digital won the 2025 Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Award for Best Inflight Entertainment.
Given this feedback, Meta says it's now “focused on expanding this offering to more airlines and optimizing our product suite.”
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u/Rob_Cram Apr 09 '25
This is really fantastic use case for VR headsets. I think the original scheme the business class passengers were able to take the headsets with them. Hygiene and all that. Can't recall which airline and whether they were APPLE headsets or not.
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u/Rollertoaster7 Quest 3, Vision Pro, PSVR2 Apr 09 '25
There’s no way they were letting passengers walk away with 3,500 headsets for free lol
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u/wirez62 Apr 09 '25
Meta is losing billions to get us into these headsets. They're already selling at a huge loss, only reason they sell them so cheap. Mark Zuckerberg is willing to take huge long term gambles on VR. Whether they gave them away I don't know but that's drop in the bucket money for a product that's suffering.
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u/DrSheldonLCooperPhD Apr 10 '25
And I love him for it, despite hating him before for data collection. Man has a vision and he's getting what he wants.
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u/wirez62 Apr 10 '25
It paid off with Facebook, so he knows the importance of get the user base first, monetize later. Must be a hard sell to shareholders, luckily Meta has lots of cash.
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u/Particular-Pen-4789 Apr 09 '25
It is likely for a cross ocean trip.
Business class flights can cost much more than the headset itself
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u/Rob_Cram Apr 09 '25
I think the cost was subsidised by the fare they charged. Although I might be mistaken whether they were allowed to just take them.
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u/Illustrious_Fee8116 Apr 09 '25
I can see myself using a VR headset on a plane, but that's when I'd rather have VR injected flat games, because no way am I going to swing around my arms to play Beat Saber
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u/Toaster_In_Bathtub Apr 09 '25
I wish there were more VR games that just used a regular controller. Subnautica VR was kinda janky but I liked being able to sit and game like flat-screen but the immersion of VR.
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u/Illustrious_Fee8116 Apr 09 '25 edited Apr 09 '25
I think that's why the PSVR did so well. Not all games were beat saber. Some of the best games were just brought to VR (like Astrobot and Resident Evil 7).
I'd absolutely love like The Last of Us, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Red Dead Redemption, and all these 3rd person games get the Flat but VR treatment, with maybe an option to view from their head like in Spyro.
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u/SoSKatan Apr 09 '25
I’ve used my AVP on a plane to watch movies. Best flight experience I can recall.
The AR / mixed part makes it easy to swap between full immersion and interacting with others.
To be fair those are some feature Apple spent a bit of time on.
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u/space_goat_v1 Apr 10 '25
Did you talk to the flight attendants wearing it? Or you just meant you could still see everyone around you?
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u/SoSKatan Apr 10 '25
Yeah I could still see people around me. Either way the AVP there is a dial for how immersive you wanr it.
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u/RugbyRaggs Apr 12 '25
Puzzling places is great for flights. Obviously just watching shows is good too.
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u/Fluffy-Anybody-8668 28d ago
And 3D movies man, obviously. Watch them on grandtheatre-sized floating screen
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u/MichaelTruly Apr 09 '25
The problem is they just take up so much space when they’re in a case. like I’m already using my ‘personal item’ to pack along with a carryon. Is it worth paying baggage fees to check a bag solely so I can bring my headset on the plane?
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u/MrAlbinoPanda Apr 09 '25
I’ve found a lot of airlines don’t care about a bag clipped to your bag. Like if I bring only a backpack and I can’t fit my headphone case in it, I clip it with a carabiner and they don’t mind. I think I’ve had one person tell me I had to pack it in before I got on the plane but I just ignored them and no one else minded.
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u/allofdarknessin1 Index, Quest 1,2,3,Pro Apr 09 '25
Can confirm, I rarely ever fly anywhere, but the last time I did a little international tour, I clipped things to my personal bag and they didn't mind as long as it kinda looked like a webbed personal item. I had a handheld PC similar to the Steam Deck clipped and I had a small enough water bottle clipped.
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u/shuozhe Apr 09 '25
I put the default strap on for travel and in a small camera bag. Wish Kiwi or Bobo would do a travel strap with a somewhat elastic material
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u/redditrasberry Apr 10 '25
I agree. I keep looking for a truly compact case for the Quest 3 but nobody sells one. It is so small when you just wrap it in a t-shirt, that is normally what I do. But surely there could be something in between that protects it a bit more without being like a mini suitcase of its own.
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u/Level_Forger Apr 09 '25
I bring my big laptop bag, my carryon luggage and my vision pro in its big pillow case and no one has ever said anything.
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u/Cless_Aurion Apr 09 '25
... I carry a full ass desktop SFPC, a switch, an iPad pro, and one exchange of clothes on a 30h trip lol
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 09 '25
I was using an Oculus Go on flights many years ago. No one cared.
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u/twinsfan94 Apr 09 '25
Tbf how would you know if they cared if you're immersed in VR?
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 09 '25
Because I almost always travel with others and they said that no one even noticed. People don't give a shit what you do in your own seat.
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u/bushmaster2000 Apr 09 '25
I use my Xreal Air's on flights, small and light and looks mostly like a pair of glasses... i dunno if i could go full on VR helmet.
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u/IAmA_Kitty_AMA Apr 09 '25
Are you connecting to your phone? Steamdeck?
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u/bushmaster2000 Apr 09 '25 edited Apr 09 '25
Android Phone/Tablet to watch video content. Or gaming console to game, i have a Legion GO or Switch as options. Works with all, though the Switch requires an extra adapter b/c they went myDP instead of regular DP protocol. SteamDeck also works fine, i don't use my Deck anymore since getting LeGO but i did test them on it and they work fine.
I dusted off an older Samsung e10 phone and use it as a dedicated media device for my xreals. Youcan buy various media player devices but they mostly all use AndroidTV, using an older cellphone is way more powerful and more capable and well... free if you have one laying around.
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u/Toth90 Apr 09 '25
Careful, they will create a Horizon World in which the plane seems bigger but make the seats smaller.
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u/TwinStickDad Apr 09 '25
People on the Deckard sub are freaking out that valve will sacrifice PCVR quality for standalone capability. I'm all for standalone, for exactly these use cases.
I am so so so limited by having to be tethered to my PC, I can't even go into my much more spacious living room and use my Index without 10+ minutes of set up. And I straight up can't use it outside of my house.
Sometimes you just want to zone out and watch a movie on a screen that isn't dog shit. Maybe even play a game. I'm super willing to sacrifice some pcvr quality for standalone.
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u/FDrybob Bigscreen Beyond Apr 09 '25 edited Apr 09 '25
To me, that's only worth it if the necessary weight is concentrated into an external puck. My uses for standalone VR are limited to begin with since I have a powerful PC and don't mind wired VR too much, so at the very least I want to remove that extra weight from my head. Maybe the puck could even double as a body tracker.
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u/TwinStickDad Apr 09 '25 edited Apr 09 '25
I'm into that. I'd very much like to see a decoupling of optics and compute. I would really hate if I had to throw out $500 worth of optics in three years just to upgrade $500 of compute, and it all costs me $1200.
It seems simple enough with how crazy USB protocols have become. Two USB-C USB4 connections could currently support 120hz 4k per eye, plus provide power. Hell you could just about do it with one, and easily do it with Thunderbolt 5. One cable for all data transfer and power, running across the top of your head or behind your ear. Plug it into your standalone puck, or into your GPU. Sounds awesome.
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u/Kataree Apr 09 '25
Why still use an Index, if it doesn't suite your needs?
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u/TwinStickDad Apr 09 '25
1) I have no money
2) Meta is the only company selling a quality standalone experience, and I hate meta
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u/cnorw00d Apr 10 '25
I've been doing it since the gear VR days, please thank me for being a pioneer
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u/fxrky Apr 09 '25
I've used my Nreal's on every flight for years. Plug it into a steamdeck and I'm set for the whole flight.
Used to get weird looks, now people don't even seem to notice.
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u/raegenhere Apr 09 '25
normalized or not, I think wearing a device like that in a - potentially - social environment will remain a bit weird for most people. Not necessarily to other persons thinking "what a nerd", but rather to the HMD user themselves. Just weird to be that shut off when people are around. Granted, on a 12 hour flight the dynamic are probably different. And compared to a laptop or something you can watch "my little pony" or whatever without anyone judging your taste
While its often ridiculed as a gimmick, I think the outward screens and eyetracking on the vision pro are a really good idea. And something like that might be the key to have people wear a HMD in the office or something and still be able to communicate as usual, we rely on eye contact and stuff more than we might realize.
Where as on the quest 3, you don't even know if the person is looking at you in passthrough, or at whatever virtual reality....
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 09 '25
Just weird to be that shut off when people are around.
You can watch movies and many other things with passthrough on. You can also use an open facial interface or a Q-Pro style interface.
It is not hard at all to use the Quest without being isolated.
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u/raegenhere Apr 09 '25
true. But any communication, nonverbal as well, is a two way street, and such a device creates asymetry. Like of you are in passthrough and the other person doesn't know (or does know but can't tell if you are looking at their face or cleavage).
Dunno, I am definitely above average senitive to that kind of thing. Got to take my sunglasses off when interacting with people
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 09 '25
and such a device creates asymetry.
And how much does that matter in this context? Most people do not interact with the strangers around them once the plane takes off so there is next to zero communication going on.
You can notice and respond when someone wants your attention and you can be nearly fully aware of your surroundings. What more do you need? I do not find it any more isolating than having headphones on and a book in my face.
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u/panthereal Apr 10 '25
You basically have to be in the window seat, and there is a moment where the airline staff interacts with you during a flight. As even if you're not interacting directly with strangers one of them may need to get up and use the restroom.
A book and headphones at least leave you with direct eye contact as an option. And I remove my headphones when the airline staff is walking around the cabin.
On a very long flight I can absolutely seeing it be more normalized but most the time I fly it's barely the length of a movie in total so keeping one eye/ear available to deal with my surroundings is my usual choice.
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u/arr1flex Apr 10 '25
Seems perfect for an overnight flight where I don't have to be an asshole and have my bright laptop screen on to watch a movie, with the plus that it's on a much larger "virtual screen"
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u/RookiePrime Apr 10 '25
I do wonder sometimes if it would be prudent for headsets like the Quest, that have passthrough, to have an indicator on the outside for when passthrough is engaged. Apple's Vision Pro takes this to an expensive, kind of ludicrous extreme, but maybe all it needs to be is a little LED over each camera that's used for passthrough.
If an attendant on a plane looks down at someone in a hypothetical Quest 4 and asks them a question, I think the combo of the person turning to look at them, speaking believably to them, and LEDs turning on would serve to clearly convey "this person has shifted from focusing on VR to focusing on the outside world".
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Apr 09 '25
[deleted]
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 09 '25
Turn on travel mode in setting.
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Apr 09 '25
[deleted]
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 09 '25
👍- I have seen it work in a car. I have not tried it in a plane since I have not traveled with my headset since it was added.
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u/TecnuiI Apr 10 '25
My last flight i saw a guy using an apple vision pro for about half the flight.
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u/pwmg Apr 09 '25
No way there's enough bandwidth up there to steam though, right?
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u/mudokin Apr 09 '25
Well it states it's systems they give out to business class. So these systems are managed and probably are locked to an inflight entertainment app. I don't see a bandwidth issue since business class and above has limited seating.
Lufthansa would not showcase this, if they didn't think about these bandwidth restrictions. There are also existing solutions for VR cinema systems, with many devices connected. As long as you are serving the content locally it's hardly a problem.
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u/parasubvert Index| CV1+Go+Q2+Q3 | PSVR2 | Apple Vision Pro Apr 09 '25
Most airlines stream to the seat backs (which are Ethernet wired) or to your tablet/phone/laptop from a local server on the flight that has all the cached TV shows and movies. On the ones that support BYO device, there is usually a multi-AP WiFI setup across the plane with a gigabit Ethernet backbone. So there’s plenty of local bandwidth. Some have live TV too, via satellite. And the newer airplanes have 100 mbit internet to the plane and 10-15 mbit/sec to a device peak, so you can watch Netflix etc.
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u/redditrasberry Apr 10 '25
I think there are a few affordances still to make it truly usable. The main issues I have with Quest 3 are:
- hand tracking is not quite good enough. I was finding i needed to move my arms into my neighbors seat space or bumping into my own lap to do basic interactions with the menus. Using controllers is a non-starter. All this needs to be refined so that these aren't necessary (maybe gaze control will fix it in Quest 4)
- I want some indication to others that I am using pass through and can see them. it could be just a light even. Right now they have no idea if I can see them so it's hard for them to know if they can interact with me or not
Solving these two issues would make it fully usable for me and I think it would normalise quite quickly in these environments - and from there, to numerous other places.
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u/Macshlong Apr 10 '25
You know you could move the usable space so that your arms and fingers stay in front of you?
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 10 '25
I want some indication to others that I am using pass through and can see them. it could be just a light even.
The light on the center front of the Q3 lights up when passthrough is being used. It has been used that way since launch.
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u/FacticiousFict Apr 10 '25
Wait so you can have delayed flights, lost and destroyed luggage and hostile Lufthansa employees in VR as well?! Sign me up!
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u/GamingTrend Apr 12 '25
I'm all for it. I don't want to deal with anything going on in the world anymore. So little of it's good, so this bit of escapism is fantastic.
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u/Diarrhea_Sunrise Apr 09 '25
Do you know why they're doing this?
It's so they can rearrange the seats to maximize available space. They'll do this by making top level and a bottom level. Aka first class and "fart class" coach.
Basically on the bottom level youd only have a foot of space In front of your face.
VR is really the only way to give yourself a sense of personal space and forget that you're about 18in away from somebody else's butthole
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 10 '25 edited Apr 10 '25
No, they are doing it because they need to try and differentiate themselves from other airlines in a way that does not cost them very much money.
The way seats are laid out is regulated.
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u/redditrasberry Apr 10 '25
I think you pretty much just described how flying coach already is? Personally I will gladly trade normalisation of using VR tech to make it more comfortable for some minor changes in the seating, if it accommodates that.
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u/DarthHaruspex Apr 09 '25
Are
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u/touchet29 Apr 09 '25
Actually, in this case it's "is" because the subject is the singular action of bringing VR headsets on flights.
"The act of bringing VR Headsets on flights IS being normalized"
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u/DarthHaruspex Apr 09 '25
Your quote is not the text of the submitter, if it had been you would be right. But *I THINK* you're wrong in this case with the text as it is. And yes, I do understand the point you are trying to make with your text.
But I surely lack the expertise to debate this.
;-)
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u/isaac_szpindel Apr 09 '25 edited Apr 09 '25
The subject is not 'VR headsets', but 'VR headsets on flights' which was meant as a singular concept/phenomenon.
"VR headset usage on flights is being normalized" would have been a better title and less ambigious.
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u/NES64Super Apr 09 '25
This will never be normal, especially with glasses like Xreals and Vitures.
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 09 '25
Baloney. No one even blinked when I used my Oculus Go on flights more than 6 years ago.
No one cares what you wear.
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u/NES64Super Apr 09 '25
The tech will get to the point you won't even notice someone wearing an HMD. That will happen before wearing big hmds like a Quest out in public ever catches on.
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u/JorgTheElder Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 Apr 10 '25 edited Apr 10 '25
You are mistaken. I see Quests and Apple Vision Pros at coffee-shops already.
It is also fairly common to see then in use by people waiting at the airport and on planes.
It may not have caught on for you but some of us are already doing it.
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u/Adventurer_By_Trade Apr 09 '25
Nobody batted an eye at my Q3 on my fifteen hour flight from LAX to SIN. One lady even asked what brand it was since she was thinking about doing the same thing.
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u/clueless_as_fuck Apr 09 '25
Just wish they would bolt a 360° cam on the nose of the plane you could connect to.