Safety on board: let's learn about Qatar Airways' touchless experience
Qatar Airways is one of those companies that has decided to try to use the pandemic of [...]
Qatar Airways
Oneworld
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Qatar Airways is one of those companies who decided to try to use the pandemic of Covid-19 that has turned the world of travel (and beyond) upside down. One of the main effects of the health emergency has been to push us all to look around with great suspicion. How can we forget the early months of 2020, punctuated by all kinds of tests. How can the virus be transmitted? How long does it persist on surfaces? Can our smartphones be our own main enemy?
Questions, tensions, and fears that represent, arguably, one of the foundations of thetouchless experience proposed by Qatar Airways. Who had been in this seat in the cabin before me? What did you touch and where had those hands been before you boarded? Ever-present question marks even in the most exclusive sections on board. The well-known airline has therefore decided to take the field and do something to lessen the importance of such doubts. To completely nullify passengers' anxieties is impossible, but acting in the direction of a greater overall feeling of safety is certainly the right move.
The travel world will restart and, in time, manage to regain lost ground. Nothing, however, will be the same as before. 2020 happened and no one will ever be able to erase it from global memory. That is why operations such as this are but the first and appreciable step.
Touchless on board
Technological development always goes hand in hand with the development of new aircraft. Qatar Airways' touchless experience merely implements on board a type of hi-tech solutions that have been an integral part of passengers' daily lives for years now.
What we find outside the cabin is now also present on board. It starts with the Bluetooth connectivity for headphones. This will also enable them to take advantage of their own wireless products. Of greater significance, however, is the screen control system placed in front of one's seat. This will, in fact, be totally controllable through one's smartphone. One will, therefore, be able to initiate a connection and select the desired icons on the screen, without having to touch one of the more "risky" surfaces of the aircraft.
It is not, of course, assumed that all passengers will be able to perform such maneuvers independently. For this reason, each seat will have a QR code which, once scanned, will have the task of explaining the simple procedure to connect wirelessly. All this could lead to increased consumption of one's smartphone. This obstacle can, however, be addressed right away. In fact, Qatar flight cabins are equipped with USB ports per passenger.
Touchless aircraft
Qatar Airways' first step is to upgrade the 787-9 and of theAirbus A350-900 e A350-1000. The touchless experience, once implemented, will be available on board for all available class types. This means that this increased sense of security will not be exploited as a bonus to push passengers to purchase higher cost tickets. This is a policy not to be underestimated, considering the many losses incurred and the need to green the balance sheet.
The following also commented on this issue Akbar Al Baker, CEO of the company, who explained how it is all part of the upgrade due to new health regulations for Covid-19: "We want to take the state of in-flight precautions to another level, limiting passenger contact with in-flight surfaces as much as possible. The hope is to provide our customers with a greater sense of safety when returning to the air."
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