Airlines and virtual reality

Virtual reality is a cutting-edge technology that allows people to experience products on a virtual level. It is the new way to watch movies and experience another world without having to step out of your comfort zone. Airlines now use virtual reality to create an experience for the customer and to show what a real in-flight service would be like.

Lufthansa used virtual reality to create a virtual holiday experience in 2015’s ITB (International Travel Trade Show in Berlin). The virtual travel and flight experience started from inside a Boeing 747 Aircraft. Passengers would sit inside a rounded ball chair, wearing a custom painted Oculus Rift DK2 headset, whilst holding a Sony PlayStation motion controller to interact with the virtual experience. The virtual experience finished with the participant sitting on a beautiful beach with a virtual post card in hand, when the experience finished they were given a physical post card. Lufthansa’s virtual holiday demo showed off their on board services in a virtual environment and it is a great way to stand out in terms of branding purposes. Qantas also paired up with Samsung to start offering the VR Gear to first class passengers on long haul flights the airline became the first to offer virtual reality entertainment in-flight. The virtual reality headset became available inside Qantas’ first class lounges in mid- February and on select A380 flights between Australia and Los Angeles in the first-class cabin in March. Qantas sees VR as a new way to showcase the airline’s destinations and services to passengers. British Airways also had a campaign which covered the city centres in Milan, Paris and Frankfurt, it allowed European customers to test out the technology by riding a bucking bronco in Texas , ice skating in New York’s Bryant park and a walk down in Californian board walk.

Virtual reality is a great way for Airlines to market their products in addition, customers get to experience on-board services before they get on board the aircraft and before they reach their destination. Virtual reality is experiential marketing in its own way, as it creates a live and fun experience for the customer.

Bibliography

Ads of the world. (2014). British Airways: Virtual reality USA. Retrieved from http://adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/British_airways_virtual_reality_USA.

Virtual Reality Reporter. (2015). Lufthansa takes you on a virtual reality. Retrieved from https://virtualrealityreporter.com/lufthansa-airline-takes-visitors-on-a-virtual-journey/.

Operant conditioning in tourism

Operant conditioning was first introduced by B.F Skinner. His views were that although we do have a mind it was simply more productive to study observable behavior rather than the internal mental events. He stated that behavior which is reinforced tends to be repeated and that behavior which is not reinforced tends to die out. In 1948 Skinner experimented on animals and placed them in a box (Later nicknamed the Skinner box).

Positive reinforcement

In his experiment Skinner found that positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in a box. The box contained a lever which dropped food every time the rat accidentally knocked it over. After a few times of being in a box the rat learned to drop the lever. The consequence of receiving food every time they pressed the lever insured that they would repeatedly press it. Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence that is rewarding for the individual.

Negative reinforcement

On the other hand negative reinforcement strengthens behavior because it ends a negative experience. A way in which Skinner showed negative reinforcement worked was by placing a rat in the box once again. He subjected it to an unpleasant electric current which made it uncomfortable. Whenever the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever and every time it did so the electric current would switch off. Each time the rats were placed in the box they learned to go straight to the current and switch it off. The consequence of escaping the electric current ensured that they would repeat the action each time.

In the Tourism industry

Operant conditioning happens all the time in the industry, it’s a way of companies to compensate customers and reward them for using their services. Various companies in the tourism industry have various ways of rewarding loyal customers. British airways have a rewards system which ranges from the Blue exclusive club, Bronze, Silver and Gold membership. Each time a customer flies with them they get a chance to add points each of their exclusive clubs have different benefits for the consumer. Consumers get attracted to such schemes it’s a good way to draw customers in. Virgin Atlantic also offers air miles for frequent flyers. Negative reinforcement on the other hand happens the other way round, for example an airline delaying a flight or losing a passenger’s bag, the company would have to find a way to compensate the customer for example rewarding them with a free flight or compensating them back a certain percentage of money to get them into the next earliest flight. The companies mentioned above are not the only ones who do this a few examples include, Starbucks, Subway, and royal Caribbean (Crown & anchor society). In conclusion this is a good marketing scheme for companies lastly it is a good way to enforce customer loyalty.