Etihad Airways have announced a new partnership with tech giant Panasonic to jointly develop and trial several new wellness solutions aimed at enhancing the in-air experience for passengers.
And the first of those solutions will be a newly developed program worked up by Panasonic and Detalytics aimed at addressing the issue of jet lag. Dubbed the “Jet Lag Advisor”, it will be integrated into Etihad’s passenger app and help passengers combat potential jet lag by taking a range of individual inputs including chronotype, circadian rhythms, height, weight, the nature of travel, and travel information such as flight times, routes and zones.
With this information, the app uses an advanced AI engine to produce personalised jet lag plans for passengers, complete with tailored advisories to help them fight any potential lag.
“Etihad is committed to providing choice and a superior experience to our guests, and we are continually looking at new ways to do just that”, explained Robin Kamark, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer. “With the Jet Lag Advisor, we can now leverage artificial intelligence to improve the travel experience. This will be the first of many wellness initiatives we will explore together, and we are excited about our partnership with Panasonic and the possibilities that lie ahead.”
As part of the app’s function, passengers receive a combination of generic route-based and personalised “jet lag impact scores”, meant as a summary of the severity of that route’s potential jet lag. The personalised jet lag plan incorporates the pre-flight, flight, and post-flight phases and produces a schedule of different recommendations and tips for specific times in each phase, all aimed at reducing jet lag. These include factors such as sleeping, exposure to light, exercise, hydration, and the type of food to consume.
The app will automatically set reminders for the passenger for each phase of the travel experience, ensuring a comprehensive plan is presented along with convenience.
This is the first of hopefully many wellness technologies developed by Panasonic for Etihad as the carrier readies a forthcoming move to the new tech-ready ‘Midfield Terminal’ at Abu Dhabi International Airport. It’s here that technology features are expected to be implemented to enhance the passenger experience throughout all phases of travel, including check-in which will be assisted with biometrics, new baggage-drop terminals which scan and memories each suitcase (meaning tagged luggage will be a thing of the past), and portable customer service kiosks. Basically, it will be the airport of the future.
For more information on Etihad Airways head to their official website HERE.
