Quick take:
- Visitors can tour the QVerse on Qatar Airways’ website.
- Qatar’s national carrier is the first global airline to introduce a MetaHuman cabin crew.
- The virtual experience was developed using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.
Qatar Airways entered the metaverse today with the launch of QVerse, the airline’s new virtual reality (VR) experience. Visitors can tour the QVerse on Qatar Airways’ website and virtually navigate the Premium Check-in area at Hamad International Airport (HIA).
Visitors can also take a look the cabin interior of the airline’s aircraft, including the Business Class – Qsuite, and the Economy Class cabin, by using their own Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs).
The QVerse was developed using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine which is an advanced real-time 3D creation tool. Epic Games has also made its own steps into the metaverse with a partnership with Lego and raised $2 billion in funding to build a kid-friendly metaverse.
At the same time, the national carrier of Qatar is also introduced the world’s first MetaHuman cabin crew, offering a digital interactive customer experience. The MetaHuman cabin crew was created using MetaHuman Creator, a cloud-based app for creating high-fidelity digital humans.
The virtual flight attendant is named Sama, which means “sky” in Arabic. She will guide users from the check-in area all the way onto the plane, and present the features in both the Business and Economy Class cabins through a narrated script.
“With physical boundaries beginning to be challenged by the metaverse on an increasingly larger scale, it is exciting to embrace a technology that enables all travel enthusiasts to enjoy a unique immersive experience of our award-winning products and services,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker.
He added: “Our status as the first airline to introduce a MetaHuman cabin crew is a testament to our unwavering desire to innovate and delight our customers. We are constantly looking forward to adopting and introducing novel technologies that enhance our passengers’ complete journey.”
Qatar is not the only Middle Eastern carrier to have recently introduced VR experiences. Its rival, the Dubai-based Emirates, announced last week that it will be launching NFTs and metaverse experiences for its customers and staff in the coming months.
Last year, Emirates launched its own VR app on the Oculus store, offering users life-like and interactive cabin interior experiences onboard Emirates’ flagship A380 aircraft and Boeing 777-300ER Gamechanger aircraft.
Stay up to date: