The in-flight VR service will begin with international routes before the end of this year

While many of us still remain earthbound, unable or unwilling to board a plane, South Korea’s largest telecom company, KT, is making plans to develop an in-flight virtual reality (VR) entertainment service for air passengers. KT is working with Jin Air and Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunications (HIST).

Jin Air, which has already introduced a pilot project of in-flight VR service, is a low-cost airline and so its interest in the collaboration comes from its desire to offer an alternative to personal video screens, which are becoming the norm for many airlines and which it does not offer. VR headsets would, of course, fit the bill.

For Kang Kook-Hyun, head of KT’s Business Group, this is an opportunity for users to “enjoy a new experience of entertainment based on VR,” not just in the home, but also while traveling.

The in-flight VR service will begin with international routes before the end of this year and passengers will be able to borrow VR headsets for the duration of the flight to view movies in ultra-high resolution, as well as additional entertainment content like travel and sports programs in 360-degree images.

Further, all In-flight public announcements and communications will also be sent via VR to those passengers wearing headsets.

KT has been focused on delivering the benefits of VR for some time and earlier this month, the company teamed up with competitor LG Uplus to build economies of scale and competitiveness in 5G VR content. Specifically, the mobile carriers agreed to share 50 to 100 VR pieces of content related to sports, leisure and health on their platforms as early as this month.

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