Meta Urges Aviation to Embrace XR Future

At FTE EMEA 2025, Meta’s Head of XR in Travel, Bastian Schütz, urged aviation leaders to accelerate adoption of immersive technologies. Schütz outlined how extended reality (XR) and generative AI are already transforming the industry—enhancing training, streamlining operations, and reshaping passenger engagement. He cited Lufthansa's VR initiatives and partnerships with AVIAR Labs and Swissport as examples of measurable impact, such as reduced training time and exhibition costs.

Meta also spotlighted its in-flight XR pilot with Lufthansa, which provided standalone Quest headsets to passengers and improved customer satisfaction. Looking ahead, Meta revealed early developments of Orion smart glasses, aiming to bring real-time contextual computing to future travel experiences.

While acknowledging skepticism about aviation’s pace of innovation, Schütz emphasized that forward-looking airlines are already running large-scale pilots and co-developing solutions. He concluded with a call to action: industry leaders should help shape immersive tech today to define tomorrow’s passenger experience.