Posted inEmergent Tech

Emirates to train thousands of new cabin crew in the metaverse

Emirates previously announced plans to launch NFTs and exciting experiences in the metaverse for its customers and employees

Emirates Group holding company on IT hiring spree

Emirates is taking big leaps into the metaverse, not only for its customers but also its crew and staff.

Dubai’s flagship carrier has announced plans to train its entire crew in the metaverse. Currently, Emirates has 16,000 cabin crew but is looking to expand this number by 4,000 to reach close to 20,000 cabin crew by 2023.

Adel Ahmed Al Redha, chief operating officer of Emirates, said the metaverse will transform entire customer processes, from operation and training to sales and overall customer experience. It allows the airline cut the “middleman”.

He explained, “When I say doing away with the middleman, I’m talking about certain processes that are not necessary anymore but have just been there. I think the metaverse does provide us the opportunity to eliminate that.”

Speaking at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly, Al Redha further stated, “ We’ve seen an increase of close to 50 percent of our online booking coming from customers directly. We are cutting out the middleman, and with this elimination, we bring in efficiencies, more capabilities. More importantly, we pass on these costs that we’ve saved to the end-users (customers) and give better value for their time. That’s where we’re going with this technology.”

Emirates had earlier announced that it was planning to launch NFTs and exciting experiences in the metaverse for its customers and employees. Soon, it will also allow passengers to select their seats, shop for duty-free products or even tour the airport and hotels through the immersive platform.

Al Redha says they are building all this for the youth segment. “We need to make sure we are building for them, and everyone will enjoy it — because it improves the overall offering.”

Sharing how this works for Emirates, Al Redha said, “I was recently in Humboldt (US), configuring the A350. We used metaverse, virtual reality and walked into the aircraft and looked at every detail, every gap in the aircraft, whether it is in the galley or with the seats. We have configured an aircraft. And what we see there today is exactly what we’ll see in 2024.

The technology is also being used in training the airline’s cabin crew.  He explained, “In training, we currently have 16,000 cabin crew but by the middle of next year, we plan to reach close to 20,000 cabin crew. We are continuously evolving our on-board service as well, whether it’s food or how we serve our customers. Without this technology, we will not be able to deliver this training in an efficient and accurate manner to our crew.”