Skift Travel News Blog

Emirates and Dubai International Airport are working with local schools, autism groups and key stakeholders on a new initiative in an effort to improve the travel experience for neurodivergent passengers. 

The ‘travel rehearsals’ have been designed to allow neurodivergent passengers to practice their journey through the airport and onboard aircraft, during which they are provided boarding passes and taken through security, to recreate the full travel experience. 

Throughout the process the individuals involved are accompanied by family members and therapists, with the aim of empowering families when navigating the travel process, whilst also providing key learnings for Emirates and the airport.

One example highlighted by the operator is ‘Emirates superfan’ Humza Dabab, who is autistic. 11 year old Humza recently flew from Melbourne to Dubai with his family, and was treated to a ‘a VIP experience from Emirates’ ahead of his flight.

The travel rehearsals join a number of initiatives Emirates and Dubai International Airport currently have in place to support travelers with additional needs, including enhanced employee training, autism friendly routes to navigate the airport, priority boarding, complimentary parking and the ability to pre-order meals.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has expanded its partnership online healthcare company Headspace to provide hotel guests and World of Hyatt members with coloured noise content in order to support their wellbeing.

The new content, which was launched in conjunction with World Mental Health Day, includes a sample of exclusive content from Headspace’s colored noise collection, which has been designed to aid listeners in their efforts to drift off to sleep, relax or focus. 

“As a hospitality company focused on care, Hyatt takes pride in raising the bar on wellbeing in a rapidly changing world,” said TJ Abrams, vice president, global wellbeing at Hyatt. 

“Collaborating with industry leaders like Headspace allows Hyatt to better care for our guests, and I have personally experienced the positive, stress-relieving impact of mindfulness content during my recent stays at our hotels.”

The content is now available via the World of Hyatt app and in-room televisions at select properties across the U.S, Canada and Mexico.

Heathrow has announced that it is trialing an initiative that allows passengers travelling through the airport to pre-book their security slots ahead of their journeys.

It is hoped that the service, known as ‘Heathrow Timeslot‘, will offer travellers more peace of mind when moving through the airport as well as helping to reduce queue times.

Currently live in Terminal 3, the trial is set to run for the next six months and will be open to passengers travelling with American Airlines, Delta, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic.

“Everyone is familiar with airport security, but at Heathrow we’re constantly thinking of innovative ways to boost the safety and streamline the experience for our passengers. This new trial will give passengers that extra added bit of certainty and reassurance ahead of their journey and we think it will be particularly popular for those with families or nervous travellers who may want a bit more confidence in their journeys. We look forward to seeing the data come in to give us some learnings on how we can roll this out more widely across Heathrow,” said Mark Powell, operational planning director at Heathrow.

TUI has announced a partnership with SignLive to provide customers with the option to have their conversations with the firm interpreted into British Sign Language (BSL).

In order to use the service customers will need to sign up for free to SignLive, at which point they will be able to call TUI via its online directory. Customers will then be paired with the TUI Accessibility Team and a SignLive interpreter, who will interpret the conversation in real time.

“At TUI we want to make traveling with us as easy as possible for everyone. SignLive has come to us with an amazing solution for our customers who use British Sign Language (BSL). This service means that these customers can have conversations with our team to ensure they book the perfect holiday for them and get any additional support they might need,” said Sue Bradley, director of customer experience, at TUI.

“Customers can speak to our contact center team about new or existing bookings all by signing up to SignLive for free for support with hotel information, navigating airports or booking accessible transfers in resort.”

The service is now live, and the video has been released to explain how the service works:

Emirates has expanded its inflight meal pre-order initiative across Europe, following the successful launch of the initiative on London to Dubair routes and the positive feedback received from passengers.

The inflight pre-ordering service is available to Business Class passengers, and allows them to reserve their main course up to 24 hours prior to their departure through the Emirates website and app. Onboard the aircraft, cabin crew will then use digital devices to view customer preorders.

According to a release from Emirates, the new initiative forms part of an existing suite of AI-enabled customer preference tracking data and cabin crew reports onboard Emirates, which ‘facilitate menu planning, optimal food loading and waste minimization’.

Emirates joins a growing list of airlines developing initiatives that are designed to minimize food wastage and enhance the customer experience, including Virgin Atlantic, United and Lufthansa, among others.

A dry “underwater” hologram experience featuring numerous sea creatures has opened at Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru.

The experience has been designed to replicate the real manta rays that can be found in the resorts surrounding waters of the Baa Atoll UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, with the holograms designed to provide guests with the opportunity to virtually ‘swim’ with manta rays, humpback whales, seahorses and mimic octopuses.

The sessions last up to 45 minutes, and are hosted twice daily at the Resort’s on-site Marine Discovery Center.

Qatar Airways has revealed its latest onboard theme song, ‘The Ascent’, which has been composed by Dana Al Fardan and performed by members of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.

‘The Ascent’ marks the trilogy of the two previous onboard theme songs, ‘The Awakening’ and ‘The Dawn’.

The theme song, introduces a unique fusion of Arabic charm intertwined with classical music, achieved through the incorporation of traditional Arabic instruments such as the Ney and the Rababa alongside the piano, violin, viola, and cello.

“As a composer, I really want to capture the sounds from my country and explore the nuances of different Arabic instruments, rhythmic patterns, and flourishes. The idea is to preserve the authenticity of one style of sound and build it into another in a way that fits without one having to accommodate the other by deconstructing itself,” Said Dana Al Fardan.

“Music is a universal language, and at Qatar Airways we have chosen a theme song that uplifts the passengers and transcends them to a wonderful destination. I am proud of Dana Al Fardan, not only is she showcasing our Qatari culture through sophisticated art, but her onboard music has also become synonymous with Qatar Airways’ brand identity. It is now directly associated with travel, culture, and luxury. It brings me great pleasure to welcome passengers onboard with the rhythms of Dana’s new symphony,” Said,  His Excellency, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways Group.

voco hotels, part of the IHG Hotels & Resorts Group, has debuted a new birdwatching package in the U.S. and Singapore.

A study from Scientific Reports found that seeing or hearing birds was associated with an improvement of mental well-being for up to eight hours, so the new package has been designed to provide travelers with ‘a relaxing, mindful activity’ that encourages ‘me time’.

Guests who book the ‘Find Your Flock’ package will be able to borrow voco-branded binoculars – with additional children’s binoculars available on request – and will also be given an eco-friendly packet of birdseed to take on their birdwatching journey.

The limited time experience is available to book now until September 30, with stays taking place in October 2023.

SWISS has announced the introduction of free Wi-Fi enabled internet for chat services on all long-haul flights, beginning in August 2023.

The new facility, which will be available across all travel classes, will allow passengers to utilize chat services on smartphones, laptops and tablets for the duration of their flight and will have no upper data limit.

The Wi-Fi facility will provide access to most popular messenger services, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Telegram. 

SWISS passengers will also have the opportunity to upgrade to advanced Wi-Fi packages, which will offer further internet capabilities such as browsing, emailing, and access to social media platforms.

“In offering these new Wi-Fi options we’re taking a big step forward,” says SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour. 

“With our new unlimited free chat facility in all our travel classes, our guests can keep in contact with their families, friends and business partners throughout their flight. Our attractive new packages for surfing, email and social media also offer unlimited data volumes. So our customers now have even more choice in how they wish to stay in unbounded touch with the world while they are aboard our long-haul flights.”

Recognizing the demands of consumers to have more options while in the air, British Airways has doubled the amount of content available to watch through its inflight entertainment system since the beginning of the year, according to an announcement from the carrier.

The inflight entertainment system has benefitted from a range of new media, with the carrier now offering a host of new boxsets, movies, podcasts and children’s programs, as well as a exclusive content thanks to its partnership with Paramount+.

British Airways has stated that the new content will be on board from August.

The carrier has also been rolling out WiFi connectivity across its entire fleet, with the majority of its aircraft now connected, enabling content streaming on personal devices.

British Airways’ chief customer officer, Calum Laming, said: “We know just how important it is to provide a great range of entertainment for our customers to enjoy during their journeys, and it’s one of the things they look forward to most when they fly with us, so we’ve been working hard to source new content, doubling the amount available at our customers’ fingertips.

“We’ve partnered with brilliant brands like Paramount+ and even created a dedicated British Original channel. From a newly released blockbuster film to the latest podcast, there’s something for everyone to enjoy during their flight this summer.”

Related: 5 Missed Opportunities for Better In-Flight Entertainment