The company easyJet asked travel experts a report outlining what travel might be like in 50 years' time, in 2070. This report entitled "easyJet 2070: the travel report of the future was written by a group of leading academics and futurists, including Professor Birgitte Andersen of London's Birkbeck University and CEO of the Big Innovation Centre, design specialist and complex systems theorist Dr Melissa Sterry, renowned futurists Shivvy Jervis and Dr Patrick Dixon, Cranfield University's Director of Transport Systems, Professor Graham Braithwaite, and Nikhil Sachdeva, Director of Aerospace, Defence and Sustainable Aviation at consultancy Roland Berger.
The plane adapts to the passenger and not the other way round...
All segments of the travel industry will be transformed as a result of the introduction or development of the technology - some of which already exist today. Starting, of course, with air travel.
For the journey to the airport and the experience on board, experts believe that passengers will benefit from the following technological advances:
– Passports with cardiac and biometric signatures will replace traditional passports. They will provide additional security because, like fingerprints and retina scans, each person's heart signature is unique. Passengers' heart signatures and biometric data will be stored in a global system. They will enable an even simpler route to flying.
– Ergonomic, bio-mimetic aircraft seats will become the norm. This will mean intelligent materials that adapt to the shape of the bodyThe cabin is adapted to the size, weight and temperature of passengers, offering a more comfortable flying experience. On board, entertainment will no longer need video screens. They could be broadcast directly in front of passengers' eyes, using optoelectronic devices.
– Vertical take-off air taxis (e-VTOL) could also replace journeys by land vehicle, speeding up the transfer from home to the terminal. Experts estimate that 85% of passengers would travel by e-VTOL in this way.
A 3D-printed hotel buffet to choose your breakfast (Photo: easyJet 2070 The future travel report)
3D and digital concierge at the hotel
In thehotelsThe future experts at easyJet envisage the following technological innovations.
– 3D to take over hotels. The hotel buffets will be 3D printed. They will allow holidaymakers to select exactly what they want to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while reducing food waste. Technology will also eliminate the need for suitcases. Travellers simply have to 3D print the clothes they need in their hotel room, adapting them to their size and style. Then recycle them before departure...
- Some hotels will be built underground. They would be highly energy-efficient and in harmony with the environment.
- All the hotel rooms will be intelligentWith beds adapted to the desired firmness, ambient temperatures and music selected before you set off. With the environment in mind, the energy the hotel needs could come from human activity. For example, customers' footsteps.
- A personal holographic concierge will accompany holidaymakers to provide up-to-date information about the destination and help them throughout their stay.
Reinventing the holiday experience
Finally, the travel experience is set to expand. Probably the most exciting new feature will be time travel.
– Holiday experiences over time. easyJet's futurists imagine travellers going back in time by wearing haptic suits - i.e. suits that generate sensations of touch - to historic sites. This will allow them to immerse themselves in a living historical environment. Like seeing Vienna or Berlin in 1900, or discovering the Colossus of Rhodes or ancient Rome.
– The metaverse will also make it possible to virtually test a location. Before eventually buying a package and going for real.
- Activities, the sea-faris should have the wind in their sails. These areaquatic adventures aboard submarines for travellers in the depths of the sea, discovering marine life. E-foiling, ski-lifts and flyboards will become the norm and expand the range of water sports available.
- Finally, another technology could revolutionise the way people experience a destination. Hearing aids will automatically translate the local language in real time, so you can both understand what's being said... and respond to it!
