When it comes to innovation and wacky inventions the Japanese are in a whole other league to the rest of us. They are the nation responsible for bringing us the first CDs, mobile phone cameras, jet skis, Sat-Navs and hybrid cars. But they also delivered karaoke, emojis, fake food and vending machines that sell hot fish and chips. Now the Japanese have got us talking again with their latest crackpot idea and this time it’s about flying – or to be more accurate, not flying.
First Airlines pride themselves in being different. Their website promises flights to New York, Paris, Rome and Hawaii but check those flight times carefully. 110 minutes from Tokyo to New York? You’ve got to be kidding. And they are, sort of. Welcome to the world of virtual reality aviation. Board the plane from First Airlines’ base, Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Though you’ll receive a boarding pass, this plane will never leave the tarmac. Flight attendants will show passengers to their seats in either First or Business and hand out VR headsets.
Cloak and daggers
From then on, it’s all cloak and daggers as the “flight” gets underway. Following the in-flight safety demonstration and simulated take-off, passengers are presented with a virtual food experience that the airline bills as “a new meal experience beyond the concept of restaurants”. For a little under two hours, those “flying” with First Airlines get to experience the sights and sounds of a real flight.
But here’s the thing. I’ve been flying for almost five decades (I started young) and the novelty has well and truly worn off. And I’d say, judging from the faces of my fellow travellers at the airport last week, I’m not alone. If we’re honest, few of us fly because we love it. If we do, the thrill of taking to the air is considerably enhanced from the seat of a light aircraft or if we’re really fortunate, a private jet.
When we get off the plane it’s all worth it
But your bog standard Airbus or Boeing has all the thrill of your weekly visit to the supermarket. Like food shopping, air travel is a necessary evil to be endured because of the reward at the end of it. We put up with cramped seats and cubicle toilets. We put up with food we’d send back if it was served anywhere but 30000 feet. We put up with the trials of sitting in each other’s personal space as seats are reclined and babies scream. We do – because when we get off the plane, it’s all worth it.
If we book a flight to New York, we want the sound of yellow taxis honking their horns, the smell of hot pastrami on rye and the sight of the sun turning the water of the Hudson River into a million tiny diamonds. Travel is a multi-sensory experience. Although a 360° virtual tour of the Big Apple would be a sight to behold, there’s no substitute for the real thing. Virtual flying? Sorry, count me out.
Julia has lived in five different countries during the last 10 years and have biked, hiked and traveled in more than 40 countries. She loves writing about beautiful vacation spots and untapped destinations.
