Emirates take seat selection to the next level.

We fly a lot here at EFTM, domestically and internationally. The need to travel for product launches turns you pretty quickly into a bit of an airline connoisseur. It’s not uncommon to spend 24 hours in transit to be on the ground for less than 48 hours. As a result, you tend to get a tad picky about seat selection. Given I’m off to Madrid, Spain next week for a car event I logged onto the Emirates app to see what I was going to face.

Little did I know that back in July Emirates introduced 3D seat models via its app and emirates.com. They’ve even added the ability to use web virtual reality (VR) technology. The immersive experience allows you to see a 3D 360-degree view of your seat and surrounds on the A380 and Boeing 777. It covers all classes and even shows off the onboard lounge and shower spa on the A380. You literally just swipe around the screen to check out your surrounds.

Alex Knigge, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand (Digital), said: “As we continually invest to provide our customers with an unmatched travel experience onboard and on the ground, we also work very hard to give our customers a world-class digital experience. We are pleased to be the world’s first airline to introduce this cutting-edge web VR technology, which offers our customers an immersive opportunity to learn more about the fantastic Emirates experience before they step on board. In our usability tests with customers, we found that they particularly appreciated the 3D seat and cabin models when selecting their seats.”

The Emirates app is available for iOS and Android and even allows customers to book the actual seat from the 3D environment. For an airline nark, this is one of the coolest things I’ve seen! You can check it out for yourself here.