Like practically everything in life, technology is also changing the way we travel. From being able to travel for less thanks to insightful analytics to being able to choose who we sit next to on our flights thanks to social media seating, thus ensuring we have a fantastic in-flight experience, to making it easier to fill in our ‘renew European health card’ forms from the comfort of our living rooms. Here are 5 ways technology is changing the way we travel:
- Less Paper
These days, there’s no need to print off numerous boarding passes for each member of your family! Instead, you can add them to the wallet on your mobile phone. Not only does this mean that you have almost no way of losing your all-important passes, unless you misplace your mobile phone of course, but you can fast track the long queues to scan your paper before you proceed to security. Instead of waiting for a member of staff to scan your paper, a machine will do it for you, and you can walk through rest assured that you will be right on time for your flight.
- Travel For Less
These days, thanks to advanced technology and insightful analytics, we can travel for less. There are countless tips and secrets that actually work when it comes to travelling on a budget, which is why such a vast amount of us are able to visit the destinations we once dreamed of, whether it is Thailand, Bora Bora or Mauritius. With this information, travel fanatics across the globe are able to identify the best times to travel to less and well as how mix and matching your flights can save you a significant amount of money. It might take a bit more effort, but technology has certainly made travelling cheaper, if not more convenient!
- Bridging Language Barriers
Once upon a time, people were scared to travel due to the language barriers between countries. Today, however, thanks to translation technology, an increasing number of people are choosing to go abroad for their annual summer holiday. Google Translate, iTranslate and WayGo are amongst the top best translation apps for travellers. Not only are some off these apps free, but they can significantly improve your travel experience. Soon enough, you’ll begin to pick up the basics of the language in your destination and will feel confident enough to approach waiters and people alike.
- In-Flight Entertainment
In recent years, we have seen a significant improvement to in-flight entertainment. Now, we can watch the latest TV programmes, films and even play games on the back of a seat controlled by a single remote. Some of the top airplane entertainment systems include those found on Thai Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Cathay Pacific and Turkish Airlines.
- Social Media Seating
How cool would it be to know who you will be accompanied by on your next flight? Well now you can! Though social media seating is yet to take off, KLM Airlines launched the ‘Meet & Seat’ programme. For those interested, the Meet & Seat program allows those who plan to travel with the airline to choose who they will sit next to based on shared interests from LinkedIn and Facebook up to 30 hours before your flight is due to depart. The program is a fantastic way to ensure you end up sitting next to some you can relate to, and is a great way to make valuable connections for business!
There are countless ways technology is changing the way we travel today. From being able to choose who we sit next to on our flights thanks to social media seating to improved in-flight entertainment making us forget that we are more than 10,000ft high in the sky, technology will forever more continue to change the way we travel, thus providing a better travelling experience.
