Virgin Atlantic trials Sony SmartWear to boost communication

Virgin Atlantic is trialling Sony's SmartWatch and SmartEyeglass to improve communications between Heathrow engineers.

The employees will receive updates on Sony SmartWatches and will use the Google Glass rival SmartEyeglass to take pictures that can be sent back to their bosses.

Both devices will hook up to smartphones and tablets, allowing for real-time recording between employees in different departments, who can also share data.

Phil Maher, director of operations at Virgin Atlantic, said: "We're delighted to be partnering with Sony to trial wearable technology within our engineering team.

"We are proud of our recent innovation work to provide the best possible experience for our customer facing roles and we're pleased to now be exploring how new technology can contribute towards our essential operations procedures."

Virgin Atlantic's main motivation to introduce such technology was to boost productivity and cut down maintenance times by ensuring engineers can remain on the aircraft during turnarounds.

He said the technology is proving a great way to empower Virgin Atlantic's staff by providing instant access to the information they need.

Dennis van Schie, senior VP of marketing at Sony Mobile Communications, added: "This innovative thinking in pushing the boundaries of how these products are used is a great example of what can be done with our SmartWear and we look forward to continuing to work with Virgin Atlantic on this trial and future initiatives."

Virgin Atlantic has already experimented with wearables, equipping its ground staff with Google Glass and Sony SmartWatches to speed up the process of passenger check in.