Virgin Atlantic 'to create motion sensor cabin with Xbox Kinect'

Virgin Atlantic is reportedly working with Microsoft to create a motion sensor cabin that improves passengers' flight experience.

The airline will introduce Redmond's Xbox Kinect technology to its aircraft to analyse customer movement on-board, changing their environment to maximise their comfort, according to The Drum.

Head of customer experience at Virgin Atlantic, Debbie Hulme, told The Drum: "We're looking at the Kinect technology to really see if we can read consumer behaviour and movement in the cabin to understand at an individual level what is the most comfortable place for you to work, to sleep, to eat and how we might develop that intelligence into an on-board product to tailor it far more to the individual customer."

Its aircraft could use Kinect's motion sensor capabilities to react to customers moving about to change things like lighting, termperature and seat positions in real time, she added.

That is just one facet of a partnership between the firms that will include analytics and other technologies, and which started with a flight from Heathrow to Boston on Sunday night.

Passengers on the flight were all handed a Windows 8.1 tablet, pre-loaded with an app that tracked Father Christmas' flight across the Atlantic.

Connected to the on-board Wi-Fi, the app also let passengers chat to Father Christmas, before he landed on the flight to pose for selfies with them.

Hulme said: "Microsoft is also providing us with the analytics to look at how passengers interacted with the technology so we can work out what they enjoyed the most.

"This will enable us to continually improve and innovate. Expect to see more from Virgin Atlantic and Microsoft in 2015."

The airline will continue to explore potential ways to use technology on flights with Microsoft as it seeks to improve passengers' flight experiences.

Fred Warren, creative director of Microsoft Connected Digital Services, added: "Through this experience we are looking to explore how the aircraft can be brought to life in different ways via the use of digital technologies to amplify the amazing service that is offered to customers today and how passengers engage after the flight.

"We were able to give passengers a glimpse of what is possible from more immersive flight experiences."