German airline Lufthansa and and software giant SAP have shown the business events industry “what the future of digitalisation looks like” by jointly hosting a conference in the air, according to SAP chief innovation officer Jürgen Müller (right).
The conference, which took place on board flight LH464 to Orlando on May 15, took delegates to SAPPHIRE NOW, the world’s largest SAP customer event, which takes place May 16-18.
Speaking ahead of the flight, Torsten Wingenter, senior director of digital innovations at Lufthansa, said the purpose was to get passengers “in the mood for the topics of the conference.”
The flight marked Lufthansa’s fourth on-board FlyingLab. The labs include a conference section and test section. Previous FlyingLabs have covered the future of travel and virtual reality en route to San José, to the Fashion Week in New York, and to the digital conference South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas.
SAP FlyingLab
Müller welcomed participants onboard via a video clip on May 15.
“Innovation starts with the exchange of ideas,” said Müller. speaking ahead of the conference. “We are glad to be able to show you on this flight, together with Lufthansa, what the future of digitalisation looks like, and to give the participants interesting food for thought.”
During the test section of the FlyingLab, passengers were able to try the “Muse” device – a technology that measures brain waves, provides feedback and supports meditation.
During the conference section, delegates heard from six speakers.
Among the speakers were Martin Wezowski of SAP, who discussed the future of work; author and biohacker Teemu Arina, who talked about technological support when travelling; and Ingrid Rothe of RSB Partners, who covered robots as the future of work.
Speakers gave their talks in front of a camera, while passengers received the video livestream and presentation notes via on-board WLAN.
During the talks, passengers could send written questions to the speakers via their own devices.
The topics of the FlyingLabs are coordinated with the respective event at the destination. “We thereby offer our passengers a more efficient use of their travel time, and promote dialogue on board,” says Wingenter.
