From the airport to the beach - easyJet’s ‘The Future Travel Report’ predicts changes to how we will travel in 50 years' time
Europe’s leading futurists and experts from the worlds of aerospace, innovation and engineering have come together for the first time to create a mind-blowing version of how we will travel in 50 years’ timeeasyJet 2070: The Future Travel Report is co-authored by Professor Birgitte Andersen, Professor Graham Braithwaite, Dr Patrick Dixon, Nikhil Sachdeva, futurist Shivvy Jervis and design scientist Dr Melissa SterryBiomimetic sensory plane seats, optoelectronic inflight entertainment beamed directly to passenger’s eyes and digital personal holiday concierges will be the norm by 2070Three quarters (75%) of Brits say that these technological advances would make them more likely to go on holiday in the future, with heartbeat passports, time travelling holiday experiences, and 3D printed hotel buffet food among the expert predictions that Brits would most like to see become realityPredictions have been brought to life by renowned science presenter, Dallas Campbell
Foreword
I have spent all my working life in the travel business, from my beginnings as a tour guide in the mid-1980s to the CEO of one of the largest and most innovative airlines in the world. From an insider’s position, I have witnessed how much holidays and travel have changed - particularly when our own airline easyJet famously challenged the status quo for air travel nearly 30 years ago, ending an era of holidaying abroad being a preserve of the rich, and making flying affordable and accessible to all.
Innovation is in our DNA and we’re always challenging ourselves to think big and look at how we can make travel even easier for people all across Europe, both today and for generations
to come.
So, we’ve commissioned a panel of experts – academics, futurologists, and business advisors – to develop ideas and make predictions about how travel might look in fifty years’ time, from choosing and booking your holiday to how the airport and flight experience may be transformed, and also looking at the accommodation people might stay in and the activities they could enjoy from travel in the 2070s. From biometric heartbeat passports, to ‘time-travelling’ holiday experiences in haptic body suits, holidays in 2070 are likely to be very different and therefore very exciting indeed.
One thing is for sure, the future of travel is bright. As the experts who compiled this report will show, the rapid advancement of new technology will be the driver for the next generation of travel over the next half-century. In our early years, easyJet pioneered the use of direct booking via the internet for our customers, launching our first website in 1998, and today, we’re working with industry leaders on hydrogen technology for zero-carbon emission aircraft that will transform the way we fly in the coming years.
Having seen such rapid progress over the last few years and given our history of innovation, I am incredibly excited for the industry’s potential to revolutionise air travel whether that be making possible a future in which your heartbeat will become your passport, enabling the seats on your flight to adapt to your biology for ultimate comfort or smart hotels allowing us to configure our accommodation and meals to perfectly suit our tastes. My thanks to Professor Birgitte Andersen, Shivvy Jervis, Dr Patrick Dixon, Professor Graham Braithwaite, Dr Melissa Sterry and the team at Roland Berger who contributed to this report, and of course Dallas Campbell for helping to bring these exciting predictions to life.
Johan Lundgren, CEO easyJet
More of the report below.....
3D printed buffet food, heartbeat passports and time travelling holiday experiences; a new report released today reveals the predictions for how we will travel and enjoy our holidays in 50 years’ time.
The ground-breaking report, commissioned by airline easyJet, forecasts innovations in airport journeys, air travel, accommodation, and holiday experiences.
The easyJet 2070: The Future Travel Report was authored by a group of leading academics and futurists, including Professor Birgitte Andersen of Birkbeck, University of London and CEO of Big Innovation Centre; Dr Melissa Sterry, design scientist and complex systems theorist; and renowned futurists Shivvy Jervis and Dr Patrick Dixon, as well as Director of Transport Systems at Cranfield University, Professor Graham Braithwaite and Nikhil Sachdeva, Principal for aerospace and defence and sustainable aviation at consultancy Roland Berger.
easyJet 2070: The Future Travel Report highlights include:
The airport journey and air travel experience will be revolutionised by technological advances:
Heartbeat and biometric passports will replace the traditional passport, for passengers to breeze through their airport. Much like fingerprints and the retina, every person’s cardiac signature is unique. Passengers’ heartbeat signatures and biometric details will be logged on a global system in the same way finger-print scanning technology works today.
Ergonomic and biomimetic sensory plane seats will become the norm, with smart materials adapting to passengers’ body shape, height, weight, and temperature, providing the ultimate tailored comfort flying experience
Inflight entertainment will be beamed directly in front of passenger’s eyes, via optoelectronic devices, replacing the need for onboard screens or downloading movies before you fly
e-VTOL air taxis will do away with the airport car park shuttle - the journey to the airport will be quicker and more convenient than ever before with 85% of passengers arriving by e-VTOLs from their homes to the terminal.
As technology advances, we will see significant advances in the accommodation experience abroad:
3D printed hotel buffet food will allow holidaymakers to 3D print whatever they want to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while reducing food waste.
Subterranean hotels built into the fabric of the earth that are super energy efficient and at one with the environment
All hotel rooms will be smart rooms with beds already pre-made to exactly desired firmness, ambient temperatures and favourite music playing based upon preferences you select in advance of booking the holiday
A holographic personal holiday concierge will accompany holidaymakers to provide up to date destination information and assistance throughout their stay
3D printed, recyclable holiday clothes on arrival at the hotel will remove the need for suitcases and fast holiday fashion as travellers can print the clothes required in their hotel rooms, tailored to their perfect fit and style, and recycle the materials for the next guest to enjoy.
Human powered hotels which harvest energy from its guests’ footsteps in order to generate power
Innovations in experiences and activities in destination will be on offer to travellers:
‘Time-travelling’ holiday experiences – tomorrow’s travellers will be able to holiday in past by wearing haptic suits at historical sites that enable them to immerse themselves in live historical surroundings marvelling wonders of the ancient world like the Colossus of Rhodes during a stroll in Rhodes Town, or cheering among the crowds of the original Olympic Games in Ancient Greece.
Try before you buy – bionic and Meta holiday previews ahead of going on holiday that allow you to experience locations before booking your holiday
Underwater ‘sea-faris’ – aquatic adventures onboard submarines for tourists deep beneath the sea discovering marine life in underwater marine parks
Local language in-ear devices will be available to take on holiday to translate the local language in real time and enable us to speak the local lingo
E-foiling, cable skiing and flyboarding will become the norm on offer for rent on the beach front, truly taking water sports to another level.
Four of the expert predictions have been brought to life in incredibly detailed renders, showcasing how travel could look in 2070.
The impressive visuals depict travellers using their unique heartbeats to get through security at the airport, as well as a new way of flying as aircraft are fitted with adaptable, biomimetic seats, with entertainment beamed directly into their eyes. Other images show holidaymakers viewing a true-to-life Colossus of Rhodes wearing haptic suits, and selecting delicious 3d printed food, personalised to their tastes.
The four images and animations have been presented in a new video, fronted by acclaimed science TV presenter Dallas Campbell, which sees him discussing what these predictions could mean for what air travel could look like for travellers of the future.
Brits were also asked to choose which of the experts’ predictions they would most like to see become a reality, with nine in ten (90%) of British adults saying they were excited or intrigued by what technological advances would make travelling look like in 50 years’ time.
Three-quarters (75%) of Brits say that these technological advances would make them more likely to go on holiday in the future.
The survey of 2,000 British adults revealed that biometric heartbeat passports and time-travelling holiday experiences, are the advancements in travel that the nation would most like to see happen by 2070.
Top 15 Travel predictions Brits would most like to see become a reality when it comes:
42% ‘Time-travelling’ holiday experiences via haptic suits that allow you to visit historical sites but see how life would have played out many years ago (i.e.: seeing Colossus of Rhodes in 280BC)
38% Seamless airport security – using biometric heartbeat passports
32% Underwater ‘sea-faris’ taking tourists on aquatic adventures to the depths of the ocean
26% Subterranean hotels built into the fabric of the earth that are super energy efficient and at one with the environment
25% Smart hotels with personalised holiday rooms – that adapt and configure to travellers needs and wants on arrival
24% In-ear devices will be available to take on holiday to translate the local language in real-time and enable us to speak the local lingo
23% ‘Try before you buy’ bionic and Metaverse holiday previews will provide holidaymakers with a virtual experience allowing them to see, hear, smell and feel a destination before booking
20% Ergonomic and biomimetic sensory plane seats that adapt to passengers’ body shape, weight and temperature providing ultimate comfort
19% 3D printed hotel buffet food serving up any all-inclusive breakfast, lunch and dinner that holidaymakers desire – and reducing food waste
18% Inflight entertainment beamed directly in front of passengers’ eyes, doing away with the need to download shows before you fly or the need for onboard TV screens
17% Week-long holiday package trips to the moon
14% e-VTOL air taxis taking passengers from home to the airport terminal, as well as ferrying holidaymakers around city locations abroad
13% Autonomous rent-a-car services on location - driverless hire vehicles that ferry travellers around their holiday destination
11% Digital holographic personal concierge – accompanying holidaymakers to provide up-to-date destination information and advice
10% 3D printed recyclable holiday clothes available on arrival at hotel, doing away with suitcases