Virgin Atlantic Google Glass Check-In

From February through July 2014, travelers can connect with business contacts by using the Here on Biz app (free) with the Gogo in-flight WiFi service at no extra charge. Here on Biz uses LinkedIn's API to find LinkedIn connections on your same flight or at the airport.

The app likens their service to a "geo-aware rolodex," which is what Virgin America said was exactly what its business travelers were looking for. After all, you've got nothing but time to network when on a cross-country flight.

"Flying is less glamorous than it used to be," Virgin Atlantic discovered in a survey of 10,000 passengers — though, uh, we could've told you that! To bring a "glamorous" addition traveling, starting this week Virgin Atlantic staff at Heathrow Airport will meet upper class passengers at the curb wearing Google Glass to begin check-in. The staff will also use the wearable technology to update guests on flight information, weather, and breaking news from their destination.

So why such a public experiment with wearable gadgets, a product that mass consumers themselves have yet to fully embrace? Virgin Atlantic's director of IT, Dave Bulman, says "The whole [travel] industry needs to listen to what these passengers are calling for and keep innovating to bring a return to the golden age of air travel."

Do you think the use of these technologies will help make travel a less stressful affair?