Innovations set to change the way we fly and travel - The Front Page

Supersonic flight could be on the cards for the future. Photo / Supplied

Imagine walking through an airport without showing your passport to anyone.

You then watch from the seat of your plane as a robot effortlessly moves your luggage into the storage compartment of the aircraft.

Once you land at your destination of choice, an AI-generated itinerary gives you a full schedule of things to do and sites to see, taking into account the weather on different days during your site.

Upon arrival at your hotel, you order room service with the push of a button and it’s delivered by a robot waiter.

This might all sound like a scene out of a science-fiction film, but NZ Herald aviation editor Grant Bradley tells The Front Page podcast that these are only some of the innovations that are coming our way.

Bradley recently attended Tourism Summit Aotearoa, an event dedicated to looking at where the industry is headed in the coming decades.

“Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran talked about how the airline is looking at using AI throughout the business,” says Bradley.

“There are also some experiments in terms of using robots in baggage halls. Moving bags has always been a big problem for airlines and if they can solve that problem with technology, it’ll be a big advance.”

Foran also has his eyes on supersonic travel and is looking at whether this could potentially be a space for Aotearoa to enter in the future.

A number of companies around the world are currently working on designs and technology, which would reintroduce a mode of transportation that was essentially ditched with the failure of the Concorde in the early 2000s.

Looking more broadly at the travel sector, Changi International Airport has announced that it will become passport-free in early 2024.

So could the same happen at Auckland Airport?

“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” says Bradley.

“Biometric scanning does already happen at Auckland Airport as you move into the security area. You slide your passport, it scans your face, and if you’re the same person, away you go. That is an example of how it’s being used at the moment, but it’s not throughout the whole system. The holy grail is being able to move throughout the airport and onto your aircraft without any contact or any pinch points. Just through fingerprint recognition or facial recognition.”

So what else can we expect to see emerge in travel and tourism? And could robots really start delivering room service?

Listen to the full episode of The Front Page for a glimpse of a fascinating future.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.