Embarking on what Qantas is calling ‘Project Sunrise’, the airline has recently completed three research flights direct from Australia’s east coast to London and New York. These 19-hour direct flights are slated to be the longest in the world.
Due to their length, the Australian flag-carrier closely monitored the health and wellbeing of the research flights’ passengers. The findings from this research may herald a new future for airline apps—with the airline’s CEO suggesting that the data they’ve got is sophisticated enough to help travellers with their jetlag.
The app will help people schedule specific activities to help with their circadian rhythm, “in the buildup to the flight, on the flight and post-flight.”
It would be able to tell people what to eat, when to sleep and when to expose themselves to light so they land in sync with their destination’s time zone and daylight cycle. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the software will put them at the top of the airline app pile.“It’s a lot easier than downloading a third-party app from the app store, and gives people an added advantage that they don’t get today with other airlines.”
