Etihad Airways (Etihad), the national airline of the UAE, and Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic), have announced a partnership to jointly develop and trial wellness solutions aimed at enhancing the traveller experience.

As part of the partnership, Etihad will be the first airline to trial Panasonic’s new wellness solution, the Jet Lag Adviser, which was developed in collaboration with Detalytics. The solution will be integrated into the airline’s passenger app.

One of the biggest challenges air passengers face when travelling across multiple time zones is jet lag. To help passengers combat this, the Jet Lag Adviser takes a range of passenger inputs including chronotype, circadian rhythms, height, weight, the nature of travel, and travel information such as flight times, routes and zones and uses its artificial intelligence engine to produce personalised jet lag plans for passengers with tailored advisories to help them reduce jet lag.

Robin Kamark, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Etihad is committed to providing choice and a superior experience to our guests, and we are continually looking at new ways to do just that. With the Jet Lag Advisor, we can now leverage artificial intelligence to improve the travel experience. This will be the first of many wellness initiatives we will explore together, and we are excited about our partnership with Panasonic and the possibilities that lie ahead.”

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Passengers will receive a combination of generic route-based and personalised ‘jet lag impact scores’ which gives them a summary of how severe jet lag may be on that route in general and their own travel specifically, while the personalised jet lag plan incorporates the pre-flight, flight and post-flight phases, and provides a schedule of different recommendations and tips for specific times in each phase on what to do to reduce jet lag, such as sleeping, exposure to light, exercise, hydration, and the type of food to consume.

Throughout each phase of the travel experience, the Jet Lag Adviser will send reminders with recommended actions to passengers via the app. By following the recommended advisories, the Jet Lag Adviser will help passengers feel more energetic and ready for their activities at their destination.

Hideo Nakano, Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Avionics Corporation, said: “Panasonic is continually innovating to digitally transform the passenger experience, and wellness is an integral part of that. We are delighted to be working with Etihad Airways to introduce technology that can help their passengers reduce jet lag, and so enhance their travel experience.”

Panasonic is also exploring further innovative wellness technologies with Etihad as the carrier readies itself to move to the new ‘Midfield Terminal’ at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where new technology features are set to significantly enhance the passenger experience.

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