As the coronavirus crisis keeps many travellers at bay, national airline Finnair has announced it is planning to offer eight virtual flights to Rovaniemi, in Finnish Lapland, starting on Christmas Day.
To take part in a virtual journey to the home of Santa Claus, passengers will need access to a computer or smartphone and the experience will also be available to those who have VR headsets.
The virtual journeys will cost 10 euros per participant, and the proceeds will be donated to Unicef's fund for children adversely affected by the global pandemic.
The effort marks the airline's first foray into the world of VR, and the virtual 3D experience was developed by Finnish developers Zoan on the Unreal Engine gaming engine from US-based Epic Games.
The virtual flight experience is taken from the perspective of a passenger in a Finnair business class seat, where passengers will spend around 30 minutes flying beneath the Northern Lights, with a soundscape in the background, including virtual refreshments before landing in Rovaniemi where the journey ends at Santa's Workshop.
Zoan's COO, Laura Olin, said development of the VR flight has been in the works for more than a year and that the aim was to make the experience accessible to as many people as possible.
"Of course, most people don’t have VR headsets, so the Finnair VR flight is browser-based. It’ll offer a 360-degree view, so you can look around your seat at all times, but you can use your computer, your phone or a headset where you can utilise a browser if you have one," Olin said in a Finnair statement issued on Tuesday.
Like most airlines around the world, Finnair has been hard-hit by travel restrictions prompted b y the coronavirus crisis. In an effort to keep its in-flight catering staff employed, the airline made its first attempt at selling airplane meals in supermarkets earlier this year.