Arab News, Thursday, May 12, 2022 | Shawwal 11, 1443
Dubai airline Emirates embraces digital currencies and metaverse to attract new customers
Emirates: UAE flag carrier
Emirates plans to embrace advanced digital solutions such as blockchain,
metaverse, and cryptocurrency as part of its strategy to connect with customers
in a faster and more flexible way.
The Dubai-headquartered airline will hire new
staff for metaverse and non-fungible tokens, also known as NFTs, in an effort to
develop applications to monitor customer needs, Emirates Chief Operating Officer
Adel Ahmed Al-Redha told a media gathering at the Arabian Travel Market.
“NFTs and metaverse are two different applications
and approaches,” he explained, adding that the airline will also seek to use the
blockchain in tracing records of aircraft.
“With the metaverse, you will be able to transform
your whole processes — whether it is in operation, training, sales on the
website, or complete experience — into a metaverse type application, but more
importantly making it interactive,” he said.
The executive revealed that Emirates plans to
employ Bitcoin as a payment service while adding NFT collectibles on the
company’s websites for trading.
Speaking on the air travel industry, Al-Redha said
it has bounced back strongly which is evident in the number of travelers.
However, he flagged that the availability of
resources across the network is the biggest challenge, but added that they “are
in a better position than other countries because of the accessibility.”