The surprising way Virgin Australia passengers are passing the time
Let’s face it, flights aren’t exactly the most exciting part of a holiday. They can be long, boring, uncomfortable and exhausting. So, to combat boredom and provide passengers with a more productive way to pass the time, one airline has introduced an ingenious in-flight activity.
Last year, Virgin Australia got together with Open Universities Australia to bring short courses from some of the country’s best educational institutions to the skies via Virgin’s Wi-Fi system. The courses condense about four weeks’ worth of learning into just four hours, perfect to complete during a flight. If you don’t quite finish, however, you can save your progress and log back in later.
And it seems to be a surprising hit. According to data released by Open Universities Australia, there have been approximately 50,000 enrolments since the courses were first rolled out.
Among flyers’ subjects of choice were psychology, food nutrition and project management. A new catalogue of courses from Open2Study will be introduced next month, bringing such topics as crime and astronomy to travellers.
“We’re excited to see how flyers engage with the new courses across astronomy, anthropology, crime and conflict management,” head of Open2Study, Hani Banna, told news.com.au.
“Being able to study really fascinating and engaging short courses will make it feel like the time on flights goes by much quicker and the time is being used more productively.”
Have you tried any of these courses on a Virgin Australia flight? Did you enjoy it? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.