Back in July, Air France announced plans to launch an airline that specifically targets millennials, raising the question of what, exactly, that actually means. Well today, Air France shared some new details: “Joon” will offer young folks various lifestyle innovations, like surprise destinations, “Airbnb experiences,” and VR headsets for in-flight entertainment.
There’s a whole cottage industry dedicated to bemoaning all the ways millennials are failing to do the crap their parents did while they flushed the world down the toilet. Meanwhile, businesses understand that they have to find new ways to appeal to this demographic that represents over a quarter of the population in the US, according to the last census. So what do these mysterious, diverse, and lazy people want? If Joon is correct, they just want what other generations want, but they want it to be a little bit different.
Millennials may be savvier about sleazy branding tactics, but they also obsessively follow the lives of minor-celebrities on Snapchat in order to feel like they’re living the high life. According to a release from Joon, flyers will get a taste of that boutique lifestyle because Joon isn’t just an airline, it’s “a fashion brand, a rooftop bar, an entertainment channel, a personal assistant … and Joon does flying too!”
Let’s break this down:
Joon is a fashion brand because the flight attendants will wear an electric blue uniform that reflects a “chic sportswear look.” It’s kind of like the stylish and colorful uniforms worn by the attendants of PanAm in the 1960s.
It’s a “rooftop bar” because it will offer some food (20 percent organic options) and beverages (some of them infused with vitamins). The bar does not seem to be on the roof of the airplane, but the plane itself will fly above all roofs.
It’s an “entertainment channel” because you can stream movies and shows on a laptop, smartphone, or tablet. It’s kind of like that weird screen in the back of the seat that airlines for old people usually have, but in this case, you bring your own screen. Don’t have your own screen? That’s where the AlloSky Virtual Reality Headset comes in.
Announced today at the Apex Expo in California, Joon’s headset was designed by Allomind and is being positioned as a lightweight personal theater. It features two 1080p micro-OLED displays working in tandem to, apparently, give the illusion that you’re watching a ten-foot screen. If you have a travel companion, you can sync your feeds and watch simultaneously.
Last, but not least, Joon is a “personal assistant” because it offers services like the option to rent out your car to strangers while you’re gone through TravelCar, get tourism advice from Airbnb operators, be forced into traveling to a random destination through Waynabox, and crowdfunding your airfare through Paper Plane, a service that hasn’t debuted yet.
As a millennial, I can report that this is all fine. It’s fine. I’ll probably get nauseous using VR on a plane. I would never use most of these services—I don’t care. And I can’t afford to hit any of Joon’s destinations anyway. If an airline really wants to appeal to millennials, they should offer frequent flyer miles for racking up student loan debt. You can “discover the spirit of Joon” in this Old Navy-meets-iPod promotional video below.
[Joon via The Next Web]