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The general-session stage at your last conference may have set speakers above the audience, but the organizers of the first-ever me Convention have bigger plans for what they’ve dubbed “the world’s highest convention stage.” The honor is a nod to the event’s unorthodox setting: Flight LH455 from San Francisco to Frankfurt. On Sept. 13, passengers en route from the Bay Area to Germany for the three-day me Convention, curated by Mercedes Benz and SXSW, will be able to participate in the Lufthansa FlyingLab — the airline’s initiative to deliver in-flight conference-style education.
When I interviewed Torsten Wingenter, senior director of digital innovations at Lufthansa, for Convene in June, the company only had three of the in-the-sky conferences under its belt, but Wingenter hinted at the promise of more on the horizon. “There are so many possibilities for the FlyingLab concept,” Wingenter said at the time. “This is a way for passengers to learn and experience more as they’re preparing for education and engagement at traditional meetings and conferences.”
Wingenter will host tomorrow’s airborne program, which features a range of topics on the evolution of the digital world, such as self-driving cars, changes in the music industry, and corporate culture. My favorite session is by IBM Fellow John Cohn, who shared in the me Conference program: “I’m a passionate nerd. I love talking about my love of science and technology with anyone who will listen.”
A Busy Week in the Sky
Attendees en route to the me Convention aren’t the only ones accessing education more than 30,000 feet above the ground this week. On Sept. 11, passengers on Lufthansa Flight LH 405 from New York to Cologne, Germany, had a similar experience to prepare for the dmexco Conference. “Make new business contacts event before the actual dmexco has officially begun,” the invitation to purchase a FlyingLab package read.
What does being part of the FlyingLab cost? While the price tag varies based on route and booking window, Lufthansa offered dmexco attendees a round-trip economy seat for $1,145 USD that included tickets to the conference and a VIP opening party. Considering that regular admission to the conference was approximately $470 USD, that seems like a bargain.