--- title: British Airways Happiness Blanket Senses Your Mood In-Flight description: British Airways 'happiness blanket' detects passengers' moods. canonical: https://time.com/2949354/british-airways-happiness-blanket/ author: Anita Hamilton article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-02T14:56:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:58:16.376Z og:title: This Blanket Will Tell Your Flight Attendant Exactly How Unhappy You Are og:description: British Airways has tested the wearable tech on select flights og:url: https://time.com/2949354/british-airways-happiness-blanket/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1550e94d34e4668e/69869a42cd68481dbc095818/happiness-blanket-british-airways.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1920 og:image:height: 1080 og:image:alt: Happiness blanket - British airways og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Blanket Will Tell Your Flight Attendant Exactly How Unhappy You Are twitter:description: British Airways has tested the wearable tech on select flights twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1550e94d34e4668e/69869a42cd68481dbc095818/happiness-blanket-british-airways.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Blanket Will Tell Your Flight Attendant Precisely How Unhappy You Are > Sponsored content. 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It covers the reporting, scoops and conversations shaping AI and the decisions facing leaders. #### Where can I get reported AI news rather than commentary? In the Loop is TIME's AI newsletter, built on original reporting and access to the people building and governing AI. It publishes Tuesdays and Fridays and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes TIME's In the Loop? Harry Booth, a tech reporter at TIME, writes In the Loop. #### Is In the Loop free? Yes. In the Loop is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-loop-2026q3/newsletters?i=bc8f26ed-7a19-4616-9d79-d9cc2a999842&cr=time-nl-loop-2026q3-v1) ## Video: British Airways - The Happiness Blanket [Watch (HLS stream): British Airways - The Happiness Blanket](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ltdnnlGN.m3u8) (2:08)  _Published 2014-07-02. British Airways - The Happiness Blanket_ by [Anita Hamilton](https://time.com/author/anita-hamilton/) ## Anita Hamilton Jul 2, 2014 2:56 PM UTC British Airways - The Happiness Blanket by [Anita Hamilton](https://time.com/author/anita-hamilton/) ## Anita Hamilton Jul 2, 2014 2:56 PM UTC British Airways wants to make its planes your happy place. To help take your mind off the alarming air turbulence, the hundreds of strangers you’re sardined in with, and the full-body stop-and-frisk you may have endured for flying with them, they’re testing a “happiness blanket” that will convey your “meditative state” throughout the trip. The blanket doesn’t magically make you happy. (If only …) Instead, it helps the airline figure out what makes you happy other than copious amounts of bloody Marys and a double-dose of Xanax. It works in conjunction with a headband, which measures your brain wave activity, then wirelessly conveys it to the blanket, which is embedded with red and blue LED lights. They flash red when you’re miserable or blue when you’re in “a Zen-like state of mind.” Not surprisingly, flyers’ moods fluctuate the most when using in-flight entertainment or eating. “What we found was that the blankets turned bluer when people were relaxing, such as sleeping, listening to relaxing music, or eating, as that created a feeling of well-being. However, eating cheese for example can often turn the blankets red, as that releases a chemical in the brain which increases brain activity,” says the airlines’ consumer PR manager, Michael Johnson, who adds that the blankets will not be made available to paying customers. No word on how flyers reacted to arrival delays, abrupt [changes in elevation](http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/cabin-pressurization/) or news that they’re out of the chicken entrée but the vegetarian meal is still available. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] What if there were something that could actually measure your well being while you fly. To put the experience of flying with us to the test, we invented the happiness blanket and conducted a unique live experiment a 30, 000 feet. Using portable neuro sensor technology, we developed a wearable device which measures the electrical fluctuations in the neurons of the brain identifying when the wear is experiencing a feeling of well being. This information is relayed via bluetooth to fiber optics woven into the blanket which visually indicate. What the wearer is feeling. When a person is stressed or anxious the blanket turns red. When calm and relaxed it turns blue. We then conducted our experiment on actual flights between London and New York. And here is what we discovered. Initially, there are fluctuations as the passengers settle in. But there is a noticeable lift in the passenger's mood whilst enjoying food and drink. You can also see the variations in response to different types of films and entertainment. From comedy to thrillers [ MUSIC ] But most importantly, we discovered the unwavering sense of well- being created by being to sink into deep, undisturbed sleep. [ MUSIC ] So we know that all the enhancements we've made. From the seat to the cuisine, entertainment and lighting have a positive affect on your mind and body, which means you can really see the difference when people fly with British Airways. 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