In an era where customer experience has become the ultimate differentiator in aviation, few leaders have pushed the boundaries of what’s possible quite like Christian Grou. As Co-Founder and CEO of Neutral Digital, which is a part of Maxposure Limited, Christian has spent over two decades at the intersection of architectural visualization and aviation innovation, creating immersive digital experiences that don’t just tell stories—they transform how passengers connect with airline brands before they even step foot on a plane.
From the groundbreaking QVerse platform that has become Qatar Airways’ digital commerce cornerstone to the photorealistic CGI recreations of ANA’s revolutionary business class cabins, Christian’s work, in fact, represents a fundamental shift in how the aviation industry approaches customer engagement. His studio’s recent showcase at the Paris Air Show 2025 exemplified this evolution, where immersive installations like “The Orchard”—a meticulously crafted virtual recreation of Hamad International Airport’s indoor garden—offered visitors genuine “try-before-you-fly” moments that blur the line between digital and physical experience.
What Sets Christian Apart
What sets Christian apart isn’t just his technical expertise or his team’s ability to create stunning visual narratives. It’s his deep understanding that immersive technologies must serve a greater purpose: delivering measurable business value while creating more human-centered engagement strategies. With Neutral Digital’s solutions now spanning from aviation to rail, urban mobility, and hospitality, Christian has proven that when customer experience meets cutting-edge technology, the results can be transformative for both brands and their customers.
Today, we dive deep into Christian’s vision for the future of customer experience in aviation, exploring how immersive technologies are reshaping passenger engagement, the challenges of balancing innovation with practical business outcomes, and, in fact, what the next frontier looks like as the web evolves into a 3D-first environment.
The QVerse Platform
Q1. The QVerse platform has become a cornerstone of Qatar Airways’ digital commerce strategy. What specific customer experience challenges were you solving when you first developed this platform, and how has it evolved?
CG: The main customer experience challenge was the inability of traditional 2D interfaces and
solutions to adequately present a spatial product – like an airline cabin and the placement of seats – in a convincing and engaging way. Many passengers are left asking themselves what the seat looks like, how much available space there is, if there is an infant bassinet available and indeed what the meal service looks like.
Q2. You mentioned that your platforms deliver “measurable returns” and improve conversion rates. Can you share some insights into how immersive CX translates into concrete business outcomes for airlines?
CG: Click rates and bookings directly originating from the QVerse are irrefutable evidence of
conversion rates. The introduction of ancillary revenue booking, as well as flight search options
linked to Qatar Airways’ main booking engine further solidified the QVerse as a bona fide
business tool.
ANA’s Room
Q3. Your CGI work for ANA’s Room FX business class cabin is stunning. How do you balance the artistic vision with the practical need to accurately represent the customer experience passengers will actually have?
CG: Given our background in architecture, which includes precision architectural engineering, as well as a high fidelity spatial representation, our team creates extremely accurate digital twin models of aircraft interiors. The aention to detail, materials, lighting and realistic rendering allows the airlines to accurately represent their cabin product and add a strong element of storytelling and also visual brand building. Prior to publication, all material is checked and undergoes stringent scrutiny by the airlines’ product and cabin teams to ensure alignment with the actual aircraft environment, including lighting and mood seing accessories.
Q4. With 25 years in aviation experience, you’ve seen the industry transform dramatically. How has customer expectation evolved, and where do you see the biggest gaps in current airline CX strategies?
CG: Airlines have improved the customer experience within their cabins dramatically. Wellbeing, olfactory branding elements, aural identity, mood lighting – and also the adoption of next generation aircraft with less pressurised cabins featuring higher humidity levels – all helped shape a much more pleasant flight experience. Airlines struggle expressing and showcasing these all-important individual and unique aspects of their service. Here is where our immersive expertise comes into play: airlines can create stories and steer the narrative of their communication into a much more evocative direction.
Mission-Critical Digital Assets
Q5. You describe your solutions as “mission-critical digital assets” rather than just storytelling tools. What makes an immersive experience truly mission-critical for an airline’s customer experience strategy?
CG: Business success very often goes hand in hand with a unique and specialised offering. Using an immersive tool to allow customers to explore a product in their own time and using high fidelity 3D interactive visuals aracts increasing numbers of users of a wide demographic. Our products elevate this first customer touchpoint from a traditional 2D website with static images and text, to a 360° immersive experience. Being able to highlight the uniqueness of their cabin product, airlines engage passengers early on before their flight and enable users to book flights and services straight from that immersive experience. Here is where a marketing tool morphs into a business tool and therefore becomes indispensable in today’s medialised world.
Q6. The concept of “try-before-you-fly” is fascinating. How do you see this approach changing the traditional airline booking and decision-making process for customers?
CG: We strongly believe that the future of the internet is 3D. Supporting airlines trace an entire
experience – from check-in, through the airport facilities to the cabin and their actual seat – is
revolutionary and will enable airlines to engage with customers in a completely novel way. When we add the dimension of AI-enabled personal assistants to this mix, the future is already shaping before our eyes.
Rail, Urban Mobility, Hospitality, Rail
Q7. Your work spans beyond aviation into rail, urban mobility, and hospitality. Are there common CX principles that apply across all mobility sectors, or does each require a completely different approach?
CG: Each vertical has its specifics. But what all our solutions have in common is an element of
spatial and 3D representation which expands the perception of products and services. Mobility enables us to move from one place to another; exemplifying the actual customer experience and stages of a voyage requires specialised solutions for each of the areas we work in.
Q8. You mentioned the web evolving into a “3D-first environment.” What does this mean for traditional airline websites and booking experiences? How should CX leaders prepare for this shift?
CG: The answer is simple. What we call a website today, will become a spatial, immersive,
interactive experience. AI-enabled personal assistants will guide and accompany users of these immersive spaces in the same way in which more prosaic physical machines are also integrated into our current daily life.
AI-Enabled Interfaces
Q9. How are AI-enabled interfaces or virtual assistants enhancing user interaction within immersive experiences, and what potential do you see for these technologies in transforming aviation customer experience?
CG: The level of engagement exponentially increases once a familiar language model is used by such AI-enabled personal assistants. We are only starting to explore possibilities, but Qatar Airways’ digital crew, called “Sama”, already talks to passengers and allows them to even book flights without the need to use a keyboard. Casually talking to a digital assistant and booking flights using voice only becomes ubiquitous with the “Sama Focus Mode”, the integrated QVerse module where conversational flight bookings are already a reality
Q10. When working with major airlines like Qatar Airways and ANA, how do you ensure that innovative immersive experiences align with their existing customer journey and brand identity?
CG: At the onset of a project, we have a detailed discovery and surveying phase. Our team very meticulously analyses the physical and immaterial brand of our major clients; we scour corporate identity kits and manuals, we survey aircraft photographically and also research the airline’s social media and web presence. Major airlines are very often flag carriers and intrinsically embody nations, cultures and traditions – our work carries a responsibility we take very seriously.
Misconception About Immersive Technology
Q11. What’s the biggest misconception airlines have about immersive technology and, in fact, its role in customer experience?
CG: One of the biggest misconceptions is that immersive solutions are “just” a marketing gimmick for tech aficionados. Our solutions are geared towards mass deployment; any connected device can access the QVerse, users of all ages instinctively know how to operate a 360° environment using their smartphone’s touchscreen. In finding the right technical solution, we have proven that immersive solutions transcend cultures, generational gaps, digital proficiency levels and more importantly, become a solid, revenue-generating tool.
Q12. From a customer experience perspective, what excites you most about the future of aviation? What breakthrough or innovation do you think will have the biggest impact on passenger satisfaction?
CG: Overall, wellbeing and stressfree travel are key factors in passenger satisfaction. Introducing connected, AI-enabled travel experiences both on the ground and in the air, increasing personalisation on board and offering tailored solutions will shape the next generation of customer experiences in mobility.
Where To Start
Q13. For CX leaders in aviation who want to explore immersive technologies but don’t know where to start, what would be your advice for taking that first step?
CG: Leaders should follow the moo: “Show me, don’t tell me.” If a customer sees and explores an experience, they will remember it and forge an emotional bond. Neutral Digital are the perfect partner to take the first steps into an immersive, spatial and sensory-rich experience world.
Q14. Looking ahead, what’s next for Neutral Digital, and how do you see the company continuing to push the boundaries of customer experience in aviation and beyond?
CG: Our DNA is based on pushing the boundaries of technology and experience. Using tech to
evoke emotion is our strength. We continue to retain our inquisitive edge and move with the
leaders in technology. But always keeping a human element, narrative approach and emotional engagement at the core of our solutions.
Closing
Christian’s insights reveal a fundamental truth about the future of customer experience in aviation: the most successful airlines won’t be those that simply adopt new technologies, but those that thoughtfully integrate immersive experiences into their broader customer journey strategy. His work with Neutral Digital demonstrates that when cutting-edge visualization meets deep industry expertise, the result isn’t just beautiful digital experiences—it’s measurable business transformation.
The evolution from traditional airline marketing to immersive, interactive brand experiences represents more than a technological shift; it’s a response to changing customer expectations in an increasingly digital world. As Christian highlighted, today’s passengers don’t just want to be told about premium cabin features or airport amenities—they want to experience them firsthand, even before making their booking decision. This “try-before-you-fly” approach isn’t just innovative; it’s becoming essential for airlines that want to differentiate themselves in an commoditized market.
What makes Christian’s perspective particularly valuable is his emphasis on the business impact of immersive CX. Too often, new technologies are adopted for their novelty rather than their ability to drive real outcomes. Christian’s focus on conversion optimization, customer engagement metrics, and integration with digital commerce strategies shows how immersive experiences can become true business assets rather than expensive experiments.
Immersive CX
The expansion of Neutral Digital’s work beyond aviation into rail, urban mobility, and hospitality sectors also points to a broader trend: immersive CX isn’t just an aviation phenomenon. As the web evolves toward 3D-first experiences, industries across the mobility spectrum will need to rethink how they engage with customers in digital spaces. Christian’s cross-industry approach provides valuable insights for CX leaders looking to stay ahead of this curve.
Perhaps most importantly, Christian’s vision for the future emphasizes human-centered design principles. Despite all the technical sophistication behind platforms like QVerse or the photorealistic precision of ANA’s CGI cabin recreations, the ultimate goal remains creating more meaningful, more intuitive, and more satisfying customer experiences. As we move toward an increasingly digital future, this human-centered approach will be what separates truly transformative CX from mere technological spectacle.
For CX professionals in aviation and beyond, Christian’s work serves as both inspiration and roadmap. The future of customer experience lies not in choosing between digital and physical touchpoints, but in creating seamless, immersive journeys that leverage the best of both worlds. As Christian and his team at Neutral Digital continue to push these boundaries, they’re not just creating impressive visualizations—they’re defining what customer experience will look like in the next generation of mobility.
About Christian Grou
Founder & CEO, Neutral Digital Architect | Digital Innovation Leader | Pioneer in Immersive Experience Design
Christian Grou is the Founder and CEO of Neutral Digital, a pioneering immersive media agency at the intersection of design, technology, and architecture. Originally co-founded in Tokyo in 1999, Neutral has grown into a multidisciplinary studio now headquartered in London, establishing itself as a global leader in interactive 3D, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), immersive storytelling, and next-generation brand experience platforms.
Expertise & Vision
With over 25 years of global experience in digital transformation across aviation, architecture, and cultural sectors, Christian brings a unique perspective that seamlessly blends design sensibility with deep technological fluency. His leadership has been instrumental in driving innovation in passenger experience and onboard product design, while shaping the digital strategies of leading global carriers.
Notable Projects & Collaborations
Christian has spearheaded strategic experience design and immersive platform development for prestigious aviation clients including Qatar Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa, and British Airways. The studio’s groundbreaking work on QVerse and Qatar Airways’ “The Orchard” installation at the Paris Air Show 2025 exemplifies the cutting-edge application of interactive 3D environments and mixed-reality tools in redefining digital touchpoints across industries.
As a trained architect with a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urbanism, Christian’s multidisciplinary approach encompasses urban design, architectural visualization, and creative technology. His creative collaborations with globally renowned architects—including Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron, and David Adjaye—have resulted in acclaimed films and animations that explore public architecture, museum spaces, and urban futures.
Recognition & Exhibitions
Christian’s visionary work has earned recognition at some of the world’s most prestigious international art and design institutions:
The Guggenheim Museum (New York City)
Tate Modern (London)
The Design Museum (London)
Victoria & Albert Museum (London)
Venice Architecture Biennale
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NYC
In 2007, the Architecture Foundation in London held a retrospective of Neutral’s digital and architectural film work, affirming Christian’s significant influence on both digital art and built environment discourse.
Future Focus
Today, Christian continues to push boundaries in XR (extended reality), human-machine interaction, and AI-integrated immersive platforms. His work delivers brand experiences that are intuitive, predictive, and emotionally resonant, with a focus on redefining how brands inhabit digital space. By combining aesthetic excellence with emerging technologies, Christian creates solutions that transcend traditional screens and point toward the future of human engagement with digital environments.
