But which initiatives are we likely to see in the next five to 10 years?

‘We can expect to see a fully tailored experience based on individual preferences, both at the airport and inflight,’ says Vogel. ‘Plus greater inflight connectivity opening up new streams such as inflight shopping, and fast inflight broadband so that passengers can access the same services in the air as on the ground.’

Can’t wait till you’re home to finish the latest Netflix series or desperately need to show your YouTube followers the inflight meal? That could soon be possible.

What do airlines get in return? Loyalty – repeat business – if they do it right.

And insights. As customers we have a valuable currency to trade in return for a smoother experience: our data, if we’re willing to share it.

Cathay Pacific rolled out Wi-Fi on its A350s last year, one of the more than 50 airlines around the world that now offer it.

Looking slightly further ahead, things get even better, or scarier, depending on your outlook. ‘The trends we see are artificial intelligence, like chatbots, coming together with big data,’ says Professor Erwin Huang, a tech entrepreneur and one of the judges at the Cathay Pacific Hackathon. ‘If this is used well it can change the world.’

For the winners of the Hackathon, their world has already shifted a little bit. They’ve been offered fast-track access to Cathay’s IT trainee programme and their app, designed to make inflight service quicker and easier, could well be one of those given the ‘make it real’ treatment.

Top six ideas from the Cathay Pacific Hackathon

TouchCX (winner): Inflight service app for ordering amenities and making requests from your smartphone as well as group-buy options for inflight shopping and voice-enabled translation functions.

Fight4Flight (first runner-up): Delay notification and re-planning app providing status reports, alternative flight proposals and activity suggestions.

Aviators (second runner-up): Dining, shopping and activity manager, with in-airport or destination itineraries and suggestions targeting passengers on connecting flights.

Cathay First: Inflight service personaliser using Facebook and Asia Miles integration to create tailored movie lists, song lists, dining suggestions with gamification elements.

Betsy: Travel concierge and entertainment app with boarding time countdown, bill-split function and personalised inflight entertainment suggestions.

Hacksmart: Travel itinerary planner with a conversational chatbot, personalised route suggestion and Asia Miles redemption offers.