More and more travelers are getting their boarding passes on their cell phones, according to a recent report.
Mobile ticketing, where travelers receive a special bar code on their cell phones that acts as a boarding pass, is taking off at airports in Europe and the United States.
In the United States, Continental, Delta, and American are expanding the program. In Europe, Air France-KLM and British Midland Airways are also expanding the program. Soon the same process will also be used for rail service in Britain, Germany, and other nations.
John Weiss, managing director at Delta, says that “[t]his is more convenient for customers, and it’s also good for the environment.”
Continental Airlines, started the program in 2007. It now offers the program at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, San Antonio International Airport, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National.
American Airlines also introduced mobile boarding passes in November for passengers departing on domestic flights from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, Los Angeles International and John Wayne Orange County airport in California.
The paperless boarding pass shows an encrypted two-dimensional bar code along with passenger and flight information that identifies the traveler. TSA at security scans the bar code as the passengers go through.
Cell phone use for check-in surged when the International Air Transport Association introduced a global standard for the bar codes. They are more difficult to copy than standard bar codes.
Juniper Research, based in Hampshire, England, says that the airline industry can save $500 million a year by using mobile ticketing. “Not only could airlines slash paper and ink costs, but also the costs of the magnetic strip encoding equipment required to print tickets on paper with magnetic stripes.”
Of course there are down sides according to Betty Stark, a travel industry consultant in Madison, Wis.
“The system works only for a single reservation. Parents traveling with children, for example, are apparently not able to use the mobile process to check in,” she said. “Also, batteries can die, and computers can go down.”
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There are downsides and the program will be expanded over time, I’m sure. Yes, I agree that batteries die and computers go down. But you would just tell the gate agent to reprint your boarding pass and off you go. It’s still an e-ticket. It’s the same as today when you have an e-ticket and for some reason you misplace it – the airport agents just prints you another. It’s not the end of the world here!