Mobile Phones As Boarding Passes
With 80% of US air travelers using electronic check-ins, airports and airlines are looking for other areas to implement technology to speed up boarding times (and, cough, remove the human component). The New York Times points to a test by Continental where their customers can pass through security and board their planes by flashing their mobile phones. Security and airline staff can scan barcodes that are displayed on a phone in the same way they scan paper passes today. The NY Times reports:
The mobile check-in may well be the first step in direct communications between airlines and passengers as they travel. Ultimately, Henry H. Harteveldt, a vice president with Forrester Research, said he expected airlines would use mobile messaging to communicate with passengers about on-board services, rebooking options, baggage pickup and ticket purchases.
“It’s clear that mobile is the gateway to how airlines will interact with their customers in the future for almost anything,” he said.
…As mobile devices become more sophisticated and applications for smaller screens evolve, airlines expect passengers will be able to use their phones, BlackBerrys and other mobile devices for a growing number of services, like rebooking a ticket after a missed connection, switching seats, checking standby status or seeking an upgrade.
“We kind of like the idea long term of having a kiosk in your pocket,” said Mark Bergsrud, senior vice president for marketing programs and distribution with Continental.
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This has a lot of potential. A lot is being done with bar codes on PDAs/cell phones. One website I was at required the user to have special bar code reading software to download their software. It will be interesting to watch it develop.