Continental Airlines testing cellphone boarding passes

Paperless boarding schemes aren't exactly revolutionary, but they're still far from common at US airports. Now, however, Continental Airlines has announced that it will be trialing a cellphone-based boarding setup at Houston's Intercontinental Airport, which will enable single passengers (as in, one barcode per person, per device) to show personnel a jumbled mixture of blocks alongside their ID in order to hop on board. The three-month program will allow guinea pigs to receive a paper pass should their mobile / PDA run out of juice before boarding time approaches, and while hard plans for future use aren't laid out, it was noted that the process could spread to other airlines and airports if things go smoothly.

[Tonicboy @ Dec 5th 2007 12:09PM]

sweeet. combine that with mobile web-based online check-in and i'm a happy camper.

[michaelportent @ Dec 5th 2007 12:27PM]

Call me alarmist, but I see this and think that some terrorist organization will have a person hacking to fudge an electronic boarding pass. Hell, you could fudge any ID, but this just seems like an easy back door.

[Matthew Hilario @ Dec 5th 2007 12:27PM]

can't wait to see the roaming charges on your iphone after boarding. lol

[wasabi @ Dec 5th 2007 4:45PM]

you only get charged roaming if you use the phone... if you don't make any calls, how are you gonna get charged for it?

[Matthew Hilario @ Dec 5th 2007 7:15PM]

@wasabi

http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2007/09/10/att-is-cruising-for-a-bruising

"The problem was that their three Iphones were racking up a bill for data charges using foreign phone charges. The Iphone regularly updates e-mail, even while it's off, so that all the messages will be available when the user turns it on."

SHORRRYUKKEN!

[wasabi @ Dec 6th 2007 1:16AM]

interesting. thanks for the correction.

[John P @ Dec 5th 2007 12:29PM]

Anything to fix their boarding process at IAH. It's awful...

[fraggle @ Dec 5th 2007 12:30PM]

At security "please put everything in a plastic tray, And keep your boarding pass out and ready" errr...

[Todd @ Dec 5th 2007 12:49PM]

Exactly. Anyone who flies a lot knows that you need your boarding pass to get through the security checkpoint. They compare it to your ID/Passport and then initial the paper pass.

What happens with this system? I wouldn't be surprised if TSA agents tried to initial your phone if you handed it to them.

[Derrick @ Dec 5th 2007 1:58PM]

Many airports require the boarding pass before you enter the secured area but do not require them after that initial inspection. They even tell you to put your boarding pass and ID away before you enter the screening area.

[Anthony @ Dec 5th 2007 3:41PM]

They say to keep it out, but I know they never really look at them. I flashed one backwards earlier this week (by accident) & it wasn't an issue. But then when you're at the airport so frequently they know you it may be different.

[easty @ Dec 5th 2007 7:00PM]

Depends on the airport. I do the Savannah NYC trip a lot and the airports are good examples of complete opposites. But At all checkpoints they should ask for ID and boarding pass. then you should carry boarding bass through Metal detectors. ID not required, but A boarding Pass on a device certainly wouldn't suit the current scenario.

Fraggle

[justinbwill @ Dec 5th 2007 12:35PM]

So this is to speed up the process right? Come on.... how many customers are there that don't know how to use IR or bluetooth to get the digital pass? None the less.... how about when their device scans for devices to send it to it sees 20 of the same name.... LOL.... this won't work I don't expect... It will make it a longer wait if anything.

[Gadgetguy @ Dec 5th 2007 12:40PM]

This has been available at Westjet (in Canada) for a while. Works like a charm. Use your blackberry to check in, and show your blackberry at the airport with the boarding pass on its screen. I love it!

[justinbwill @ Dec 5th 2007 12:54PM]

Now if it was only blackberries I can see that with PIM.... but it's stating every cell phone isn't it?....

[Jeremy W @ Dec 5th 2007 5:05PM]

Your reading/image comprehension isn't very good. They use an optical scanner to read the barcode off the phone's screen. It would work exactly the same way if it were on paper.

[Gadgetguy @ Dec 5th 2007 1:02PM]

You can use any cellphone with Westjet. You can also log on from a regular PC (if your phone has no web access), and have the boarding pass sent to your phone. (The boarding pass is a text message, so any phone which can receive SMS or text email should work)

[mike @ Dec 5th 2007 1:04PM]

Dead battery? Sorry, you can't board your flight.

[Gadgetguy @ Dec 5th 2007 1:11PM]

If your battery is dead, you just go to the check-in counter and they print a paper bording pass for you...

[Hardcore @ Dec 5th 2007 1:17PM]

That "jumbled mixture of blocks" is called a 2D barcode.

[NHAnimator @ Dec 5th 2007 1:24PM]

"which will enable single passengers to show personnel"

Guess this means that Sybil won't be boarding any time soon. Sorry, Ms. Fields.

[acmorton @ Dec 5th 2007 1:57PM]

"How to use WestJet's mobile check-in," from WestJet's website:

http://c5dsp.westjet.com/guest/webcheckin/mobileTour.jsp

[Fracture @ Dec 5th 2007 4:43PM]

Westjet in Canada has been doing this for a while. They send a barcode to your phone. Works like a charm. You can also print your own pass.

Better than this, in my opinion, is that the major airlines have check-in/seat-selection terminals in most hotel lobbies around here now.

[pstelman @ Dec 5th 2007 3:19PM]

I wonder if they'll be able to scan the bar code on my iPhone with the polarized screen protector on it? (not easily removable)

[Phil @ Dec 5th 2007 8:43PM]

I used something like this to enter a NOKIA party

http://www.bcode.com/

it is just a series of characters that represent a unique ID, so any phone that gets a text message can use it. Then you place your phone up to a scanner which reads the text message and authenticates the code in the message. Pretty slick. Ideally they could make it so that they wouldn't need a human to check your boarding pass, you could just get scanned and authenticated by the computer, which would allow you access...

[Dr. Benway @ Dec 5th 2007 4:59PM]

What are boarding passes for, exactly? I work in the airline industry and I still don't know why I can't simply show up with my ID, they see I have a seat booked and let me sit in it.

Never mind making the paper electronic, how about we drop it altogether?

[ed @ Dec 5th 2007 5:31PM]

The whole point is to streamline the process. If the boarding agent had to look at your ID and correctly transcribe your name to look up your reservation, it would take much longer than scanning the barcode and moving on through.

Of course, that may make a case for national ID's - unified magstrip that could be scannable by the airlines... eck.

What's interesting is that on Southwest, if you've printed your boarding pass - if the scan goes bad (generally because the barcode gets wadded up when going through security), they've always just let me through and said don't worry about it. I'd assume they re-scan them (or manually enter in the numbers) before the flight takes off, and if something wasn't legit they'd empty the plane - but I can only imagine this will lead to more trouble like such.

[yuj @ Dec 5th 2007 5:38PM]

I can see a couple of scenarios..

"Hi,my name is Henry Smith and I booked a flight."

"I'm sorry but you're already booked for the flight"

or

if you happen to go on an international flight..

"I see that you're diabetic so we made sure your food is appropriate for your condition"

"Uh.. I'm not diabetic.."

[Jeremy W @ Dec 5th 2007 5:04PM]

Your reading/image comprehension isn't very good. They use an optical scanner to read the barcode off the phone's screen. It would work exactly the same way if it were on paper.

[Jeremy W @ Dec 5th 2007 5:04PM]

Your reading/image comprehension isn't very good. They use an optical scanner to read the barcode off the phone's screen. It would work exactly the same way if it were on paper.

[Nestor C. @ Dec 5th 2007 8:54PM]

Your posting comprehension isn't very good...

[WaffleMatt @ Dec 5th 2007 11:06PM]

Air Canada does this too, but I've always suspected it would cause more trouble than anything.

I'm flying next week, so I could try this, but I'll more likely just use the self-check-in booths that never have any lineup anyways.

[Adam @ Dec 5th 2007 10:36PM]

Air Canada has been doing this for about 6 months on Domestic and International flights. TSA hasn't let them do it on transborder flights yet. Long live tinfoil hats! Works like a charm. I admit I almost dropped my coffee the first time I saw the text "You have qualified for a mobile boarding pass!" when checking in on my Berry... From point A to B with NO paper. Awesome!

[Generic @ Dec 6th 2007 7:39AM]

so my shoes will be searched, my water is not allowed on board, but a potential bomb in the battery compartment is ok, hmm.