Handset addicts traveling domestically through Houston's Intercontinental Airport have likely utilized the paperless boarding option if hopping on a Continental flight, and apparently the initiative is going over so well that the aforesaid airline and the TSA are expanding it to three more venues. As of now, passengers traveling within the US can enjoy the same luxury at Boston's Logan International Airport and Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C; later this month, the program should slide into Newark International Airport in New Jersey. As expected, only folks traveling alone can take advantage, as the airline feels that pulling up passes for an entire group would actually slow the flow of boarding. There's been no word given on future expansion plans, but at this rate, we wouldn't be shocked to see it hit even more airports in the not-too-distant future.

[Via WBZTV]

In another mostly positive step for in-flight entertainment options, Continental Airlines will be rolling out DirecTV along with email and IM service on 225 of its planes starting next January -- the majority of its domestic fleet, according to Reuters -- although watching some tube will reportedly cost economy passengers six bucks-a-pop. Continental is teaming up with LiveTV on the venture, a subsidiary of JetBlue which also provides that airline with DirecTV, XM, and, more recently, limited Yahoo email and IM services courtesy of its 800MHz bandwidth acquisition. LiveTV will both provide and install a majority of the in-plane hardware in exchange for most of the revenue from economy section TV viewers; the 36 DirecTV channels will be free to first class passengers, and anyone with compatible devices and a Yahoo account can connect to the flying hotspots.

[Via Reuters]

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.

Although the Federal Communications Commission isn't exactly known for ruling in favor of popular consumer desire, even we have to give a hearty round of applause to the traditionally nettlesome agency for its edict in the WiFi battle at Boston-Logan International Airport. The Massachusetts Port Authority (better known as Massport) had ordered airlines that were providing wireless internet free of charge in their customer lounges to pull the plug in favor of fee-based services in 2005, but as we expected, the FCC overturned the pronouncement and agreed that the agency's "OTA reception devices regulations" allowed airlines to offer WiFi gratis. In a staggeringly pro-consumer remark, the Commission's commissioner insinuated that open internet access was meant to be free and readily available to travelers "who can make productive use of their time while waiting to catch their next flight." Bravo FCC, bravo.