Using a mobile phone as a boarding pass - the monthly blog from Andrew Sharp, Director General of IARO
I recently tried using my mobile phone as a boarding pass and found it quite difficult. Was this just me? I used a hotel computer to access my booking. This in itself was a bit of a bind, because I had to enter the number of the credit card I used to make the booking – and I have 4 possible credit cards!
Another hassle was that I tried to check in just under 24 hours in advance of my flight. I then found I could only check in 23 hours in advance because I might have a connecting flight – which (the system said) might be more than 24 hours later!
This is better, incidentally, than a recent experience with Air Canada. I was flying from London to Los Angeles via Vancouver, and couldn’t check in on line for my 9:50 flight from London until 22:20 the previous day - 11½ before departure from London but 24 hours before my flight from Vancouver!
Having retried an hour later and found my flight, I was sent a test transmission – a test message to my mobile phone. Having successfully got this, I was sent a text message with the 3-line URL of my boarding pass. This had to be copied and pasted into the browser field of my mobile phone’s internet connection so that I could be sent my boarding pass.
The boarding pass itself is a combined 2D bar code and text message. Next day at the airport, I had to show the text message to the security staff checking boarding passes and passports: I had to show the 2D bar code to the staff at the gate and the text message to the staff welcoming me on board the flight. Each time, of course, I had to connect my mobile phone to the internet to access the message.
I have yet to find what this cost!
I couldn’t help comparing this with the system on Airport Express Oslo. At the airport there is a ticket barrier with a screen and a credit card reader beside it. You swipe your credit card through the reader slot: there is a screen beside it with a short list of destinations and fares.. You touch the name of your final station on the screen, the barrier opens and you walk through. How wonderfully simple!
I hope you enjoyed reading this: I look forward to your feedback. Andrew
