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Mobile Boarding Passes: Airlines to be compliant by the end of 2010

The paperless boarding pass

Tired of trying to keep track of all your boarding passes when on those long trans-continental flights? Hate when broken kiosks at the airport force you to stand in a line snaking halfway around the airport just so you can print your boarding pass?  Fret not, as those days will soon be behind you with the implementation of the paperless Bar Coded Boarding Pass (BCBP), a boarding pass that can be uploaded directly to your mobile phone.

Even though you may not know it, most travelers are already familiar with the BCBP, as it is the system that allows you to print out your boarding passes at home after checking in online. Already been in the testing phase for several years by a handful of airlines, the mobile boarding pass is the next logical step in making air travel that much faster. After all, with all the post 9/11 regulations, travelers could use a little break. All it requires is that you download the boarding pass to your mobile phone or PDA, which will then be checked by an agent yielding a hand-held scanner.

In the hope of reducing check-in time at airports, as well enhancing the overall experience of travelers, the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), is requiring that all of its 230 member airlines be 100% BCBP compliant by the end of 2010. While this includes almost all major airlines such as Delta, Air France, and British Airways, it may be awhile longer before we see this system in use on the low cost carriers such as easyJet and Ryanair.

Not only will the system reduce the amount of time spent at the airport, but it stands to significantly reduce the expenses of the airlines, which in turn equals savings for us poor student travelers! Another plus is that paper costs for airlines and airports, as they pertain to boarding passes, will be cut by 100%. Which makes this system a huge step in reducing the carbon footprint that the airline industry imposes on the environment. Now who out there isn’t up for going green?

For a list of the IATA airlines click here.