When e-tickets first rolled out, they held the promise of paperless travel. For example, Alaska Airlines, the first domestic U.S. carrier to introduce wireless check-in back in early 2001, offered this nugget to the media when they rolled it out: “Once a passenger checks in via a cell phone or another wireless device, he or she can go directly to the appropriate gate, show a photo identification and board the plane.” Ha!
Ah, what could’ve been. I was reminded of the pre-9/11 predictions of how e-travel would be when I read how Northwest Airlines rolled out upgrades to their website, allowing you to perform a greater number of services via wireless devices. If you browse over to their site with your mobile, you’ll be able to buy tickets, change reservations, check in, etc. (Other airlines, such as Southwest, let you check in for your flights, but don’t let you buy tickets wirelessly.) But fully electronic travel, once promised, is a bust. It’s still a paper-trail world. The trees aren’t safe.
You can’t print a paper boarding pass from your smartphone, after all. Even in Europe, where you can use SMS text messaging to check in, you still need to stop at an airport kiosk and choose to “reprint” the pass.
After 9/11, it was no longer possible to go through security without a paper boarding pass. Mind you, the real security benefit of this requirement is highly questionable. Sure, it means that fewer people actually pass through security, but having a slip of paper with your name on it really doesn’t make you any more or less of a threat. (See, for example, the hoopla surrounding the fake boarding pass generator.)
At the end of the day, I’m glad to have Northwest and others on the wireless train. Being able to make changes via the wireless web really is an improvement. But it falls short of the predictions that we could skip the paper boarding passes altogether. Or that gate readers could scan a phone, or swipe a card, at the gate. That would really put the “e” back into e-tickets. Dare to dream.
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Related:
- Forged boarding passes: Fraud, yes, but where is the security threat?
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May 28th, 2007 at 9:08 am
I don’t know which European airline you’re referring to, but at least with Finnair you can check-in paperless with SMS just fine.
You receive an SMS from them with the flight details and seat, and you just reply with an ‘A’ letter to acknowledge the check-in. With carry-on luggage you just go directly through the security to the gate and show your ID to board. If you have checked luggage, there’s a baggage drop before going through security.
Although the airline part is paperless, I’m not 100% sure if you can go through the security with just the mobile phone or if one needs to print the e-ticket to confirm that you really have a flight reservation. Anyway, no need to reprint any boarding passes.
May 28th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Petri,
In Europe, I’m thinking offhand of Lufthansa, Air France, or KLM. They all require a paper boarding pass, even after electronic, phone, or SMS check-in.
I have never had the pleasure of flying Finnair, I’m afraid. But it sounds like Finland’s airport security is more flexible than other European countries’, and doesn’t require a paper boarding pass. Hats off to Finland! But other European airlines are quite clear: You need a paper boarding pass.
For example, if using telephone check-in on KLM, here are the instructions for what happens after you’ve checked in:
Or Lufthansa’s instructions for finalizing check-in once you’ve received the SMS confirmation:
Finnair on the other hand, lets you skip the paper boarding pass at some airports, though it’s not entirely clear which specific airports:
What’s a “Finnair service point”? It’s not simply an airport served by the airline. Try getting through security at New York-JFK without paperwork, even if you’re flying Finnair… Nevertheless, it sounds like Finland’s airports are paperless. So thanks, Petri, for the correction. Viva Suomi!
Are there other airlines/countries that let you truly avoid printing boarding passes? Let me know!
—-
Links to phone/WAP/SMS check-in policies:
Lufthansa:
http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/info_and_services/checkin?l=en&nodeid=1771352
KLM:
http://www.klm.com/travel/in_en/travel_information/checkin_options/telephone_checkin/index.htm
Air France:
http://www.airfrance.fr/FR/fr/local/guidevoyageur/e_services/e_services_serveur_vocal.htm?BV_SessionID=@@@@1275979474.1180362110@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfaddlddfjdkfcefecekedfnfdfol.0
Finnair:
http://www.finnair.com/finnaircom/wps/portal/finnair/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKL9473DAbJgFjOnvqRyCIu8c7eqCLe8S4-cBFfj_zcVP2g1Lx4T78QfW_9AP2C3NDQiHJHRQC7Ua6A/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvd0ZNQUFzQUMvNElVRS82X0tfM1VF
May 28th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I believe “Finnair service point” is a check-in operated directly by Finnair and not by a 3rd party company or other Oneworld alliance member.
Anyway, the most important part is in the first part of that web page. The boarding pass -less travel is available only to frequent flyer members and only at Helsinki and Stockholm. So when checking in at JFK, one still needs to go the old fashioned way..
Then again, also the security check at HEL is reasonably easy and comfortable. They do the silly things with liquids and everything but it’s rather painless and quick.
I guess Finnair is both small enough to make things work and big enough to have the resources to make things work. Not that I like everything they’re doing but I like their short-haul service, new fleet (not the MD11’s, though), and wine cellar ..
May 30th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
I have heard of people who check in online and who “print” the boarding pass as a PDF and are able to get by the screeners. However, I don’t think they have figured out how to scan it.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:29 am
At one time, Delta would let Medallion elite flyers use their SkyMiles card as a boarding pass — you would scan the barcode on the back and board the aircraft. Come 9/11, that went by the wayside and it’s back to supporting Georgia Pacific and Weyerhauser.
Remember that the original ID requirements were all about preventing the transfering of tickets, forcing a “security” screening when the real purpose (IMO) was all about revenue protection.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:56 am
Have you heard of this happening recently? At every airport I’ve passed through in recent memory in the U.S., the ID checkers in the security line have always written (initials, or sometimes just a line) on the pass. I’d rather not have them write on my laptop screen.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:39 am
Donald, I think that revenue protection is still central to the ID requirement. But now, on top of that, under the guise of security, they’re trying to limit the number of people who pass through the checkpoints. As I’ve said before, checking ID’s against boarding passes really does nothing for security, unless the ID checker has the entire list of international wanted criminals memorized.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:19 pm
True….I could have a reservation under the name of Obie Laden and as long as the drivers license photo matched my face, and the name matched the reservation, I’d be through the checkpoint in a flash.
It’s all security kabuki, choreographed by that noted director Kip Hawley.