Bar-coded Boarding Pass - Mobile Boarding Passes

Mobile Boarding Passes

'Paper is out, Cellphones are in' read the NY Times on March 18, 2008. BCBP can also be sent to mobile phones, via MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), email, WAP Push or via an app. IATA's BCBP standard defines the three symbologies accepted for mobile phones: Aztec code, Datamatrix and QR code. The United Nations International Telecommunications Union expected mobile phone subscribers to hit the 4 billion mark by the end of 2008.

For Air France's VP Marketing, electronic boarding passes are 'the industry's next major technological innovation after e-ticketing'.

According to SITA's Airline IT Trend Survey 2009, mobile BCBP accounts for 2.1% of use (vs. paper boarding passes) and forecast rising to 11.6% in 2012.

At least 30 airlines use mobile BCBP:

• Aegean Airlines
• Aer Lingus
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air France
• Air New Zealand
• Alaska Airlines
• Alitalia
• American Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• China Southern Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Emirates (except US flights)
• Finnair
• Hainan Airlines
• Iberia
• Jet Airways (JetPrivilege members only)
• KLM
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Malaysia Airlines
• Olympic Air
• Qantas (domestic)
• Qatar Airways
• Scandinavian Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• Spanair
• Swiss International Air Lines
• US Airways
• Vueling
• WestJet

In Europe, Lufthansa was one of the first airlines to launch Mobile BCBP in April 2008. In the US, the Transportation Security Administration runs a pilot program of a Boarding Pass Scanning System, using the IATA BCBP standard.

• On October 15, 2008, the TSA announced that scanners would be deployed within a year and scanning mobile BCBP would enable to better track wait times. The TSA keeps adding new pilot airports: Cleveland on October 23, 2008. The TSA's plan to allow mobile boarding passes at airports nationwide in 2009 has been captured by MSNBC.
• On October 14, 2008, Alaska Airlines started piloting mobile boarding passes at Seattle Seatac Airport.
• On November 3, 2008, Air New Zealand launched the mpass, a boarding pass received on the mobile phone.
• On November 10, 2008, Qatar Airways launched their online check-in: passengers can have their boarding passes sent directly to their mobile phones.
• On November 13, 2008, American Airlines started offering mobile boarding passes in Chicago O'Hare airport.
• On December 18, 2008, Cathay Pacific launched its mobile Check-in service, including the delivery of the barcode to the mobile phone.
• On February 24, 2009, Austrian Airlines begun offering paperless boarding passes to customers on selected routes.
• On April 16, 2009, SAS joined the mobile boarding pass bandwagon.
• On May 26, 2009, Air China offered its customers to receive a two-dimensional bar-code e-boarding pass on their mobile phone, with which they can go through security procedures at any channel in Beijing Airport Terminal 3, enabling a completely paperless check-in service.
• On October 1, 2009, Swiss introduced mobile boarding pass to its customers.
• On November 12, 2009, Finnair explained that "The mobile boarding pass system cuts passengers’ carbon footprint by removing the need for passengers to print out and keep track of a paper boarding pass".
• On 15 March 2010, United became the latest airline to offer mobile boarding passes to customers equipped with smartphones.