Last week I flew back to New Orleans from D.C. on Delta, with a connecting flight in Atlanta. The trip was novel in that it was the first time that I’ve ever been able to use my phone as a boarding pass. And it’s a good thing that I didn’t have to print a boarding pass because I didn’t have easy access to a printer. I was helping my son move into his new place in D.C. and there was no Internet in his new place, and no printer. So having my boarding pass delivered to my iPhone was actually very helpful.
Here’s how it all unfolded.
Because I use Tripit Pro I was notified 24 hours before my flight via text message that I was eligible to check in. I clicked on the link TripIt sent me and was directed, via my iPhone’s mobile Safari browser, to a page where I could checkin. At the end of the process I was asked if I wanted to have the boarding pass delivered to my mobile phone, and I selected the option to do that.
A few minutes later I received the text message set forth below:
I simply clicked on the link that was contained in the text message and it opened a page in my mobile browser that looked like the image below:
I saved the mobile browser pages, figuring I’d need them when I got to the airport. I was worried that TSA might not accept the mobile ticket, but the officer who processed me was obviously used to people using their phones. He put my phone under the scanner and was immediately beeped with a confirmation that I was in their system.
Getting on the plane was just as easy. I knew what zone I was in and what seat I had been assigned (you can see it on the bar code above), so I waited until my zone was called and went up to the gate agent. She took my phone and held it under the scanner and, again, the computer beeped its acceptance and I was allowed to board.
I can’t wait until all airlines and airports adopt this. Tomorrow I have to fly to Miami and paperless ticketing is not an option (American Airlines is not as advanced as Delta). No doubt it will feel like I’m back in the Stone Age.