A boarding pass is a document provided by an airline during check-in, giving a
passenger permission to board the airplane for a particular flight. As a
minimum, it identifies the passenger, the flight number, and the date and
scheduled time for departure. In some cases, flyers can check in online and
print the boarding passes themselves. A boarding pass may be required for a
passenger to enter a secure area of an airport.
Generally a passenger with an electronic ticket will only need a boarding pass.
If a passenger has a paper airline ticket, that ticket may be required to
be attached to the boarding pass for him or her to board the aircraft. The paper
boarding pass, or portions, are sometimes collected and counted for
cross-check of passenger counts by gate agents, but more frequently are scanned.
The standards for bar codes and magnetic stripes on boarding passes are published
by IATA. The bar code standard defines the 2D bar code printed on paper
boarding passes or sent to mobile phones for electronic boarding passes. The
magnetic stripe standard expired in 2010. For "connecting flights" there
will be a boarding pass needed for each new flight regardless of whether a
different aircraft is boarded. Most airports and airlines have
automatic readers that will verify the validity of the boarding pass at the
jetway door or boarding gate. This also automatically updates the airline's
database that shows the passenger has boarded and the seat is used, and that
the checked baggage for that passenger may stay aboard. This speeds up the
paperwork process at the gate, but requires passengers with paper tickets
to check in, surrender the ticket and receive the digitized boarding pass.
Mobile boarding passes = Overview =
Many airlines have moved to issuing electronic boarding passes, whereby the
passenger checks in either online or on a mobile device, and the boarding pass
is then sent to the mobile device as a SMS or e-mail. Upon completing an online
reservation, client can tick a box offering for a mobile boarding pass.
Most carriers offer two ways to get it: have one sent to mobile device when
check in online, or use an airline app to check in and the boarding pass will
appear within the application. The mobile pass is equipped with the
same bar code that a standard paper boarding pass would be, and it is
completely machine readable. The gate attendant simply scans the code
displayed on the phone. = Airlines on board =
In 2007 Continental Airlines was the first started testing Mobile boarding
passes. Now most of the major carriers offer mobile boarding passes at many
airports. Airlines that issue electronic boarding
passes include Qatar Airways, Air India, United Airlines, AirAsia, Singapore
Airlines, Air Canada, WestJet, Cathay Pacific Airways, Delta Air Lines,
JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Brussels Airlines,
Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Jetstar Airways, Iberia, US Airways,
British Airways , KLM, Aer Lingus, Turkish Airlines, Qantas, EasyJet and
Ryanair = Benefits =
Practical: Travelers don’t always have access to a printer, so choosing a
mobile boarding pass eliminates the hassle of stopping at a kiosk at the
airport. Ecological: It is also much more
environmentally friendly than constantly using up paper for boarding passes.
= Drawbacks = There is a risk with mobile boarding if
the phone’s battery dies or there are any problems reading the e-boarding
pass. Using a mobile boarding pass can also be a challenge when traveling with
multiple people in one reservation because not all airline apps handle
multiple mobile boarding passes. Some airlines, like Alaska Airlines, do allow
you to switch between multiple boarding passes within their apps.
Print at home boarding passes A print-at-home boarding pass is a
document that travellers are able to print at home, at their office or
anywhere with an internet connection and printer, giving them permission to board
an airplane for a particular flight. Many airlines encourage travellers to
check in online up to a month before their flight, and print their boarding
pass before arriving at the airport. Some carriers offer incentives for doing
so (US Airways offered 1000 bonus miles to anyone checking in online, while
others charge fees for checking in or printing the boarding pass at the
airport. = Benefits =
Cost efficient for the airline - Passengers print their own boarding pass
reducing airline and airport staff and infrastructure costs for check-in
Time-saving - save passengers time as they are able to bypass the check-in
queue = Problems =
Passengers have to remember to check-in in advance of their flight
Passengers need to have access to a printer and provide for the paper and
ink themselves. This can be difficult to find while travelling away from home,
although some airlines have responded by allowing passengers to check-in further
in advance. = Print-at-home boarding pass
advertising = In a bid to boost ancillary revenue from
other sources of in-flight advertising, many airlines have turned to targeted
advertising technologies aimed at passengers from their departure city to
their destination. When travellers print their boarding
pass at home, their boarding pass displays adverts that have been chosen
specifically for them based on their anonymised passenger information, which
does not contain any personally identifiable data. Advertisers are able
to target specific demographic information and route information. The
same technology can also be used to serve advertising on airline booking
confirmation emails, itinerary emails and pre-departure reminders.
= Providers of Print-at-home boarding pass advertising =
Ink is a leader in travel media and technology providing over 20 targeted
advertising options across print-at-home boarding passes for over 12 airline
partners and its advertiser partners. = Advantages of Print-at-home boarding
pass advertising = Ability to use targeted advertising
technologies to target messaging to relevant demographics and routes -
providing travellers with offers that are likely to be relevant and useful
High engagement level – research by the Global Passenger Survey has shown that
on average, travellers look at their boarding pass over four times across 12
keytouch points in their journey The revenues airlines gain from
advertising can help to offset operating costs and reduce ticket price rises for
passengers = Concerns of Print-at-home boarding
pass advertising = Some passengers find the advertising
intrusive The advertising uses additional
quantities of the passenger's ink when printing at home
See also SSSS rating
References External links
The Latest Development of paperless boarding pass technology