October 12, 2007
Cellphone check-ins get a global standard with bar codes
According to the IHT, the trade association representing international airlines announced a global standard Thursday that could speed the adoption of cellphone check-in services using bar codes, and eliminate paper tickets.
"Airlines have been slow to adopt a system based on mobile technology because of competing regional formats. The formats permit a passenger to register a phone during booking to receive a text message containing a bar code that becomes a boarding pass. The bar code can then be read directly from the phone's screen.
The International Air Transport Association standard will enable new scanning equipment to read several regional code formats, including Aztec and Datamatrix, which are available now in Europe and North America, and QR in Japan.
The group aims to shift entirely to bar code boarding passes by 2010. Among the few airlines that now offer mobile check-in services are Air Canada, Air Berlin and Spanair.
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