Two airlines had announcements about mobile barcoding solutions to boarding passes today. Lufthansa has expanded it’s service onto long-haul transAtlantic flights for the first time, and China Southern Airlines has created a trial service.
Lufthansa:
The Lufthansa route between Frankfurt and Vancouver now offers passengers the option of receiving their boarding pass as a 2D barcode on their mobile device. The service was originally put into place almost a year ago on Lufthansa’s domestic routes, and it claims that over 75,000 people use it a month. The mobile boarding passes will be extended to more long-haul routes over the next few weeks.
China Southern Airlines:
China Southern Airlines and Baiyun International Airport have entered a partnership to launch a mobile check-in service. The service is currently only available as a trial on one flight from the airport, but China Southern Airlines has declared it intends to expand it to other routes. The procedure currently can’t actually be done over the mobile internet – you have to check-in on China Southern’s website, and the barcode is then sent to your phone. You can also text “?” to 95539 and the barcode will be sent via MMS.
What we think?
Lufthansa has been a long-standing adopter of mobile barcodes for passengers. The application of barcodes to air travel is so proven that various initiatives exist to hurry the process along – it really is only a matter of time before every flight everywhere has a mobile barcoding option. But the broader applications of barcoding have yet to catch on in Europe and the US in any real way. The transport industry is the only one that has taken it up really seriously. You simply don’t see it that elsewhere. With other services playing catch-up, now really is the time for the mobile barcoding industry to get the finger out and start working together to push it globally.
