Mobile Marketing News: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced a global standard that will make it easier for international travellers to use their mobile phones to check in for flights.
Passengers using the system will be able to register their mobile number with their flight operator when booking journeys. They will then receive a text message with a unique code that will in effect become their boarding pass.
The bar code will be read directly from the mobile’s screen, replacing easy-to-lose paper tickets.
Previously, airlines had rarely used mobile boarding passes due to different regional formats making bar codes incompatible with one another. The IATA’s new global standard should change that.
“This standard is an important step in getting rid of paper that bogs down processes and drives up costs,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and chief executive, adding that passengers want the convenience of self-service options.
The industry has set a deadline for its members to implement 100 per cent bar coded boarding passes by 2010.