[Simon]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

Use this only as a last resort. If you have a grouchy ticketing agent, they'll feel no need to accept it. Also, if you are technically inclined enough to have an iPhone, there is no reason not to just check in online and print your boarding pass on your own.

Unless of course you do not have a printer. I checked in for this flight on the train to the airport. I used my iPhone to do it. No printer around. At the airport there were the usual self-service kiosks, but there were long lines (as usual). So instead I just went to my plane using the PDF on my iPhone. Just the way it should be.

[imitchellg5]

Public libraries have printers. They are free. And considerably less risky to use than an iPhone.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

Public libraries have printers. They are free. And considerably less risky to use than an iPhone.

Do you travel for business? If I don't have time to stand in line at the airport I certainly don't have time to try and find a public library.

Honestly, we know this is coming. It's just a matter of time until it's common practice everywhere.

[imitchellg5]

Really, they aren't hard to find. If you travel for business, I am sure your business has a printer somewhere. I doubt it will ever become common practice, seeing as there are about 10 million iPods out there, and just less than half that amount of people fly everyday.

[Simon]

iPhones, Blackberrys, all kinds of other smartphones, ultra-portables, etc. Almost all business travelers already have something like that.

Of course we will eventually all be able to board with a digital boarding pass on one of our mobile devices.

[imitchellg5]

Probably. But until it is officially recognized, or there is an official way to do it, it is better to be safe than sorry.

[Simon]

That's why this thread is about reporting where you're safe rather than sorry already today.

[Mastrap]

OK, first hand experience.

I had to fly from Toronto to Sault Saint Marie yesterday, an Air Canada flight. After checking in online I got a message telling me that I could either have a paper boarding pass or get one send to my portable device. I went for that option. An SMS arrived, linking to a web page looking like this:



Blur added by me. All I had to do at the airport was to show the screen of the iPhone and I was on board.

[eggman]

It would sure suck for your battery to go dead while waiting to board a late flight...

[Simon]

Originally Posted by eggman 

It would sure suck for your battery to go dead while waiting to board a late flight...

That would suck. But it's not a show stopper either. Just find an outlet and plug it in for a two minutes.

[Simon]

Mastrap, thanks for the first hand experience report. Air Canada's looking really good.

[-Q-]

Interesting news indeed, Mastrap. Do you have to show your boarding pass after you go thru the metal detector? Or is that just some wonderful TSA 'security' thing?

[Mastrap]

The barcode is all you need. Whenever anybody asks for your boarding pass, at luggage drop off, at security, at boarding all you do is show the screen.

[pcryan5]

Originally Posted by Mastrap 

The barcode is all you need. Whenever anybody asks for your boarding pass, at luggage drop off, at security, at boarding all you do is show the screen.

that is my experience as well - it sure feels weird but the boarding staff are very nonchalant about it all.

[turtle777]

First hand report, Chicago O'Hare:

DID NOT WORK

TSA did not accept a digital boarding pass at all, and this was check-in for all carriers that depart from Terminal 1.

I would like to hear from someone who did NOT fly Air Canada.

-t

[Cold Warrior]

Were they a-holes about it or politely declined and asked for a printed one?

[pcryan5]

Other then air Canada I also fly WestJet and Continental - still pretty "Canada" centric though...
We also had Simon fly from Copenhagen to Berlin and they accepted his. Perhaps they just felt sorry for him however...

[LeeG]

I have done this personally, on continental airlines, departing from Newark, NJ airport.

Here is the link for their website describing the system.

It worked fine - they scanned the screen of the iPhone, and it worked. There WAS a problem, that someone earlier mentioned, they asked for my boarding pass just as I was stepping into the metal detector, and obviously I couldnt bring my phone with me, so i had to go grab it from the belt, let him scan it, put it back on the belt, and then walk through the detector.

The system works, but until they iron out the last few kinks, I'll still print paper-

L

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior 

Were they a-holes about it or politely declined and asked for a printed one?

They laughed, said it's neat, and then said they can't accept it.

Glad I had my paper backup.

-t

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by LeeG 

The system works, but until they iron out the last few kinks, I'll still print paper-

No, the system does NOT work that way, TSA is just showing some leniency, sometimes accepting it.

They are under NO obligation to accept it, and if they want to, they can decline you access w/o a paper ticket.

So basically, it boils down to this: you need a paper backup (unless you fly Air Canada).

If I already have a paper boarding pass, I might as well use it, because I just don't feel like explaining / arguing about my electronic boarding pass all the time.

-t

[LeeG]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

No, the system does NOT work that way, TSA is just showing some leniency, sometimes accepting it.

They are under NO obligation to accept it, and if they want to, they can decline you access w/o a paper ticket.

-t

This is from the Continental Airlines Website that I linked to:

"Mobile Boarding Pass option is currently available for Houston departures (Terminals B, C and E only), Newark Liberty departures, Boston departures and Washington, D.C. departures from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Customers have the option of Mobile Boarding on nonstop domestic flights and this option is only for single travelers.

Continental is the first U.S. carrier to test paperless boarding passes. The paperless boarding pass pilot program is consistent with the global standard of the International Air Transport Association for bar coding of passenger boarding passes.

This program also heightens the ability to detect fraudulent boarding passes while improving customer service and reducing paper use."

So, either Continental is promoting a program that has not been cleared with the TSA, and they dont know what they are talking about, or you don't know the details of this program - something doesnt add up-

L

[Simon]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

So basically, it boils down to this: you need a paper backup (unless you fly Air Canada).

Or Continental, AirBerlin, Lufthansa, etc. There have been enough reports from people here who use it on airlines other than Air Canada. What kind of agenda are you pushing here?

If I already have a paper boarding pass, I might as well use it, because I just don't feel like explaining / arguing about my electronic boarding pass all the time.

My thread is precisely about those situation when you do not have a printed boarding pass and you do not feel like getting one. I want to know where and under which circumstances I can use my iPhone. That is what this thread is about. Nothing else. Now that you're back from your ban you might want to consider this again. You are of course free to start your own thread on how great paper is and how nice it is to show paper boarding passes. Just don't do it in here.

[pcryan5]

Originally Posted by LeeG 

I have done this personally, on continental airlines, departing from Newark, NJ airport.
L

I'll probably keep at it - sooner or later a tipping point will be reached. Just hope I'm not in red faced arguing with TSA in Milwaukee when that happens ....

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Simon 

What kind of agenda are you pushing here?

WTF is your problem ?

I'm not pushing any agenda, I'm just saying that at the current status, you are at the mercy of the TSA nazis.

I can NOT afford to miss a flight just because a TSA agent is narrow-minded.
So currently, flying w/o a paper boarding pass is a high risk, because at any point, you might get stuck at the TSA.

Just because it works *sometimes* does not mean it's guaranteed to work.

That's all I'm saying.

Maybe I should ask YOU: What kind of agenda are you pushing here?

-t

[pcryan5]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

at the mercy of the TSA nazis.

That is pretty harsh. I travel a lot and feel they are trying to do their very best in the face of ever growing crowds, ever changing rules and expectations that they are to protect us with 3rd rate scanners and a prayer. Nazis? Hardly. Over worked, underpaid and often abused is more like it.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by pcryan5 

That is pretty harsh. I travel a lot and feel they are trying to do their very best in the face of ever growing crowds, ever changing rules and expectations that they are to protect us with 3rd rate scanners and a prayer. Nazis? Hardly. Over worked, underpaid and often abused is more like it.

Yes, it's harsh, and of course, like any generalization, doesn't always do justice.

However, the reason why I say this is that they have a very considerable degree of discretion on what they will allow or won't. It really doesn't matter what's in the rules or regulations, or whether it makes sense or not. They are right by default, what they say is law.

Since there is nothing you can do about it, you are completely at the mercy of their judgement. And what makes it worse, if you start arguing, you will be treated even worse and might face delays that could cost you getting to the gate in time.

-t

[Simon]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

WTF is your problem ?

For starters things like "WTF". But you may also add agression, insults, and crapping in my thread.

I'm not pushing any agenda, I'm just saying that at the current status, you are at the mercy of the TSA nazis.

What's with the insults? None of that Nazi baloney in here please.

Also, the TSA's authority is the US. Many of us travel in Asia and Europe as well. In those places the TSA's policy doesn't mean squat. So just because the TSA seems to have a couple of issues, does not mean the entire world needs to care about it.

Maybe I should ask YOU: What kind of agenda are you pushing here?

My "agenda" is that this is my thread. I had a very specific question. Quite a few posters delivered valuable answers. You OTOH have posted off-topic repeatedly. You have attacked people that actually posted interesting stuff. You have made this thread about you rather than about the original question. You have been a nuisance. And you got temp ban. Now you're back. How about you stick to the topic at hand or, if that is not possible, just stay out of this thread.

Once again. This thread is for
- people that don't want to print paper
- people that want to board with digital boarding passes
- people that fly all over the world, not just in the US

And hence this thread is about
- reporting where it worked and with which airline
- reporting where you were refused and for which reason

And not about:
- why paper is great
- why paper is safer
- why the TSA likes paper
- why the TSA is stupid/fascist/<insert random insult here>
- who is a Nazi
- why you like paper
- why we are all idiots for not wanting to look out for printers and print boarding passes

That's the deal. If you want to contribute within those limits feel free. If not please leave and let the rest of us stay on topic.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by pcryan5 

I'll probably keep at it - sooner or later a tipping point will be reached. Just hope I'm not in red faced arguing with TSA in Milwaukee when that happens ....

I'm not about to argue with these people. They are just doing their job and trying to follow regulations set up by other people.

What is important however, is that they (together with the airlines, check-in/handling agencies, etc.) receive feedback about this. Just as frequent flyers nowadays use the web to check in rather than stand in line at check-in desks, many people would rather use PDAs, phones, etc. and digital boarding passes. Customers need to voice their opinions. And eventually regulations will change in order to increase convenience and throughput. At many places they already have.

[turtle777]

Simon,

You obviously have problems with reading and comprehension, as you keep accusing me of things that I have made clear disclosures of earlier in this thread.

Besides that, you sound like a broken record. Do you have anything new to say ?

Why are you asking about experience with flying (including in the US), if you are NOT willing to accept the findings ? Oh, I see, YOU have an agenda, and that agenda just doesn't like the reality of problems in the US. I never said that I speak for other countries.

Whatever, so keep on posting about what YOU like to see in your thread. Don't wanna pull the N... word on you, but your certainly keep trying to shut me up like they did when they didn't like dissenting opinions...

-t

[Simon]

Thanks. Especially the Nazi analogy was cute. After these nice words, I guess we can get back on topic.

I am curious about Asia. Has anybody tried to do this in Asia? In my previous experience at least in Japan (NRT with Thai and JAL) security people seemed very courteous. I will be traveling a couple of times to PEK in the near future. Any experience there?

[turtle777]

Another FAIL, this time at South Bend. TEA agent said he can't accept. He said I could try to argue it with his supervisor, but I took a pass.

-t

[ph0ust]

it won't work for one reason- tsa has not been issued a policy memo allowing this, nor have they trained anyone to use it.

it is right to assume that it would work, but wrong to assume it is allowed. tsa, nor any security agency worldwide, does not grant random personnel discretion on allowing new technologies to replace existing procedure.

[Mastrap]

Originally Posted by ph0ust 

tsa, nor any security agency worldwide, does not grant random personnel discretion on allowing new technologies to replace existing procedure.

Exactly that has happened up here. When I book a flight on AC I am giving the option to choose the electronic boarding pass. It's all official. The staff on the ground are used to scanning people's BlackBerries and now iPhones without so much as a raised eyebrow.

[LeeG]

Originally Posted by ph0ust 

it won't work for one reason- tsa has not been issued a policy memo allowing this, nor have they trained anyone to use it.

it is right to assume that it would work, but wrong to assume it is allowed. tsa, nor any security agency worldwide, does not grant random personnel discretion on allowing new technologies to replace existing procedure.

As I posted above, I learned about this, and tried it, because Continental advertised this as a program they were trialling when I purchased my ticket. Do you think they would offer this as an option to their customers, and suggest their customers show up at a the airport without paper tickets, without *maybe* running this past the TSA at those airports?? I cannot believe Continental would start a pilot program for paperless boarding without thinking, "hey, people are probably going to have to show their boarding passes to the TSA at security, maybe we should talk to them too before we start doing this."

I'll bet there was a policy memo to the tsa.

L

[Visnaut]

I'm with Eug and turtle on this: until this is nearly ubiquitous, I wouldn't even dream of attempting this. Even if an airline has a program in place to do this (as it seems Air Canada does), I'd still print one out as a backup, in which case, we're back to square one. Airports are not places where I take chances at, or try to bend the rules. I find the hassle to print out a page or two much more bearable than the hassle of educating and/or reasoning with airport security personnel. Not to mention the penchant that electronic devices have to failure when you need them most.

[Simon]

I don't think this is about who's side somebody is on. We all know eventually this is how it will work nearly everywhere. What I would like to do in this thread is find out where it already works and where it doesn't. It's not about bending rules or taking chances. It's about where airports/airlines have already established these procedures and where not.

Back in topic, I'm flying out of DUS to OSL tonight with SAS and I was planning on trying it again. Unfortunately as I found out yesterday evening SAS doesn't offer web check-in out of Germany. For which reason is beyond me. Anyway, I'll have to go to the airport an hour earlier, stand in line, and check in the old-fashioned way.

[Simon]

American Airlines launches mobile boarding passes
http://www.electronista.com/articles...boarding.pass/

[Simon]

Apparently Continental is now strongly pushing the iPhone. Their web site, flight status pages, reservation/check-in pages, etc. have all been made iPhone-friendly. Their boarding passes now look like this:



If you travel through an airport that has been equipped with the required infrastructure, such as IAH (Houston) this is all you'll need to get from the terminal entrance to your seat on the plane, including TSA!

[Big Mac]

It's good to know that our quasi-public institutions are starting to make their way into the 21st Century.

[bokehphotographer]

http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/pap...expansion.shtm

I'll be giving it a try this week our of MSP and DTW.

[Cold Warrior]

Worked great for me leaving Raleigh (RDU) on Continental.

[Oisín]

Never tried with just an iPhone, but I did manage to fly to Munich and back without any valid ID a few days ago.

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

I have NEVER seen them check the boarding pass BEFORE you enter the scanner, only once you are through. So you can't just bring along your iphone, and then put it back on the conveyor for the x-raying.

I realise this is nearly two years old, but this bit strikes me as very, very strange, since I can’t recall EVER getting to the security scanner WITHOUT the pre-security people checking your boarding pass.

Once through security, though, I’ve only very rarely (and, if memory serves, only ever in the US) had my boarding pass checked again before the gate.

In other words, precisely the opposite of turtle’s description.

[Cold Warrior]

Oisin,
I think it must be related to the thread's age. In all recent trips I can recall, my experience is like yours: they have a pre-scanner person at the beginning of the security line who is checking pass + ID, then the final one by an airline employee at the gate. Since it's an airline employee scanning the barcode, I think their check is more to confirm the passenger boarding and ensure a confused passenger doesn't board the wrong flight more so than any additional security (which is a form of security though, but executed by the airlines not the feds). Since seeing people stationed at the line's beginning, I haven't been required to show a pass at the scanner.

[-Q-]

I just used the system to fly from Atlanta to Jacksonville and it worked quite well. Disappointed I couldn't use it on the way back.

And it was just a scanner at the first security check point and once again to board the plane.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

I realise this is nearly two years old, but this bit strikes me as very, very strange, since I can’t recall EVER getting to the security scanner WITHOUT the pre-security people checking your boarding pass.

Once through security, though, I’ve only very rarely (and, if memory serves, only ever in the US) had my boarding pass checked again before the gate.

In other words, precisely the opposite of turtle’s description.

I didn't mean to imply that there was no checking the boarding pass at the beginning of the security line.

What I meant was this: back in the day, they used to check your boarding pass AGAIN right after you stepped through the full-body scanner. You needed to hold the boarding pass in your hand while stepping through.

My point was that for THAT purpose an electronic boarding pass on your iPhone would have NEVER worked, since you couldn't carry your phone while stepping through the scanner.

When I said that I have never seen them check the boarding pass BEFORE the scanner, I just meant that second boarding pass check in the scanner area.

However, it seems the TSA has changed its procedures. For the last year (give or take), there is no more checking the boarding pass after you have stepped through the scanner.

-t

[Simon]

Even back in the day that wasn't really a problem. I just told the TSA folks that I had only an electronic pass and that it was on my phone which was in the scanner. What happened was that they frowned, escorted me to the end of the line, waited till my stuff came out of the scanner, and looked at my pass there. They didn't exactly enjoy it, but it always worked fine. Trying stuff out and talking politely to people goes farther than worrying.

And I guess because enough people do it this way by now the procedures have been changed so it's not a problem anymore at most airports. Whenever I'm asked to show my pass (which is usually right before the scanners) I always have my phone with me.

Paperless check-in and boarding has become a reality in many airports and with most major airlines. And it's clear that it's coming to those places that haven't implemented it yet in the near future. I can't say it's happening too soon.