If the introduction of online boarding pass is a major relief for many airline passengers, the future will look a little brighter. Thanks to the power of mobile technology, boarding pass will soon take the form of a digital bar code in your mobile phone.




All you need to do is show your mobile phone to airport officials and wait for your takeoff. No need to access your e-mail and print a copy of your boarding pass. In the news report of San Francisco Chronicle:

According to the association's [The International Air Transport Association} plan, passengers would register their mobile phone, Personal digital assistant or smart phone when buying a ticket. They would receive a text message with a bar code, or instructions to download it. The bar code would become the passenger's boarding pass and it would be read directly from the screen of the mobile device, said the association.

Apparently, this is a win-win solution for both the passengers and airlines. This translates to less hassle for us and $500 million annual savings for airlines.

But...

I don't see the coming of mobile boarding pass will totally end the online/paper boarding passes. Instead, it will just be an alternative in case you lost your mobile phone or you failed to charge it.