IATA Standardizes Check-In On-The-Go: Challenges Ahead
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has established a global standard for mobile phone check-in using two-dimensional bar codes, according to an Oct. 11 release.
The innovation will allow airlines to send codes directly to passengers' phones (or other handheld devices). The code becomes the boarding pass, and a scanner can read it directly from the mobile device's screen. IATA's standard uses codes that are already used extensively in Europe, North America and Japan.
Next step: IATA plans to create guidelines for implementing the standard. The industry deadline for 100 percent bar coded boarding passes is 2010.
Challenge for mobile marketers: The mobile phone check-in will be a "tough sell" because no one wants (to see or pay for) advertisements on his or her cell phone, Diane Clarkson, a JupiterResearch analyst, tells TDR. This innovation has taken off in some international markets, but it will be slow in the U.S., she predicts.
-- Kimberly R. Gilbert, Managing Editor, TDR