The article is down, but on-topic, I know bunch of large airlines(EasyJet for example) that let you present boarding pass on your smartphone so you do not have to print it.
Also, consider the fact that you have to show the TSA your boarding pass. If you have to unlock your phone for that, they get full access to copy all your data if they decide you look like a terrorist.
Likely not a consideration for most people who don't mind privacy stuff, of course.
I might have to fly out of LGA instead of JFK soon to try this out sometime.
Though, most phones have some sort of bluetooth capabilities nowadays. How bad of an idea would it be to transmit the boarding pass from the phone to the receiver that way instead of having to rely on the scanner?
If you can, enable Screen Pinning in Android. I use it all the time for airlines that give me the option to use an app to present my boarding pass... to the TSA.
I am just curious. Wouldn't it be more easier to do this with specific devices than using the phones?
Each passenger can be given a smart card along with the boarding pass (or embedded in the boarding pass). The sensors could merely check for the smart card at certain points and determine how long it took for the passenger to clear security, etc. The airline can then collect the smart card back just before boarding when they scan the boarding pass. Seems like a simple solution that would work without much privacy concerns.
I think the concern here is what happens if someone finds your paper boarding pass and scans it.
That's less likely to happen with a boarding pass on your phone.
(though in general, the problem of airlines requiring very little information -- all of which is on the boarding pass -- to be able to access an itinerary and make changes or cancel it is somewhat well-known among frequent flyers)
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