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Continental Airlines to test cell phone boarding passes

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 5:55PM EST
BGR

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Continental Airlines is set to begin a new pilot program that will allow customers to board their flights with a cell phone-based boarding pass. Could the days of paper boarding passes be over? It seems plausible. The airline will be testing the new system with passengers departing from Houston, with the program is starting very soon, and slated to last for 3 months. If it’s successful we could see a wider rollout, as well as other airlines jumping on board. The system sends a unique barcode to each passenger’s cell phone with the messages then encrypted and directly tied to the customer’s handset, so the risk of fraud is low, especially when combined with appropriate photo identification. The passenger simply opens the message, which is scanned by door clerk. Voila.

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Josh Karp Distinguished Fellow

Josh Karp followed his love of technology since a kid through to the present day. As a Special Correspondent at BGR, and part of the first editorial team, Josh covers press conferences, trade shows and other events around the world. An expert in all things mobile, Josh has more than eighteen years of experience covering the wireless industry.