Pre-Flight Check In Using Your Mobile Phone

[Mike Temporale]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1293&e=4&u=/nm/20041116/tc_nm/airlines_mobile_dc&sid=95573419

"Passengers wanting to skip airport queues will be able to check in for flights using their mobile phone beginning next year, two European firms set to offer the service announced on Tuesday. ...Passengers can check in, change seats, check times and receive details for dropping off baggage using their phones."

It sounds like a nice idea, but what's stopping me from checking in while I'm stuck in traffic on the way to the airport? If you're not at the airport, you should not be able to check in. At least, that makes sense to me. However, I don't travel very much so my opinion may be a little off. :wink:

[Mike Temporale]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1293&e=4&u=/nm/20041116/tc_nm/airlines_mobile_dc&sid=95573419

"Passengers wanting to skip airport queues will be able to check in for flights using their mobile phone beginning next year, two European firms set to offer the service announced on Tuesday. ...Passengers can check in, change seats, check times and receive details for dropping off baggage using their phones."

It sounds like a nice idea, but what's stopping me from checking in while I'm stuck in traffic on the way to the airport? If you're not at the airport, you should not be able to check in. At least, that makes sense to me. However, I don't travel very much so my opinion may be a little off. :wink:

[Jerry Raia]

Originally Posted by Mike Temporale

It sounds like a nice idea, but what's stopping me from checking in while I'm stuck in traffic on the way to the airport? If you're not at the airport, you should not be able to check in. At least, that makes sense to me. However, I don't travel very much so my opinion may be a little off. :wink:

No you are dead on. There is a security issue here as well. Anyone now can have access to the checkin system. With some hacking names could be changed on a reservation, say by someone who is on the NO FLY list.

But beyond that I watch gate agents struggle to keep things straight, I can't even imagine the chaos this could cause depending on what a person could actually change.

[ipaqmaniac]

I am a frequent traveller and have been using on-line check-in for my preferred carrier (Delta) for years. I can check in for my flight from home from 24 hours until about 2 hours before my flight. I print out my boarding pass on my own printer and then head to the airport. That boarding pass gets me through security, and I can go right to the gate where they scan the barcode on the boarding pass to allow me to board the flight. It saves a lot of time in lines!

As for security, I still need to show a valid form of ID along with the boarding pass to get through the security line (although I travel often enough that I'm on a first name basis with the TSA people!), and the barcode is verified against the computer to validate that my boarding pass is valid before I board.

It works well, and I don't believe it represents any security risk.

[Santa Fe]

A bit off topic but I have been using this to check the real time status of commercial flights. Works well. 401-417-2301.

[Jerry Raia]

Originally Posted by ipaqmaniac

I am a frequent traveller and have been using on-line check-in for my preferred carrier (Delta) for years. I can check in for my flight from home from 24 hours until about 2 hours before my flight. I print out my boarding pass on my own printer and then head to the airport. That boarding pass gets me through security, and I can go right to the gate where they scan the barcode on the boarding pass to allow me to board the flight. It saves a lot of time in lines!

As for security, I still need to show a valid form of ID along with the boarding pass to get through the security line (although I travel often enough that I'm on a first name basis with the TSA people!), and the barcode is verified against the computer to validate that my boarding pass is valid before I board.

It works well, and I don't believe it represents any security risk.

You aren't trying to do anything illegal either

I think any outside access to airline computer systems should be closed off, not opened up. Of course I am looking at this from inside of the industry so my views might be somewhat myopic.