Mobile and Bar Coded Boarding Pass Solutions

Central to IATA’s strategy to simplify the business (STB) has been the introduction of bar coded boarding passes to replace existing magnetic stripe technology. This has allowed airlines to deliver online check-in, and "print- at-home" boarding passes. The new format boarding passes encode all of the passenger’s details within a 2D bar code, and allow passengers to bypass check-in at the airport and go straight to the gate.

Real Time is an IATA Strategic Partner and is a member of the Bar Coded Boarding Pass Working group. Through the working group, Real Time works with IATA, the airlines and other key industry suppliers to help shape the future standards for airline boarding passes.

Bar coded boarding passes enable fast, convenient check-in by enabling the passenger to;

• print the boarding pass on a home or office printer,
  
  
• check-in using a Common use or dedicated self-service kiosk, or
  
  
• Receive their boarding passes directly on their mobile phone (FirstPass).

Bar coded boarding passes support;

• More secure identification of the passenger at Security and Gate
  
  
• Identification of duplicate or false boarding passes at Security and Gate

One of the most recent developments within the IATA working group has been the adoption of mobile technologies to deliver boarding passes directly to passengers' mobile phones. In October, IATA announced the standard to pave the way for global mobile phone check in.

Mobile phone check-in enables airlines to send 2D bar codes directly to a passenger’s mobile phone, personal digital assistant or smart phone. Passengers simply register their mobile number with their airline at the time of booking to receive a text message with a 2D bar code, or instructions to download it. The bar code becomes the passenger’s boarding pass and it is read directly from the screen of the mobile device, eliminating paper completely from the check-in process.

"Passengers want the convenience of self-service options in a paperless environment. This standard is an important step in getting rid of paper that bogs down processes and drives up costs," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

To support these new standards, Real Time has launched FirstPass which delivers IATA compliant bar coded boarding passes direct to mobile devices

Barcode scanning using RT-Scan™  enables airports and airlines to reduce administration costs, improve check-in efficiency and increase passenger security using the latest IATA standard barcode technology.

RT-Scan™ streamlines the passenger check-in process. Passengers have the ability to bypass conventional check-in desks, as terminal kiosks or remote web check-in can produce the necessary boarding pass using standardised barcode technology.

RT-Scan™ allows airport staff to quickly verify boarding pass information, identify duplicate passengers and speed up the processing of passengers through the airport infrastructure. Mobile functionality can be utilised using PDAs to verify passenger boarding passes at any location within an airport.

Imaging solutions, such as RT-Image™  allow airport operators to safely and securely manage international and domestic passengers within a single ‘common' lounge.

RT-Image™ provides the tools for passenger image capture, passenger image verification, data maintenance and reports, in a simple, secure, non-intrusive, non-labour intensive manner.

RT-Image™ can guarantee that every passenger who has checked-in will board the correct flight.