It's a cell phone -- no, a boarding pass...

Posted by: Dean Foust on January 08

This is a bit of news that broke right before Christmas, and if it got much pick-up, well I missed. And even if it did, it’s worth repeating. Continental Airlines is testing a system that allows its passengers to board flights using just a cell phone, Blackberry or PDA instead of a traditional boarding pass. Continental’s testing it at Bush Intercontinental Airpot, but it could expand to other airports across the country.

Instead of getting a pass from the ticketing counter, or one of those ticketing kiosks that have sprung up like mushroom in airports, Continentals shoots you a message with a bar code containing your pertinent information. You go straight to airport security, show the bar code to a security agent – who uses a hand-held scanner to confirm its authenticity. You’ll still need to show a photo ID, and put your carry-on baggage through the scanners, but otherwise you’re good to go. And the bar code works at the gate as well.
The system has its limits – namely, that it can only be used by passengers traveling alone, and not by all members of a family or other traveling party. But Continental says the system helps eliminate the risk of fraudulent paper passes (hmmm, now there’s a story…)

If anyone is traveling through Houston on Continental and has had an experience with this new system, I’d be grateful if you would post a response here to tell us how it worked for you…