The Future of Checking in?

Finally, the age of boarding a plane while brandishing your smartphone swiftly is here. Although convenient, boarding a plane with a smartphone can be cumbersome especially if you don’t have access to a good internet or data connection. Here are some travel tips that will help you travel relatively wrinkle free.

Have your Internet Link Ready

Pull up your boarding pass already (doing it at home is best) with your smartphone so you can be sure that the page is properly loaded with the scannable ticket. That way, no matter what the internet connection at the airport may be, you’ll be sure you have the ticket ready to go at the gate.

Take a Photo

It’s also a good idea to have a screen with a photo of the boarding pass (it’s basically a screenshot of the e-ticket) just in case your data or even the airport internet doesn’t cooperate. With the iPhone, you need to hold the top button and home button together to take a picture (screenshot) of your open screen. Again, you may want to do this at home just in case you don’t have time or the internet resources to do it at the airport.

Have your Mileage Number Handy

One of the pet peeves many have with automated check-in is the lack of getting a confirmed ticket stub once you check in, which several airlines require for miles. So it behooves you to input your mileage number automatically when you check in, or have your mileage number handy at all times so you don’t need to resort to a ticket stub for receipts.

Make Sure Your Airline Offers this Option

Make sure that your airline offers an e-check option with your mobile phone before you arrive at the airport because only a few do. JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin America do not.

The great thing about mobile check-in is that the wait times and the long agony of boarding a plane will now be much faster: it’s the equivalent of an EZ Pass. Airlines surveyed by SITA have said that 15% of all air travelers will use a mobile phone to check-in at the airport and obtain an electronic mobile boarding pass by 2014.
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photo: zipckr