Following check-in, customers receive an email containing a digitally signed and encrypted 2D bar code that is compatible with current imager-based airport scanners and boarding gate readers. Customers are able to scan the mobile boarding pass at the kiosk if necessary or bypass check-in lines and head straight to the security checkpoint where the electronic bar code is scanned and validated. The bar code can then be used at the gate for boarding.
US Airways first piloted NCR Mobile Pass at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, N.C. starting in December 2010. It is now available in 14 U.S. airports, including LaGuardia International Airport in New York and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., and plans to further expand the offering in 2011 are underway.
According to a 2010 survey conducted for NCR by Buzzback Research, 48 percent of U.S. travelers who use their mobile phone for travel information and transactions also use their mobile phone to check-in for flights, and 45 percent access itineraries and reservations. In fact, according to Juniper Research, one in every seven bar-coded boarding passes worldwide will be delivered to passengers' mobile devices within two years.
“Consumers increasingly expect more control at their fingertips,” said Tyler Craig, vice president and general manager, NCR Travel. “By expanding its self-service offering beyond kiosk and web to include NCR Mobile Pass, US Airways is furthering its commitment to providing a seamless and convenient passenger experience.”
US Airways has distinguished itself by deploying the most advanced self-service solutions for travelers. The airline was recognized at the annual KioskCom Self-Service Expo as the 2010 Self-Service Excellence Award winner in the "Best Travel/Hospitality Deployment” category for improving the passenger experience by extending self-service check-in outside the terminal.
NCR is the leader in mobile check-in, issuing more than 1.2 million mobile boarding passes in July, 2011, as well as the industry leader in Common Use Self-Service (CUSS) airline kiosks.
