March 25, 2014 Industry news
German company airberlin is now allowing passengers to board one of its planes with the use of a special bar code.
Airberlin’s app can then display the ‘ticket’ on the devices’ screen, such as an iPhone, tablet or even smartwatches.
The ticket, in the form of a bar code, can then be scanned at the terminal gates of an airport, allowing its user safe passage on to their flight.
In addition to this, the app can also display other important passenger flight data, such as their seat number, departure time and gate designation.
The carrier’s marketing vice president, André Rahn, spoke about the development of airberlin’s app for the use of smartwatch wearers. He said: “This option makes opening the boarding pass on the iPhone or even searching for the paper pass in your purse a thing of the past. It’s just another step airberlin is taking to simplify the boarding process through technical innovation.”
The firm has also renovated the design of its smartphone app, which it hopes will act as a “mobile tour guide” for holiday-makers.
The iPhone formatted device will now include several new applications, such as information about a passenger’s destination and their booking history.
Other 2D bar codes are already in use with other airlines, such as Air Canada, for use on international flights, but the airberlin app is the first that is capable of being used by smartwatches. This is part of an increasing trend towards paperless boarding, but physical travel passes are still often available on request.
The German airline is the second largest in its home country and in 2013 carried more than 31.5m travellers, flying to 147 worldwide destinations.