Since 2007, when Continental Airlines first piloted paperless boarding passes on PDAs and other mobile devices in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), several U.S. airlines have rolled out the service.

Continental Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, Northwest and Alaska Airlines are among the U.S. carriers offering the service at select airports. TSA officers at more than 15 U.S. airports are now equipped to scan boarding passes directly from PDAs and other mobile devices.

According to a statement from the TSA, the barcode technology not only streamlines the customer experience, it also heightens the organization's ability to detect fraudulent boarding passes.

Each paperless boarding pass is displayed as an encrypted two-dimensional bar code along with passenger name and flight information. TSA security officers use rugged hand-held scanners to validate the authenticity of the boarding pass at the checkpoint.

Travelers must still show photo identification so that TSA officers can validate that the name on the boarding pass matches the name on the ID. Once the hand-held scanners are deployed nationwide, TSA says it will also use this technology to track wait times using standardized automated data collected at checkpoints. This development is expected to happen within about a year.

Limitations exist
Prior to April 2009, the electronic boarding passes did not have interoperability between carriers. So, this limited the ability to deploy to airports where multiple carriers operated out of the same checkpoints.

However, Thomas Gagne, senior manager, technology division at Continental Airlines, who has been involved with the program since its inception, says the airline recently worked airline recently worked with the TSA, McCarren Airport, IATA, Desko and the other airlines to introduce an interoperable mobile boarding pass solution at Las Vegas' McCarren Airport.

This enables multiple carriers to run their mobile boarding passes through the same TSA checkpoints. This will open the program up to small- and medium-sized airports that funnel passengers from multiple carriers through a single TSA checkpoint. "By the end of the year, we would like to see interoperability in as many as 50 airports," says Gagne.

This will open the program up to small- and medium-sized airports that funnel passengers from multiple carriers through a single TSA checkpoint.

Another limitation for now is that the service can only be used to and from participating airports. So, for example, if you use the service for travel on American Airlines, you must be traveling on American or American Eagle to a domestic destination from Chicago, Los Angeles, Orange County, Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul or Las Vegas on a nonstop or same-plane direct flight or connecting flight through a participating mobile-boarding airport.

In addition, for the moment it's not possible to send multiple boarding passes to a single PDA, but Gagne says work is underway to resolve that challenge without slowing down the operation at the security checkpoints. Another feature being developed is the interline capability that will allow customers checking in for flights on multiple carriers to receive electronic boarding passes for their entire trip.

Gagne says that nationwide Continental has seen the usage double in the last six months.

International undertaking
Worldwide, more than 13 airlines offer paperless boarding options, according to the industry trade group the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Based on a survey of 30 of its airline members released in November 2008, IATA projects that by December 2010, mobile boarding passes will make up 7% of all boarding passes issued.

IATA airline members, which constitute 93% of the world's scheduled passenger traffic, will move to 100% bar coded boarding passes by the end of 2010.

IATA passed its standard for mobile bar coded boarding passes (BCBP) in June 2008. In October 2008, the standard was amended to include a digital signature in order to meet TSA requirements, according to a statement from IATA's Eric Leopold, Bar Coded Boarded Passes (BCBP) Project Manager.

"Cell phones and PDAs are ubiquitous among our customers. Mobile boarding passes leverage our customers' own devices to make travel as easy and convenient as possible," says Andrew Watson, American Airlines' VP customer technology, in a prepared statement. "Customers who choose this option can bypass printing a boarding pass at their home, office or even at the airport to board the plane. At the airport they can go straight to Security and then to the aircraft. This is a great alternative for our customers on the go."

The American Airlines model is similar to that being used by other airlines. To use the mobile boarding pass option - either with the traditional desktop version of AA.com or the mobile version - customers must have an active e-mail address where their boarding pass may be sent, and an Internet-enabled mobile device where the 2-D barcode can be received.

When customers check in for their flight using American's Web site, AA.com - either the desktop or mobile versions - they have the option to receive their boarding passes on their cell phones or PDAs. If this option is selected, they will receive an e-mail with an Internet link to the boarding pass. The mobile boarding pass contains the 2-D barcode that can be scanned at TSA security checkpoints and at American Airlines gates. At the airport, customers simply scan their cell phone or PDA screen when going through Security (proper identification must be presented) and when boarding, just as they would a traditional paper boarding pass.

Customers wishing to check bags can also use the new option by scanning the boarding pass on their cell phone or PDA screen at American Airlines self-service machines, ticket counters, or curbside check-in facilities.

Customers who check in online and wish to print a paper boarding pass are still able to do so. At the end of the online check-in process on AA.com, customers can now choose how they would like to receive their boarding pass by selecting either "Print" (customers can print the pass at that time, or use a self-service check-in machine to print at the airport), "E-mail for Print" (boarding pass is emailed and customers can print at their convenience), or "E-mail for use on Cell Phone or Other Device" (customers receive an electronic boarding pass via e-mail on their cell phone or mobile device, which would then be presented at the airport).

The back-story
In the U.S., Continental Airlines was instrumental in working with the TSA to develop the program. The effort was first piloted by Continental in Houston in December 2007, with pilots rolling out in Newark, Boston and Washington, D.C., in early 2008.

According to a TSA statement, the organization created the concept of how to scan the paperless boarding passes and Continental Airlines developed an implementation plan that involved encrypting the paperless boarding pass to ensure authenticity.

The application's primary developer toolkit is the .Net framework, according to Gagne, who spoke with NGSS sister publication Mobile Enterprise about the pilot project in spring 2008. A secure web service was designed to digitally assign barcodes to passengers using an elliptical signature algorithm.

Gagne told Mobile Enterprise that Continental considered a variety of digital signature solutions and barcode symbologies before settling on the ECDSA digital signature encoded into a 2D Aztec barcode. This had the best shot of working across a variety of devices.

For the U.S. pilot projects, TSA officers used Workabout Pro rugged mobile computers from Psion Teklogix to electronically scan boarding passes on passengers' mobile phones and PDAs. However, Gagne says Continental has adopted flatbed scanners from Desko for its next series of deployments. The scanners can be mounted on a desk, podium or stanchion.

Who, what, where?
Here's a list of the U.S. airlines supporting the program to date, and the airports at which they currently offer it:

Continental:

• Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
• Boston's Logan International Airport (BOS)
• Cleveland Hopkins Airport (CLE)
• Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
• Las Vegas McCarran International (LAS)
• New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• New York City's LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
• San Antonio International Airport (SAT)

American:

• Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
• John Wayne Airport (SND)
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Las Vegas McCarran International (LAS)
• Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP)

Northwest:

• Indianapolis International Airport (IND)
• Detroit Metro Airport (DTW)
• Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP)

Delta:

• Indianapolis International Airport (IND)
• Las Vegas McCarran International (LAS)
• LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP)
• Memphis International Airport (MEM)
• Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)

Alaska:

• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)