American brings mobile boarding passes to O'Hare By Julie Johnsson | Tribune staff reporter 5:56 PM CST, November 13, 2008 Forget e-tickets. Going paperless is the next wrinkle in air travel as American Airlines tests new mobile boarding passes at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Travelers on American can flash a bar code on their cell phone screens to board their flights and get through security checkpoints at O'Hare using new technology rolled out Thursday. To use the feature, passengers must have an active e-mail address and an Internet-enabled mobile device to which their boarding pass and a 2-D barcode can be sent. Texas-based American is the latest U.S. airline to test mobile boarding, a process introduced by Continental Airlines at seven airports last December. Delta Air Lines launched a similar test this summer. Related links O'Hare historical images Photos 360 Panoramic: A new view for O'Hare Multimedia American says it plans to roll out the service for passengers departing from Los Angeles International and John Wayne Orange County airports Nov. 17. American says the process is simple. When passengers check in for flights using AA.com, the airline's Web site, they are given the option of receiving their boarding passes on cell phones and Blackberries. If they select the mobile boarding option, they will get an e-mail with an Internet link to their boarding pass. By activating the link, passengers can download the mobile boarding pass, which includes a barcode that can be scanned at security checkpoints and as they board flights. The new system provides an added level of security over paper boarding passes, said American spokesman Billy Sanez. Paper boarding passes are scanned only at the gate, before passengers enter an airplane. But mobile passes are scanned twice: at the gate and at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. They also employ encryption technology to guard against forgeries. "This is something that has been tested with TSA, approved by TSA," Sanez said. But there are limits to the technology. For now, customers going mobile can list only one person in their reservation, meaning the service likely isn't workable for parents traveling with children. It can be used for only non-stop or same-plane flights in the U.S. and to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. And fliers will still need a paper boarding pass to return to Chicago. jjohnsson@tribune.com
