Tag Archives for boarding pass.
Delta has removed the second barcode from its printed boarding passes, a change agents often describe as ‘ink-saving’ but which Delta says also improves compatibility with airport scanners. Both explanations are true — the legacy 1-D code caused read errors, and dropping it also cuts print costs at scale.
Transforming J.D. Vance’s face has been a meme for several months, and someone took ‘bald, bearded infant J.D. Vance’ and created an app to do that to your boarding pass. TSA has gotten big mad at boarding pass generators in the past.
This past Wednesday, boarding passes printed by American Airlines agents no longer show a customer’s full frequent flyer number on them.
This is still just for agent-printed boarding passes. Kiosks, mobile app, and American Airlines website boarding passes still show full frequent flyer numbers, although the plan is that these “will also eventually conceal the frequent flyer number by end of 2023.”
While it’s nothing like injecting your boarding pass into your hand with an NFC chip, a user on TikTok offers a ‘life hack’ on how you’ll never lose your boarding pass: print it on five feet worth of paper.
But what about environmental concerns? I think this must be some kind of Woke Daily Double because you’re not just flying you’re wasting paper, too.
US airlines check your boarding pass before you enter the jet bridge, and that’s it — while many international airlines have flight attendants standing at the door of the aircraft who will look at your boarding pass again.
Flight attendants on most airlines around the world will see you’re on the right plane, direct you to the correct class of service, and tell you which side of the plane to proceed down in the case of a widebody. Although it’s common on single aisle aircraft as well.
For years airlines have allowed you to print your own boarding pass at home. They don’t even usually tell you what kind of paper you’re allowed to use. We know you’ll cause some hysteria if you generate boarding passes for flights you don’t actually have a ticket for. But beyond that, are there limits to what you can get away with?
This is actually a pretty good gag, but if you decide to try it at home it’s a good idea to have a backup copy that’s smaller – just in case. And beware, travel alone is subject to flight shaming – just imagine if you waste paper, too!
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Andy Bowers writes that online checkin is a security threat. I always thought it was a great way to meet friends and family at their gate and use airline clubs as a free pub on days I’m not traveling.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
