Air Canada launches Paperless Boarding Pass for Mobile Check-In Users

Air Canada has launched paperless boarding passes for its customers who check in using their PDA (personal digital assistant such as Blackberry or Treo) or cell phone.

Air Canada's mobile check-in service, has been enhanced to now offer customers the option of receiving an electronic boarding pass in the form of SMS text messages that the customer simply shows to airport security screening personnel and Air Canada gate agents, in lieu of a paper boarding pass. Passengers with baggage to check, proceed as usual to baggage drop off points prior to security screening. Air Canada's new mobile service is currently available for boarding domestic Canada flights and departures to international (non U.S.) destinations, including connecting flights, from 60 airports across Canada served by Air Canada and Jazz.

"Introduction of the mobile boarding pass is a key element in Air Canada's initiatives to use the most recent and secure mobile and 2-D barcode technologies to simplify our customers' travel experience," said Lise Fournel, Senior Vice President E-Commerce and CIO. "In addition to the simplification of travel and business processes made possible by the replacement of paper with electronic documents, we're particularly excited about the expanded application of 2-D barcode technology that gives our employees better tools to serve our customers more efficiently."

How it works: Using a mobile device, the customer logs on to https://mobile.aircanada.com and enters the required information: last name, first name, departure city and one of the following: Aeroplan number, credit card number or booking reference. If the device supports 2-D barcode technology and the travel itinerary qualifies for an electronic boarding pass, the customer will be prompted to enter his mobile number to receive the boarding pass. While 2-D barcode technology works on a majority of mobile devices, some older phones or PDAs may not be compatible. If this is the case, it is still possible to use Air Canada's mobile check-in and print a boarding pass at a self-service kiosk or with an agent.

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