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December 19, 2010 - The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) announced a historic milestone in
passenger travel with the 100% worldwide implementation
of 2D bar coded boarding passes (BCBP). BCBP replaces
the previous generation of more expensive and less
efficient magnetic stripe boarding passes.
?The magnetic stripe boarding passes are on their way to
a history museum next to the paper ticket. After
electronic ticketing in 2008, the conversion to BCBP is
the next important step to provide passengers with more
convenience and choice. Completing many tasks during the
journey will now take seconds with the swipe of a bar
code,? said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA?s Director General
and CEO. The completion of the industry project gives passengers greater choice in checking-in at home, at a kiosk, on a mobile device or at an airport check-in counter. BCBP also allows airlines to issue a single, printed boarding pass for multiple flights, simplifying the journey for passengers with flight connections or those traveling on different airlines. Moreover, BCBP opens the door for automated access to premium services. For example, with a scan of a BCBP, eligible passengers can access fast-track security lanes or lounges. |
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?Airlines issue over 2 billion boarding passes every year.
The conversion to printed 2D BCBP has been a five-year
project and will save the industry up to $1.5 billion every
year. With more and more airlines offering the possibility to
receive the bar code via a mobile device, we are well on the way
to truly paperless travel,? said Bisignani.
Magnetic stripe boarding passes, which have been used since
1983, have several limitations for airlines and passengers that
the bar code overcomes. Magnetic stripe boarding passes require
expensive printers located in the airport, at a check-in desk or
inside a kiosk, limiting where passengers can get their boarding
passes. The
magnetic stripe boarding passes also require expensive and
unique paper stock. In the 1990s, some carriers transitioned to one-dimensional (1D) bar codes, which have a series of parallel vertical lines and look similar to UPC codes used to identify store products. These 1D codes were first used in the rail industry in the 1960s and are only able to carry a limited amount of data. The IATA industry standard established in 2005 for airlines is a two dimensional (2D) code known as PDF417. This holds more information by using patterns of squares, dots and other geometric patterns. This code allows flexibility in the size, readability of codes and is supported by many different types of scanners and printers. The printed 2D code also allows for many security and encryption features. |
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