Paperless Boarding Pass Testimonial

While scouring the internet for TSA related information, I came across an interesting testimonial regarding paperless boarding passes from a passenger who travelled through the Detroit Metro Airport. (DTW)

“Checked in online for my flight today and saw a new option show up for an E-Boarding pass at DTW (note: only for direct flights). I had to try it, clicked and within 20 seconds a SMS message showed up on my phone with a link to the E-Boarding pass with a barcode on my cell phone (PDA). Not wanting to risk missing my flight, I also went back in and printed a boarding pass as a backup, that I never had to use.

I had a lot of questions on how it would really work, especially with having to show your boarding pass when you walk under the TSA metal detector and have to show your boarding pass and you are not allowed to bring your cell phone through. So he is how it went today:

TSA Boarding Pass Check - they have a new bar code reader that you hold your phone up to and it reads the bar code and you show them your ID to match the name that shows up on the screen. They then give you a Tuit (a Poker Chip with TSA on it).TSA Screening - Just like normal, except you hand them the Tuit instead of showing them your Boarding Pass with the TSA checkers initials on it. Sorry, they have to keep the Tuit, I was hoping to start a new game to see who could collect the most Tuits in 1 year.WorldClub - I use the Amex Plat. Card, so I have to show a Boarding Pass, ID and the Amex Card. They also have the same bar code reader and I put my phone in front of it and it scanned. Good to go. Gate - I held my phone on top of the normal reader the GA's use and it read it and I boarded without any problems. The only comment from the GA was the the last guy who tried it, didn't work. I'm sold, will be using the new E-Boarding Pass from now on. Didn't slow me down; however, I did get a lot of stares/attention from fellow pax's as I pulled out my PDA at screening, WorldClubs, Gate. “

I’d be interested to see if any of our other readers have tried this yet. So, if you've used this, please tell us about it.

Also, for your viewing pleasure, check out this MSNBC clip.

Bob

TSA EoS Blog Team

Bar-Coded Boarding Passes – Secure, Mobile, and On The Way

As we’ve talked about earlier on the blog, TSA has taken a lot of steps to confirm ID: TSA Travel Document Checkers with magnifying loupes and black lights, the revised ID rules that affect people with no ID and developing Secure Flight. All that considered, we’re not naïve enough to say the system is foolproof. We’ve seen the “boarding pass generator” websites and know how to use Photoshop. In fairness, between the marking of boarding passes by TSOs at the checkpoint and the use of barcode scanners at the gate for most flights, it’s neither easy nor predictable to board a flight with a fake boarding pass. But the broader point is accurate – we could be better on this issue.

Some months ago, a team of people at TSA went to work on it. They’re working very closely with our airline partners to incorporate a strong digital signature into the barcode on every boarding pass. The technique we’ve selected allows existing 2D barcode scanners to read the basic flight information, but scanners equipped with the appropriate security keys can authenticate the information and determine if the name, date, flight number or any other information has been changed. It’s simple but very effective. The net result will be a boarding pass that is extremely resistant to tampering or forgery.

We’re already testing this concept in the field. Thanks to terrific cooperation from our airline partners, we’ve launched eight test sites where passengers can receive boarding passes on their mobile phones or PDAs (wait until you try it – it’s pretty slick). Click here to learn more about participating airports and airlines.
These mobile boarding passes have digital signatures embedded in the barcodes. Officers who do the document checking are equipped with handheld barcode scanners (generously on loan from our partners) and can confirm the authenticity of the boarding pass instantly. This isn’t rocket science – the (2010 NL East Champion) Nationals use the same process at their new ballpark – and it’s working really well for both TSA and passengers.

Next up, we’ll work on expanding from mobile boarding passes at a few sites to all formats of boarding passes across our system. Looking back on the progress that we’ve made over the past several weeks, we greatly appreciate the cooperation and commitment of our partners on this effort. In the meantime, you can check back here or at www.tsa.gov for specifics on where you can try the new mobile boarding passes.