| How often have you been preparing to go on | | | | mobile phones equipped with barcodes as |
| holiday when disaster strikes and you can't | | | | boarding passes, with passengers registering |
| find the super secret hiding place you put | | | | their fingerprints upon arrival. |
| the plane tickets months ago? Many people | | | | |
| have experienced this panic and with new | | | | Mobile Phones are not only being used like |
| proposals being put forward soon we may be | | | | this for boarding passes but also in other |
| able to cut out this added stress to our | | | | ticket related arenas. One other such use is |
| pre-holiday regimen. | | | | tickets for music concerts. Earlier this year |
| | | | at London's Hammersmith Apollo, Nokia |
| The International Air Transport Association | | | | sponsored a Guns n' Roses concert and used it |
| (IATA), a trade association representing and | | | | as the perfect platform to launch its |
| the airline industry, has agreed on a new | | | | TicketRush venture, where concert-goers order |
| method of checking in for flights where | | | | their tickets and are sent a text message |
| travellers can have a bar code on their | | | | with a unique code to present at the door. |
| mobile phones scanned upon arrival. | | | | |
| | | | The scheme was deemed enough of a success |
| Many people currently are able to print out | | | | that later in this year other artists are |
| their flight information at home over the | | | | joining Nokia to provide mobile phone ticket |
| internet and bring that to airport as opposed | | | | allocation for popular artists, with as |
| to the old magnetic strip tickets, but with | | | | Kasabian, Rihanna and Queens of The Stone Age |
| air travel receiving heavy criticism from the | | | | all listed as upcoming dates. |
| "green crowd" IATA has clearly seen mobile | | | | |
| phones as a more eco-friendly method of | | | | The use of this system helps provide a more |
| getting passenger's tickets to them. | | | | secure way for fans to get a ticket, since in |
| | | | the past ticket touts would scour the crowds |
| These plans have already been given the green | | | | outside venues with convincing fake tickets |
| light and now major airlines are considering | | | | to sell at extortionate prices, only for |
| implementing them. British Airways and Virgin | | | | punters to be turned away at the door. |
| Atlantic have expressed their interest whilst | | | | |
| Ryanair has dismissed the idea. | | | | Another similar use has been at Manchester |
| | | | City Football Club, again to provide more |
| BA in particular has some concerns, since | | | | security and convenience to the customer. A |
| there is no universal standard with mobile | | | | spokesman says: "Mobile contactless services |
| phones such as screen size and media | | | | will mean the end of bulging wallets - there |
| messaging capabilities. Some airlines have | | | | will be no need to carry credit and debit |
| expressed concerns over the added work | | | | cards, travel cards, loyalty cards and |
| involved, citing that the whole process | | | | security passes. And, we will still be able |
| benefits the passenger but causes extra | | | | to provide the information and match |
| trouble for the airlines. | | | | information for football fans on their mobile |
| | | | phones." |
| If these concerns are resolved then the | | | | |
| scheme could be rolled out as early as 2008, | | | | There have even been talks for mobile phones |
| with a target for the old paper-based tickets | | | | to be used as methods of payment for food |
| to be obsolete by 2010. If this were to | | | | outlets and the club store at the venue. |
| happen then there is a potential saving of | | | | |
| $500m (about £250m) by adopting the | | | | So it seems that mobile phones are on the |
| paperless system. | | | | brink of gaining a whole new batch of uses, |
| | | | showing there are many new and convenient |
| But as with most technological advances, the | | | | ways of integrating into our lives and |
| Far East is already pioneering these | | | | culture. |
| practices and Tokyo's Narita Airport uses | | | | |