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It would also be cool if you printed your boarding pass to PDF, but instead of printing a giant-sized version, loading it onto an Amazon Kindle and presenting t
by patrickk 16y ago
It would also be cool if you printed your boarding pass to PDF, but instead of printing a giant-sized version, loading it onto an Amazon Kindle and presenting that at the gate. Test Amazon's claim of being just like paper to the limit. Can't see why it wouldn't work.
- reverend_gonzo 16y agoDelta already supports sending you a PDF which you can show on your phone and have it scanned. Did this last time as I was running late to the gate.
- epochwolf 16y agoYou can do this with coupons and an ipad at my local barnes and noble. (They just type in the number. The printed coupons never scan right anyway)
- patrickk 16y agoI was thinking the matte screen and e-ink would be more conducive to scanning successfully with a barcode reader :-)
- Turing_Machine 16y agoMany major airports accept "boarding passes" that are actually 2D barcodes displayed on your mobile phone. I'd expect those would work on the Kindle just fine.
- ENOTTY 16y agoI don't think it'd work since every time I fly, TSA uses a marker to write on my boarding pass...
- rdtsc 16y agoIt would work for TSA, might not work well for your kindle ;-) I can see a smart-ass TSA agent seeing your kindle and nonchalantly mark it with his permanent red marker, then in one fluid "kthxbye" motion give it back to you and move on to the next person in line. You'll complain but they'll just reply back with Amazon's marketing line "It's just like paper!"
- ownyourinfo 16y agoHaha, I bet that has definitely happened.
- kgermino 16y agoWelcome to HN! Since your a new user I'll let you know that your being down voted because your comment doesn't actually add anything to the conversation, a comment of agreement should be replaced by, at most, an up vote of the parent. I know it cliche but please read. The guidelines, http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html , otherwise you'll be hell banned very quickly.
- kalleboo 16y agoIf this was a regular comment I wouldn't say anything, but since this is likely a canned copy/paste you'll repeat, I'll be a grammar nazi and ask you to please fix it to say "you're" instead of "your".
- kgermino 16y agoOh thanks, I actually did write it from scratch on my phone, it's not a comment I would usually make but for whatever reason I felt like I should. Sorry about that. Edit: I've lost my editing power so I guess it'll stay that way.
- barrkel 16y agoPro tip: the solvent in whiteboard markers will dissolve most permanent marker marks; likewise whiteboard cleaner spray (though spray on a cloth rather than on the Kindle).
- rpledge 16y agoThis is very true, I learned this yesterday when I accidentally picked up a Sharpie instead of a whiteboard marker. Colouring over the mistake with a whiteboard marker worked like a charm!
- iamdave 16y agoI used my phone as a boarding pass once, scanned fine, they just marked my baggage claim slip.
- vetinari 16y agoI did it few times; it was accepted at check-in, but cannot be scanned at the gate (is is too tiny), so when the people at check-in saw it, they issued a paper boarding pass for me.
- Turing_Machine 16y agoThat may vary according to airline or airport. I haven't had any problems with it.
- kschrader 16y agoThe Continental application for iOS allows you to just pull up your boarding pass on the screen and have the security screener scan the phone screen. I would imagine that some of the other airline apps do so as well.
- Timothee 16y agoI can confirm that United does it with their mobile site. You would get a page with an image of the QR code and every other info they need. (funny thing when I did it was that my screen had a few lines running across the middle of it, so I had to pull down the page and hold so that the QR code fit in the undamaged area)
- Turing_Machine 16y agoBy an odd coincidence, I just got an email from United/Continental offering to donate $1.00 to a conservation group if you use a mobile boarding pass on Earth Day.
- dengzhi 16y agodown w/ adobe's monopolized PDF format!
- dandelany 16y agoI did this once (right after getting my Kindle, ha), and it actually scanned correctly at the gate! The trick is zooming it just right to get the barcode to be the right size on the screen.
- hinathan 16y agoI do this all the time going SFO - JFK on United. You get an email with a link, opening that link on a phone shows a 2d barcode. It's quite simple and the scanners at security and the gate show your name and the agent checks that against your ID. I was expecting the system to be somewhat brittle but I've never had an issue with it.
- HelloBeautiful 16y ago>> Can't see why it wouldn't work. There is a great (no sarcasm) air company in your country, called Ryanair. Don't even try it with them :D
- patrickk 16y agoActually, Ryanair is surprisingly open to technological innovations as it dovetails perfectly with their ruthless driving down of costs. Examples include ~100% of bookings and check-ins done online (before other airlines woke up to this opportunity), use of mobile phones in-flight (Ryanair gets a massive cut) and the wingtips on the end on planes wings which help save fuel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryanair#Past_fleet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryanair#Past_fleet I'm not sure if they do it yet, buy I'm sure I read somewhere that there was talk of Ryanair introducing the scanning of barcodes on mobile phones screens. Of course, you can't take any gossip about Ryanair seriously - past examples include €10 transatlantic seats subsidized by €10,000 first class seats, charging for toilet access on-board, in-air blowjobs (yes, Michael O'Leary actually said that!), standing section instead of seats..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfIY24BErBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfIY24BErBE
- viraptor 16y agoWorks on the Amsterdam <-> Brussels train. It scanned correctly even from a mobile.