3 ms·

i cant believe i'm about to defend Ryanair but just fwiw it seems quite normal to do a custom app specifically for tickets, for anticheat purposes + the nicety

by swyx 1y ago

i cant believe i'm about to defend Ryanair but just fwiw it seems quite normal to do a custom app specifically for tickets, for anticheat purposes + the nicety of putting your ticket in Apple Wallet is nice enough that i willingly do it for the airlines i fly. ok that wasnt really defending Ryanair but just being argumentative for the sake of fairness. obviously Ryanair doesn't have Ticketmaster level tech.

pphysch 1y ago
Why do you need to download and run an app to get your ticket into your phone's Wallet?
serial_dev 1y ago
You can usually get the ticket printed at the desk, print it at home, have a PDF on any device like a Kindle, take a screenshot of the QR code, add to your wallet on your phone even without proprietary apps, etc… I download the airline’s apps, but I hate relying exclusively on these potentially unreliable apps, or unreliable phones so I always get the ticket in other formats, too: always have an analog version, and some form of digital version on at least two devices. I don’t travel often, but when I do, missing a flight would be expensive or annoying, so it’s a reasonable trade off for me, ymmv. With that said, I also don’t fly Ryanair, so they can do whatever they want.
- swyx 1y ago
  btw ryanair charges you like $75 for printing at the desk haha
gruturo 1y ago
It absolutely doesn't take an app to issue a boarding pass which will appear in your Apple Wallet. It's literally a zip (with extension .pkpass) containing a master JSON, a few assets like logos and a digital signature. There are tutorials for making your own. Many airlines let you download one once you check in on their website, or email you one, or embed a download link in an SMS, just to name 3 alternatives.
- robocat 1y ago
  Recent experience with United: the SMS option was deeply broken (as in couldn't actually get one boarding pass from the link in SMS). Their kiosks were crap too (as in attendant tries to tell me I'm doing it wrong, then they can't do it, and they finally have to check me in on their own terminal). The overall UX/UI of airlines is terribly broken.
  - brewdad 1y ago
    2025 Web of Shit papering over a 1950s era backend.
john01dav 1y ago
Why does a boarding pass need a rootkit? ("anticheat" is usually code for root kits, and at least it has some positive trade off for users in the video game case) They can just check the scanned pass against their own database to verify authenticity. They could also cryptographically sign it.
chickensong 1y ago
It may be "quite normal" to you, but that doesn't mean it's good. Stockholm syndrome comes to mind here. Until technology gives us better controls, we must assume that every app, particularly those from large profit-driven corporations, is hostile.
- BrandoElFollito 1y ago
  It may be hostile to you, bit that doesn't mean it is hostile. Paranoia syndrom comes to mind here.
  - chickensong 1y ago
    It's true that not all apps are hostile, but my pessimism and paranoia aren't unfounded. If you think the current state of software, security, privacy, etc, is fine and dandy and doesn't warrant skepticism, then our shared reality is probably too fractured to have a meaningful debate.
    - BrandoElFollito 1y ago
      I work in cybersecurity, heading the group in a company you know. I also develop open source software. So I am painfully aware of the pandemic of cybersecurity issues we face professionally and at home. Progress has its good and bad aspects, and we must fight as much as possible in some battles, and choose them wisely. This is why the EU efforts around privacy are great, and without their drawbacks. But ultimately they are great. Being infuriated as I see in this thread about the decision of a company to use mobiles as boarding passes is not something I adhere to. One can always fly with another airline that does not have these restrictions, and complain on another thread how expensive this is. Saying that all of current technology is evil means going off the grid and living a quiet life in a remote forest. This is of course a solution. Saying that some technology is evil (and it definitely is) means fighting for these specific things to be regulated. Ryan Air's digital boarding passes is not one of them.
      - chickensong 1y ago
slumberlust 1y ago
No. I'm app fatigued and over it. Let's put some power back into he hands of consumers for once.

by swyx 1y ago

pphysch 1y ago

Why do you need to download and run an app to get your ticket into your phone's Wallet?

serial_dev 1y ago

You can usually get the ticket printed at the desk, print it at home, have a PDF on any device like a Kindle, take a screenshot of the QR code, add to your wallet on your phone even without proprietary apps, etc… I download the airline’s apps, but I hate relying exclusively on these potentially unreliable apps, or unreliable phones so I always get the ticket in other formats, too: always have an analog version, and some form of digital version on at least two devices. I don’t travel often, but when I do, missing a flight would be expensive or annoying, so it’s a reasonable trade off for me, ymmv. With that said, I also don’t fly Ryanair, so they can do whatever they want.

swyx 1y ago
btw ryanair charges you like $75 for printing at the desk haha

gruturo 1y ago

It absolutely doesn't take an app to issue a boarding pass which will appear in your Apple Wallet. It's literally a zip (with extension .pkpass) containing a master JSON, a few assets like logos and a digital signature. There are tutorials for making your own. Many airlines let you download one once you check in on their website, or email you one, or embed a download link in an SMS, just to name 3 alternatives.

robocat 1y ago
Recent experience with United: the SMS option was deeply broken (as in couldn't actually get one boarding pass from the link in SMS). Their kiosks were crap too (as in attendant tries to tell me I'm doing it wrong, then they can't do it, and they finally have to check me in on their own terminal). The overall UX/UI of airlines is terribly broken.
- brewdad 1y ago
  2025 Web of Shit papering over a 1950s era backend.

john01dav 1y ago

Why does a boarding pass need a rootkit? ("anticheat" is usually code for root kits, and at least it has some positive trade off for users in the video game case) They can just check the scanned pass against their own database to verify authenticity. They could also cryptographically sign it.

chickensong 1y ago

It may be "quite normal" to you, but that doesn't mean it's good. Stockholm syndrome comes to mind here. Until technology gives us better controls, we must assume that every app, particularly those from large profit-driven corporations, is hostile.

BrandoElFollito 1y ago
It may be hostile to you, bit that doesn't mean it is hostile. Paranoia syndrom comes to mind here.
- chickensong 1y ago
  It's true that not all apps are hostile, but my pessimism and paranoia aren't unfounded. If you think the current state of software, security, privacy, etc, is fine and dandy and doesn't warrant skepticism, then our shared reality is probably too fractured to have a meaningful debate.
  - BrandoElFollito 1y ago
    I work in cybersecurity, heading the group in a company you know. I also develop open source software. So I am painfully aware of the pandemic of cybersecurity issues we face professionally and at home. Progress has its good and bad aspects, and we must fight as much as possible in some battles, and choose them wisely. This is why the EU efforts around privacy are great, and without their drawbacks. But ultimately they are great. Being infuriated as I see in this thread about the decision of a company to use mobiles as boarding passes is not something I adhere to. One can always fly with another airline that does not have these restrictions, and complain on another thread how expensive this is. Saying that all of current technology is evil means going off the grid and living a quiet life in a remote forest. This is of course a solution. Saying that some technology is evil (and it definitely is) means fighting for these specific things to be regulated. Ryan Air's digital boarding passes is not one of them.
    - chickensong 1y ago

slumberlust 1y ago

No. I'm app fatigued and over it. Let's put some power back into he hands of consumers for once.