4 ms·

Surely the design is the easy bit? Boarding passes operate in a highly regulated and legacy-technology _and_ heterogenous environment (technologically, cultural

Surely the design is the easy bit? Boarding passes operate in a highly regulated and legacy-technology _and_ heterogenous environment (technologically, culturally, legally, and in terms of corporations involved). Overcoming all those challenges to gain agreement is the hard bit.

ericts8 13y ago
To me, the design is intended to make everyone's life easier - that should be encouraged. From a tech standpoint, as long as the boarding passes are still scannable and easy to read, isn't that all that matters?
- zwischenzug 13y ago
  Sure, but that's not the standpoint that matters. Current boarding passes work well enough, I guess.
potatolicious 13y ago
I'd be more concerned about cost. With the advent of self-checkin boarding passes have become largely homogenized - boarding passes used to actually be printed by the airline, on their own paper stock, instead of the airport authority's touch terminals. This isn't an environment where the airlines have a great deal of control over what gets printed, or the printers doing the printing. Going from the extremely cheap thermal paper printers I see in these machines to full-color, thick card stock (like it was in the Good Old Days) would be pretty darned expensive. Unfortunately the airline industry today is hyper-competitive to the point where anything that does not generate higher bookings and higher sales is basically just all cost and no benefit. Unless these easier-to-use boarding passes results in more bookings, it just doesn't make financial sense for the airlines, who are cash-strapped as it is without being tasked with replacing tens of thousands of printers.
- chx 13y ago
  Actually, if the rear / aisle iconography yields faster boarding then the time saved standing on the ground might be worth it. Airlines spend tens of millions on researching faster boarding processes.

ericts8 13y ago

To me, the design is intended to make everyone's life easier - that should be encouraged. From a tech standpoint, as long as the boarding passes are still scannable and easy to read, isn't that all that matters?

zwischenzug 13y ago
Sure, but that's not the standpoint that matters. Current boarding passes work well enough, I guess.

potatolicious 13y ago

I'd be more concerned about cost. With the advent of self-checkin boarding passes have become largely homogenized - boarding passes used to actually be printed by the airline, on their own paper stock, instead of the airport authority's touch terminals. This isn't an environment where the airlines have a great deal of control over what gets printed, or the printers doing the printing. Going from the extremely cheap thermal paper printers I see in these machines to full-color, thick card stock (like it was in the Good Old Days) would be pretty darned expensive. Unfortunately the airline industry today is hyper-competitive to the point where anything that does not generate higher bookings and higher sales is basically just all cost and no benefit. Unless these easier-to-use boarding passes results in more bookings, it just doesn't make financial sense for the airlines, who are cash-strapped as it is without being tasked with replacing tens of thousands of printers.

chx 13y ago
Actually, if the rear / aisle iconography yields faster boarding then the time saved standing on the ground might be worth it. Airlines spend tens of millions on researching faster boarding processes.