Air France initiates E-Boarding Pass trial

Air France is testing their electronic boarding pass that will allow passengers to get their way through the airport quickly. This six months trial will run until December 31, 2014 and will be available for passengers flying between Toulouse-Blagnac and Paris-Orly.

The trial of this e-boarding pass option is a joint endeavor of Air France, Orange, RESA, Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, and SITA. Air France is allowing few of its frequent flyers who have Orange smart phones with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology use Touch&Pass app to move quickly through the airport, starting from entering the airport until they board their flights.

The smart phone users will receive NFC boarding pass automatically through the application using their usual method of check-in. The phone needs to be tapped on the dedicated readers present in the airport in order to quickly and efficiently pass through different stages of journey like priority security check, lounge access, and boarding. The readers will read the boarding pass even if the phone is locked or is out of battery. This highly advanced reader can retrieve the relevant boarding pass, even when the phone has multiple boarding passes stored in it.

Jean Christophe Gaudeau, Ground Product Innovation Manager for the airline, said that the airline is continuously in search of new products, services, and solutions that will improve travel experiences for passengers during all stages of their flight. The airline’s involvement in testing NFC technology exemplifies its hope to become a path-breaker in the area innovation for the welfare of our passengers.

Air France after the success of this trial e-boarding pass plans to expand this service to multiple airports and for all travelers. Through the use of this technology passengers will not only save their valuable time but also travel comfortably without any stress of searching and displaying a barcode.