Ipad as boarding pass

[rechoboam]

I know that the question has been asked re iphones, but am flying MEL-SYD-MEL tomorrow and was wondering if anyone has used their iPad as a boarding pass yet i.e. held it up to the scanner?

 

[samh004]

You might get a strange look, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, as long as it fits under the scanner.

 

[rechoboam]

Well I'll print it as well this time and report back...

 

[simongr]

It would be an awkward process. To use your iphone you log into the QF app, check in and get sent an sms with a link to click for your BP. So you would have to email the link to your ipad and then hope that the ipad doesnt upscale the image...

Just use your iphone...

 

[rechoboam]

It is upscaled in fact, and you can't shrink it except by pinching and holding the pinch if you know what I mean, until they have scanned it. And I don't have an iphone as my blackberry is very good for my business. Can you use the ipod touch as a boarding pass? I expect that you can...

 

[samh004]

Can you use the ipod touch as a boarding pass? I expect that you can...

That would work the same as an iPhone, having the same physical screen size.

 

[simongr]

Only issues with the iPod touch is that you need to go through the same rigmarole to open the BP but then the iPod might try to refresh when you reopen the iPod at the gate.

Good luck though.

Out of interest can you not check in and get the BP through your BB?

 

[rechoboam]

Out of interest can you not check in and get the BP through your BB?

I love technology but everything I have ever done on my BB has ended in disaster, except for receiving emails and downloading attachments. I became so sick of apps not working or timing out that I just stopped trying to use them. I think I probably can get a boarding pass on it....maybe I'll work up the courage tonight.

 

[Ewing]

I know that the question has been asked re iphones, but am flying MEL-SYD-MEL tomorrow and was wondering if anyone has used their iPad as a boarding pass yet i.e. held it up to the scanner?

I've always wondered actually. I assume you're talking about putting the OLCI PDF on there instead of printing it out?

Good luck. Make sure you report back

 

[rechoboam]

Good luck. Make sure you report back

Oh I will. The point of the exercise of course is to one-up my colleague who bought his ipad before I did. However as we hold up a line of passengers while I zoom in and out of a pdf, the experience is likely to be embarrassing. Never mind, I'm happy to be the AFF guinea-pig.

 

[harvyk]

I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

I would expect mobile boarding passes (like all modern day boarding passes) uses a form of OCR (optical character recognision) to determine if the pass is valid and what details are contained within it (or more likely a link to a database record).

OCR is usually not too fussy about size of text as it looks for pattern recognision rather than at scanned pixel sizes. Furthermore, as there is no standard size for mobile screen sizes (or as far as I know screen resolutions), and given most mobiles will allow you to customise settings (such as text and image sizes), scanners would need to be able to take into account different mobile settings.

Of course if all else fails you could also try holding the iPad further back from the scanner.

(Disclaimer - This is an uneducated guess only, make sure you have a paper boarding pass with you as well)

 

[yohy?!]

Oh I will. The point of the exercise of course is to one-up my colleague who bought his ipad before I did. However as we hold up a line of passengers while I zoom in and out of a pdf, the experience is likely to be embarrassing. Never mind, I'm happy to be the AFF guinea-pig.

That was my experience using the boarding pass sent to my smartphone... holding up the line after scanning my phone as the printer for the paper receipt had no paper. Then cabin crew were complaining that it's too small for them to read anyway!

 

[simongr]

I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

I would expect mobile boarding passes (like all modern day boarding passes) uses a form of OCR (optical character recognision) to determine if the pass is valid and what details are contained within it (or more likely a link to a database record).

OCR is usually not too fussy about size of text as it looks for pattern recognision rather than at scanned pixel sizes. Furthermore, as there is no standard size for mobile screen sizes (or as far as I know screen resolutions), and given most mobiles will allow you to customise settings (such as text and image sizes), scanners would need to be able to take into account different mobile settings.

The iPhone BP is not a character but a pattern.

 

[simongr]

Only issues with the iPod touch is that you need to go through the same rigmarole to open the BP but then the iPod might try to refresh when you reopen the iPod at the gate.

Just realised you can get around this by taking a screenshot when the BP is on screen and using that rather than safari at the gate.

 

[Flashback]

Just realised you can get around this by taking a screenshot when the BP is on screen and using that rather than safari at the gate.

Great suggestion, didn't think of that!

 

[simongr]

Neither did I in my first reply

 

[harvyk]

The iPhone BP is not a character but a pattern.

True, but AFAIK the technology behind it is the same. The scanner takes a digital photo of the pattern and it looks for patterns which it recognises. Rather than having an alphabet loaded into recognition algorithm, it has patterns.

(PS I've coded basic pattern recognition algorithms in the past, which is why I imagine they would use a similar technique as it's fairly easy thing to do)

 

[drewbles]

Perhaps I'm overlooking something but last time I checked blackberrys had a browser. I'm assuming the qf site is not optimised for it so you can't do mobile check in?

 

[Ewing]

and what details are contained within it (or more likely a link to a database record).

There's actually a fair bit of data in that barcode - I decoded one out of curiosity.

I found (this is for an OLCI barcode, I've never used mobile check in):
- Full name
- Booking reference
- Origin and destination
- Airline
- Flight number
- Day of the year (eg: August 13 is 225)
- Cabin (eg: Y or J)
- Seat number
- Sequence number

I looked up the standard after decoding it and there are a lot more optional fields. I'd say one of the optional fields is used to tell the check in computer to print the seat slip.

 

[simongr]

Perhaps I'm overlooking something but last time I checked blackberrys had a browser. I'm assuming the qf site is not optimised for it so you can't do mobile check in?

Unless you have a pretty new and decent BB then your BB browsing experience is simply NOT!