Why can't the boarding pass solely exist in digital form just like e-tickets which exist in the airline's database from the time of reservation? This would only require a passport to be scanned at the boarding gate to be checked against the airline database, in the same way as is done at self check-in kiosks. This would completely eliminate the need for paper and mobile boarding passes making paperless ticketing available to everyone and not just people with compatible mobile devices.
Boarding a flight by only allowing a passport scan could improve passenger air travel experience - In fact 66% of the self- service check-in users would prefer an e-boarding pass - but it could also mean a significant inconvenience for Schengen area passengers where a passport is not mandatory. Nevertheless, 2010 pasengers are ready to give confidential data in order to get through the airport faster, as a mater of fact there is a better positive attitude towards registering with automated border control and security programmes than a few years ago.
We should not forget that as per statistics a 26 % of travellers now carry a smart phone, twice more than in 2008 so it makes sense the necessity to have acces to a printer to acquire a boarding pass through Web check-in is being addressed by the industry through adoption of the mobile Bar Code Boarding Pass (BCBP) which will allow a BCBP to be sent from the Web Check-in interface to the mobile phone. By the moment the mobile is the only paperless alternative for boarding passes and also for other developments such as mobile ticketing and check-in among others which will enhance notably the passenger travel experience.
Overall - accoding to SITA passengers habits survey- There is a very positive attitude among passengers towards the future use of kiosk check-in (75%) and Web check-in (62,5%) while only 44 % of passengers are positive towards mobile check-in.
