NFC instead of QR codes for boarding passes

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I've been trying out the 'Use the QR code from your cell-phone' approach for boarding passes for a while now, and at this point am firmly in the It Just Doesn't Work Well camp.  Heres a typical sequence from two weeks ago
  1.  No reception at the airport (Yes ORD - I'm looking at you).  Frantic scrambling to connect to Boingo at $14.95, 'cos I'm about 4 minutes from boarding
  2. AA app suddenly decides to bork (update last night which apparently didn't sit well with my phone)
  3. Phone reboots, QR code not coming up
  4. Reboot again.  Aha! QR Code up.  Hell-light scanner won't read it. TSAs helpful advice "scan it again" doesnt work.
  5. Step aside to reboot phone since quitting/relaunching AA app disappears the QR code again.
  6. Hell-light definitely not operational.  TSA guy moves us all to the other line. Thankfully *not* to the back.
Well, you get the point.  And the above, while quite bad, was by no means the exception.  So, towards this, the news the they're looking at NFC to support airport check-ins is very welcome news.


NFC airport check-in and other uses demonstrated by Orange and SITA:

No-one likes airports, but NFC technology could go some way to reducing the stress a little. That's the possibility raised by a proof of concept from Orange Business Services and air transport research lab SITA, who have demonstrated how integrating NFC into mobile SIM cards may get you through the airport more smoothly. The idea centers around storing boarding pass information on the SIM card, meaning that you'd be able to check in, open security gates, or get easy access to airport lounges by simply waving your phone over a reader rather than searching for the papers in your bag or the QR code in an app. Because the data is written directly to the SIM card, it'll work even if the phone is powered off. SITA is owned by the aviation...
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Oh, FWIW, I *always* carry a printed boarding pass now, kinda negating the whole QR code point...

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