Why do some airlines put such little effort into boarding passes?

[Mattg]

The boarding passes of most airlines look reasonably good and, at a minimum, convey the most important information (flight number, gate, boarding time, etc.) in a way that's easy to read.

So I was surprised when flying Rex in business class last week how bad the boarding pass looked. It was printed on receipt paper, had no airline branding, did not mention the class of travel anywhere and I imagine most people wouldn't have found it very useful at all. (At least the check-in agent circled the boarding time!)



It reminded me a little of the LATAM boarding passes in Brazil which are printed on flimsy yellow receipt paper - although, at least those boarding passes contain all the relevant information and are easy enough to read.

At the other end of the spectrum, mind you, some of the US airlines (e.g. American Airlines) have way too much information (not to mention, the TSA agents also scribble all over them).

Compare this to a Qantas boarding pass, which is easy to read, has clear branding and looks nice.



Maybe most flyers don't really care what their boarding pass looks like, but at a minimum, surely they should be easy to read. So why don't some airlines make the effort - is it just expensive, is it laziness, or something else?

 

[samh004]

A year ago I'd have some examples to compare in my possession, but going through a move right now I've simply been shredding them!

 

[jb747]

'Cos it would cost an amount of money, no matter how small, to set up printing of a nicer pass. I doubt that many airlines will be spending anything that they don't have to, any time soon.

 

[AisleSeat]

With Rex, perhaps boarding passes don't need to have a long life, as Rex just flies relatively short sectors domestically, so have opted for an inexpensive option with using thermal receipt roll. With Qantas (and other international airlines), a boarding pass may need to survive a long trip (where you may even be holding more than one at a time). Receipt paper will degrade faster than thicker card, and the thermal print will wear off quicker too.

Years ago I found a great post on boarding pass design. Just found it again. It's a good one: Redesigning the Boarding Pass - Journal - Boarding Pass / Fail

 

[Must...Fly!]

Boarding pass appearance would surely be way down the list, considering Rex haven't even removed the VirginAustralia WiFi access point name from the aircraft.

 

[Mattg]

Boarding pass appearance would surely be way down the list, considering Rex haven't even removed the VirginAustralia WiFi access point name from the aircraft.

I'm sure you're right.

I guess, to me it just seems to me like such a basic thing considering the issuing of a boarding pass is the first thing a passenger will experience once they arrive at the airport and check in. Having some text randomly printed on receipt paper just looks cheap.

But yes, as you say, there are quite a few other basic things they also haven't done yet.

 

[Ade]

Maybe most flyers don't really care what their boarding pass looks like, but at a minimum, surely they should be easy to read

I think at a very minimum, the boarding pass should show information that on first sighting make it easier to read stuff like - the airline name, date & time of boarding and any special requests (cue : JQ BP showing codes - Jetstar Boarding Pass Acronyms (wiki content) | Australian Frequent Flyer)

There could also be instances where one would need to submit their boarding pass as part of their travel expenses claim or when they are dealing with an insurance company for a claim or something like that. So better to have some information that will make life a little bit easier.

 

[chelzmalee]

Being REX it doesn't surprise me. But I do agree, a little branding goes a long way. A lot of people like to collect their BPs and thats one that won't make the cut, or be remembered.

 

[milehighclub]

So why don't some airlines make the effort - is it just expensive,

This. It is outrageously expensive.

 

[Mattg]

This. It is outrageously expensive.

Out of interest, do you know what costs are involved or why this is the case?

 

[milehighclub]

Out of interest, do you know what costs are involved or why this is the case?

I don't know the exact amounts and imagine it varies, but I recall when we asked work to change the layout of something, or include something in a print out, and the company was very quick to say, we want too, but it is just too expensive. Rex goes to 59 destinations (on a quick google). That is 59 airports that have to be updated (and every computer at that airport), along with all the things required to change it. It's all done by SITA anyway and assume can be done remotely, but still would take some time.

Why? Airline industry. Put the word airline in front of what you want and charge 500 times the price. It shouldn't be so difficult, but it is.

 

[eric2011]

Sorry, at the risk of getting burnt, and burnt badly here, I don't put any importance what so ever on the looks of a boarding pass. As long as it has the flight number, date, terminal, boarding time and gate and of course the seat number that's all the information I need. Oh wait a minute, I haven't had a physical boarding pass for years thanks to my phone.

Ok, flame suits on, give it to me

 

[Mattg]

Sorry, at the risk of getting burnt, and burnt badly here, I don't put any importance what so ever on the looks of a boarding pass. As long as it has the flight number, date, terminal, boarding time and gate and of course the seat number that's all the information I need. Oh wait a minute, I haven't had a physical boarding pass for years thanks to my phone.

Ok, flame suits on, give it to me

No need for a flame suit. Everyone's different and that's a perfectly reasonable position

 

[dajop]

If you google Rex boarding pass you will see what they have looked like historically - two distinct designs with prominent Rex branding.

 

[Stealthflyer]

For an internal flight in Myanmar, I was given a handwritten boarding pass. When it came to boarding, the airport staff simply held up a piece of board with the flight code. Rex looks comparatively fancy!

 

[eastwest101]

That same information, printed on nice card stock like Rex used to have, would look similar to the example boarding pass from Qantas. But as others have said, obviously the cost of keeping nice card stock and compatible printers seems to be beyond a lot of airlines. Obviously with a lot of online/phone/print your own style boarding passes there does seem to be part of the market that favours convenience over a physical boarding pass, but with Rex if you are travelling hand luggage only, and want to do online check-in I believe they actually give you the choice of printing your own boarding pass (at your own cost obviously) or charge you 50c or maybe $1 to receive a SMS boarding pass? (Not sure of details as I haven't done this myself so happy to be corrected if SMS boarding passes are free).

 

[Mattg]

That same information, printed on nice card stock like Rex used to have, would look similar to the example boarding pass from Qantas. But as others have said, obviously the cost of keeping nice card stock and compatible printers seems to be beyond a lot of airlines. Obviously with a lot of online/phone/print your own style boarding passes there does seem to be part of the market that favours convenience over a physical boarding pass, but with Rex if you are travelling hand luggage only, and want to do online check-in I believe they actually give you the choice of printing your own boarding pass (at your own cost obviously) or charge you 50c or maybe $1 to receive a SMS boarding pass? (Not sure of details as I haven't done this myself so happy to be corrected if SMS boarding passes are free).

Not quite a mobile boarding pass - Rex charges $2.40 to get your itinerary sent to you by SMS.

From the Rex website booking process:

 

[Ade]

For an internal flight in Myanmar, I was given a handwritten boarding pass

Some one here also had a similar experience in DPRK, I guess. Remember reading a trip report to Pyonyang and other DPRK areas

 

[Ade]

I don't know the exact amounts and imagine it varies, but I recall when we asked work to change the layout of something, or include something in a print out, and the company was very quick to say, we want too, but it is just too expensive. Rex goes to 59 destinations (on a quick google). That is 59 airports that have to be updated (and every computer at that airport), along with all the things required to change it. It's all done by SITA anyway and assume can be done remotely, but still would take some time.

Why? Airline industry. Put the word airline in front of what you want and charge 500 times the price. It shouldn't be so difficult, but it is.

I remember once changing something on the bill for a prominent telco. The change included some bright colours, visual representations etc. The pricing wasn't that huge.

Besides, the change was done on the main server (for the lack of a better word) and it was replicated on all the terminals in over 1000 stores across AU.

I think the change itself wouldn't be expensive. I think the implementation wouldn't be exhaustive or challenging. But as @milehighclub rightly pointed out, add the word "airline" in front of anything and the price shoots up 500x

 

[Danger]

Perhaps Qantas could pay for a spruce up - by buying advertising space on the reverse.