New Mobile Check-In

[simongr]

No exit row (seat 4C) and I couldnt even get to the main check in - I was booted out before I was able to pick seats etc.

 

[harvyk]

IMHO this is a sensible cost to cut - the only reason I would normally keep a boarding pass is until said flight shows up on my activity statement; it gets shredded at that point. Let's face it, domestic flights really aren't anything special. Keep a spreadsheet of flights taken if you want a reminder.

To you and I dom flights aren't anything special (especially anything ex CBR for me), but to the person who is flying for the first time, or manages one dom flight a year, they certainly are special. I still remember how excited I was a couple of years ago when I went on my first flight in 8 years.

I'm +1 for the old style boarding passes. I'll always get one if it's an option. I have more confidence in it still being in one piece at the end of the day especially for day trips where I'll get the return pass at the same time.

 

[Harry G]

To you and I dom flights aren't anything special (especially anything ex CBR for me), but to the person who is flying for the first time, or manages one dom flight a year, they certainly are special. I still remember how excited I was a couple of years ago when I went on my first flight in 8 years.

I'm +1 for the old style boarding passes. I'll always get one if it's an option. I have more confidence in it still being in one piece at the end of the day especially for day trips where I'll get the return pass at the same time.

technology again........let forget about the "older" travelelr who is not mobile phone savvy....... lets worry about all the others.....
reel in verybody with this feel good way of infiltrating your mobile - JQ even say they are going to spend more on "techno" advertising instead ofdf media, and when we are so rapt up in this technology of the future and we cannot go back to our old fashioned ways such as boarding passes..........bang!!! impose a charge ay!!!!!!!!!
just like the "free" wheel aboard allownace - now they are all looking like wanting to charge for this privelege.....
just like the banks!!!!!!
I am sure they have covered all contingencies when some bright spark though of this idea but just like their coughpy reading machines at check in, something will go belly up when a phone gets lost, stolen or otherwise and the queues will form at boarding!!
perhaps instead of an Ipgone we may have a Q Phone or what about a virgin phone -hang on they already do!!!!

 

[purplegez]

Well..... Call me old fashioned...... I love the older style boarding cards.

I don't keep them for nostalgia, nor do I throw them straight in the bin. They turn up at the bottom of my suitcase or laptop bag. Back in the days before the advertising was printed on the back they were used for writing notes. I have used them as bookmarks... an "urgent" toothpick once, as well as to gain entry to the aircraft. Very versatile really.

Me too bossreggie - they become my bookmarks. Sometimes I re-read my books, or part of books, some time later and it is interesting to see where I was travelling to/from when I last read it

 

[simongr]

technology again........let forget about the "older" travelelr who is not mobile phone savvy....... lets worry about all the others....

Qantas provide the following options for travellers to check in:

Mobile phone
Internet
Quick Check Kiosks
Qantas Club check in
Traditional counter based

I don't see anyone being forgotten here.

In fact what this will mean is that some people now can step out of the other queues and make life easier for people usng more traditional methods...

 

[Chicken]

technology again........let forget about the "older" travelelr who is not mobile phone savvy....... lets worry about all the others.....

Qantas provide the following options for travellers to check in:

Mobile phone
Internet
Quick Check Kiosks
Qantas Club check in
Traditional counter based

I don't see anyone being forgotten here.

Exactly. You are still free to queue in front of check in counter if you want, like when you are going on holiday, able to arrive for check in 2 or 3 hours ahead. You can still get your souvenir boarding pass this way if you want.

But me, I would rather get it done in the middle of the night before going to bed, and have my boarding pass in my phone. The day comes, go straight through security, gate opens, here is my phone, and my boarding pass.

As to old people? Well, maybe it is time to move on. People used to do their finances using calculators. People use to run their small businesses using calculators and cash registers. I would like to see how far you can get with a calculator these days, and how long it would take you to do your BAS.

 

[burrco]

On the mobile might work out ok for use on Qantas, but it was more trouble than the old fashioned way for me on a recent AA trip. First show the TSA guy, doesn't scan, enlarge try again etc. Then have to hand the phone over at the AA Club, go through the whole enlarge it, maybe centre it more etc routine once more at the gate.

Not a normal occurrence, but also had someone claim I was in his seat (even though his boarding pass showed the seat across the aisle), so out comes the phone - with him claiming "that's not a boarding pass, just something on your screen" so phone handed to FA for verification.

One or two minutes at the self checkin kiosk would have been a far better utilization of my time.

 

[Mal]

The web site checks what browser you are using. If it is a desktop version of Internet Explorer / Firefox / Opera, you get the normal full version of Qantas web site, with all the features and ads and pretty looking banners. If it detects your web browser as iPhone / Internet Explorer for Windows Mobile / Opera for Windows Mobile / S60 (Nokia), then the web site would give you a simplified version of Qantas web site, which is text only, and give you a link to online check in immediately.

Ok, I tried visiting Qantas.com with my iPad (actually Firefox with the User Agent changed), and it was treated as a regular browser. Visiting as an iPhone 3.0 does bring up the mobile site.

I wasn't sure if Qantas correctly differentiated between the iPad and iPhone. Scanning a barcode off that behemoth would be quite a task!

 

[anat0l]

Ok, I tried visiting Qantas.com with my iPad (actually Firefox with the User Agent changed), and it was treated as a regular browser. Visiting as an iPhone 3.0 does bring up the mobile site.

I wasn't sure if Qantas correctly differentiated between the iPad and iPhone. Scanning a barcode off that behemoth would be quite a task!

Well, at least it gives iPad people a hint (i.e. you are not sliding that thing under the barcode scanner!)

I guess I should add ditto that to netbook people (but netbooks will always bring up the "desktop" version of a web page).

 

[serfty]

On the mobile might work out ok for use on Qantas, but it was more trouble than the old fashioned way for me on a recent AA trip ...

Doesn't a receipt get printed out after scanning at the gate.

It does with AirNZ domestic and I believe one will with Qantas Domestic.

 

[burrco]

Doesn't a receipt get printed out after scanning at the gate.

It does with AirNZ domestic and I believe one will with Qantas Domestic.

That was my understanding - but I certainly wasn't given one - maybe an oversight by the gate agent? I didn't notice if anyone else was using a mobile boarding pass on the flight to compare.

 

[medhead]

As to old people? Well, maybe it is time to move on. People used to do their finances using calculators. People use to run their small businesses using calculators and cash registers. I would like to see how far you can get with a calculator these days, and how long it would take you to do your BAS.

i use a calculator every day of my working life. What should i ne using instead to work with angles and such? As for doing a bas i'm sure i could easily do it with a calculator, in fact even just in my head,how hard is it to divide by 11?

But then I'm sure they said the same thing about the slide rule.....

 

[simongr]

Strangely as an accountant of almost 20 years I no longer own a calculator other than the one on my iPhone that is most often used to work out bonus %....

 

[Febs]

Tried the mobile check-in for the first time tonight. Laughably bad.

1) Despite the fact that the iPhone version of the QF website allows you to log in and "View your Booking", to then check-in, you need to enter your booking reference in a separate screen. WTF?

2) After doing the above, my simple Y fare SYD-MEL tomorrow morning "is not eligible for mobile check-in", then after OLCI'ing through my laptop "You are already checked in", and no mobile boarding pass.



Hopeless...

 

[harvyk]

Tried the mobile check-in for the first time tonight. Laughably bad.

1) Despite the fact that the iPhone version of the QF website allows you to log in and "View your Booking", to then check-in, you need to enter your booking reference in a separate screen. WTF?

2) After doing the above, my simple Y fare SYD-MEL tomorrow morning "is not eligible for mobile check-in", then after OLCI'ing through my laptop "You are already checked in", and no mobile boarding pass.



Hopeless...

Yeah, a couple of weeks back I did PER-MEL-CBR and tried to use mobile check-in. Didn't work in the slightest.

Apart from having to get hold of the booking ref number which was a pain as I had to log into my FF account to get hold of it (and then remember the numbers whilst walking down the street). It then crashed on me at the screen stating it was about to send the boarding pass to my phone, which of course never arrived.

Decided to call QF to find out what was going on to be told yes I was infact checked in.

Of course, I then changed my seats once I got to the airport anyway...

BTW (further to my previous post of 2 months ago) Last night I discovered just how excited someone can get about flying routes that most people here would roll their eyes at...

I offered to take this friend of mine down to MEL from CBR the next time I go down there. I had never seen anyone so excited about the thought of going on a plane... Trust me, she will be saving her first boarding pass, even if it's a "nothing special flight"

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I have only seen other people use this facility at the boarding gate so I can't speak personally about the process involved initially trying to do the mobile checkin.

At the boarding gate pax holds their mobile phone (screen facing up) underneath the same scanner that is used for scanning OLCI or traditional boarding passes. This scans a square bar code on the phone display at which time a docket prints out which pax then takes with them to show F/A or CSM as they board the aircraft.

Like any new technology there is always hiccups as they roll out a product however I can only speak for the end result which seems to be working fine at the airport.

Cheers

Oz

 

[Blackadder]

Used it over the ANAZC day long weekend at Sydney & Townsville, and only problem I encountered was in the Townsville QP.
Wouldn't hesitate to use it again.

 

[wile_e]

Tried the mobile check-in for the first time tonight. Laughably bad.

1) Despite the fact that the iPhone version of the QF website allows you to log in and "View your Booking", to then check-in, you need to enter your booking reference in a separate screen. WTF?

2) After doing the above, my simple Y fare SYD-MEL tomorrow morning "is not eligible for mobile check-in", then after OLCI'ing through my laptop "You are already checked in", and no mobile boarding pass.



Hopeless...

Hi Febs, I mobile checked in on my iPhone for this morning's trip.

Originally, I thought you have to put in the booking reference, however (thanks to a colleague's advice), all I had to do was to log onto Qantas' iPhone site on Safari using my FF#. Once done, I could view my bookings and check-in for the flight in question (note the 24 hour limit). The next step was to provide a mobile number where I then received an SMS with a URL to my boarding pass.

To be honest, to me it was quite seamless.

Now for the painful bit. It seems that QF staff are not suppose to touch your phone, and you have to scan the phone's boarding pass yourself... I found this out as this morning as I managed to hold up a queue for 1 minute or two due to one of the scanners at SYD airport not accepting the boarding pass on the phone. I tried to ask the QF staff to help, but it seems that's against their policy.

Apparently the tip (which I apparently did... :shock was to hold the phone at a slight angle, and not flat...

Hope this helps those considering mobile check ins.

 

[Tooner]

I haven't managed to use the mobile phone boarding pass just yet as I managed to check-in, got the sms BP and managed to delete it on my new BlackBerry! Once checked-in en mobile, I couldn't go back in so had to OLCI.

IIRC, when mobile check-on was previously done, I used my phone all the way to the door, unless re-fuelling was in progress, when I was handed a traditional card BP at the gate.

Is it now standard to get a paper receipt?

 

[ozbeachbabe]

IIRC, when mobile check-on was previously done, I sued my phone all the way to the door, unless re-fuelling was in progress, when I was handed a traditional card BP at the gate.

Is it now standard to get a paper receipt?

Getting a traditional card BP at the gate is the same as OLCI but not being able to print it off prior to arriving at the airport. This would've been a work around for mobile checkin until the paper receipt thingy was up and running.