One in three airline boarding passes to be issued via mobile devices in 2019

New research from Juniper Research finds that over 1.5 billion boarding passes will be delivered via mobile by 2019, compared to approximately 745 million boarding passes estimated to be delivered this year. This means that mobile boarding passes will represent 1 in 3 boarding passes issued by airlines at the end of 2019. [caption id=“attachment_1243029” align=“alignnone” width=“300”]  Representational image: AP[/caption] It notes that mobile boarding passes are increasingly used by frequent flyers, but less used by leisure passengers who are less likely to be familiar with the technology. According to SITA, the airline IT specialist, 53% of airlines have already implemented mobile boarding passes via apps which is expected to rise to 91% by 2017. Transition to NFC Delayed The new research, Mobile & Online Ticketing: Transport, Events & NFC 2015-2019 found that the majority of airlines have implemented boarding passes via apps, and the industry is witnessing rapid adoption in markets such as the US, Far East and Europe. Some of the early adopting airlines are recording double-digit growth for boarding passes delivered via mobile. However, the success of mobile barcode boarding pass adoption has meant that the transition to NFC will be delayed. “The ultimate position that NFC can reach in the airline industry is ‘the extinction of the boarding pass’ whereby boarding pass, baggage tickets and identity information can be stored on the phone and simply accessed using NFC readers. However, this transition will not only be delayed by the success of barcode but there is the need to gain agreement and investment from airlines and airports around the world”, noted research author Nitin Bhas. Other key findings - The metro/bus sector will dominate mobile ticketing transaction volumes, due to the relative frequency of consumer purchase. - Metro/bus NFC-ticketing is expected to gain traction in the medium term in critical markets such as Europe and Asia as gating infrastructure is upgraded.