yogi4582

I've searched both FT and the web in general for the exact process for saving a mobile boarding pass on the iPhone, and I can't seem to find it. The AA web site instructions just say "check your phone/PDA manual to locate where the Boarding Pass will save".

This is how far I get:

1. I check in online specifying "Receive electronic boarding pass(es) on your cell phone or mobile device"
2. On my iPhone, I pull up the e-mail from AA and click on the embedded link to display the mobile boarding pass with the 2D bar code
3. I click on the "Save Boarding Pass" button in the link which produces a single image of the 2D bar codes for the boarding passes for all segments. At the top, it says "Tap and hold the image then tap the button to save it to your gallery".
4. When I do tap and hold the image and then tap the button, I don't see it saved in Photos or anywhere else.

Does anyone know what the magic is?

TIA

zski1

Try holding the sleep button then tapping the home button.

yogi4582

Yes, that did it.

Wow, I admit to being a new iPhone user, but I find that not only not intuitive, but also not in any way clear from the limited directions provided.

Color me thankful for FT once again.

ORDMD80

If you put your finger on the barcode and hold, a menu will slide up from the bottom. Select "Save Image" from that menu and it will copy the barcode to the Camera Roll in the Photos application.

If that menu doesn't slide up, you may need to update your iPhone software to the latest version.

imagineertobe

The difference between these two methods being that the first one is a screen grab of your iPhone and the second saves the actual image off of the aa.com check-in page. One may be more desirable than the other (I seem to remember that the actual image is longer than a single screen).

riteshraja

Is this available at all airports now?

ORDinaryPax

Nope. See: Link.

I still don't get why this is easier than stopping at a kiosk for 12.5 seconds.

scubadu

Agreed 100%. This method, based on other threads, seems to be prone to "gotchas" I commented on a few related threads that this seems to be a solution looking for a problem.

However, it seems technology for the sake of technology can be irresistible to some...

Regards

jlp187

or...since one would do OLCI anyway,...just print the BP, put it in your coat pocket.... and skip any and all kisoks at airport....fastest way i think

.....and if you lose the BP, then spend the 12.5 secs at kiosk

CaptainEasychord

- Last time I used a kiosk, it malfunctioned somehow (out of paper, jammed, or something) and required an employee to come over and help out. Not a problem with electronic BP.

- Last month I was at a small airport with just a couple of kiosks that were both broken, so I had to wait in line for about 20 minutes. Not a problem with electronic BP.

- Last year, I was running late for the airport and wasn't going to get there by the checkin cutoff time. I was in a cab, so I checked in online on my phone to get in under the time but then still had to visit the checkin desk to get an actual boarding pass. Not a problem with electronic BP.

- Without the need to visit a kiosk, I don't even have to go to the general *area* where they are and can head straight to the gate, which is especially helpful if I'm airside and no kiosks are.

- I could really, really do with one less item to keep track of and hold onto while traveling, but I always have my phone anyway.

So in some cases, it may mean a pretty small convenience while other times it's large, but it's never less convenient. And the airline saves money, there's less trash, etc.

Now I can't wait to actually use it one day!

NYC_DFW_LAX

Malfunctions are definitely more of a problem with electronic boarding passes than with kiosks, and I don't think you have to worry about using your iPhone at small airports anytime soon.

I also find it very hard to believe that anyone has ever made a flight because of saving 12.5 seconds by avoiding a kiosk, and if you're inside the terminal already then I'm guessing there are gates with agents nearby where you can get a boarding pass if there are no kiosks handy. I would contrast this with the >12.5 seconds that I've spent waiting in the security and boarding lines behind people who thought boarding with their iPhones would be cool.

worldwide viking

Another way to save the mobile boarding pass on your iPhone is with Airside Express. In full disclosure, its an app that a couple of us have been working on, but it's free and we need critiques -- we got into this because we also thought it was inconvenient having to do a screen shot.

The Airside app still needs a lot of work, although it works decently for AA and CO for flights leaving from airports that support mobile boarding passes. We'll have a much-improved version coming out soon.

If you try it out and want to critique it, shoot me a message here.

Thanks!

yogi4582

It is "easier" because I can do it at my leisure and don't have to worry about how long the line will be at the kiosk. (At AUS, it's hit or miss as to whether they will all be available or all be in use with 1 or 2 pax behind, inevitably with everyone not knowing their RL and proceeding to chicken peck every letter of their destination as "S-A-N- -F-R-A-N-C-I-S-C-O".)

It is "preferable" to me because it is paperless. I have made a personal choice to reduce as much paper use and I can and while a bp may seem like a trifle, it matters to me.

SoCal811

I want to start using it, but I will have a backup BP handy until the technology is better. I saw someone try to use it at LAX and it failed. The scanner could not read the barcode. They made him go back downstairs to get a BP. He was not happy.

My problem is bigger though. For some reason, I cannot check in on my iphone. I can pull everything up, login to aa.com, pull up my reservation and see that I am not checked in, but from there I can't check in. All it gives me is a place to submit phone numbers for travel updates and a place to change my seat assignement.

Can anyone help me with that issue?

worldwide viking

Hi SoCal,

I can try to help with your aa.com issue. After you log-in, are you seeing the AA menu for functions? (Feel free to send me a screen shot of what you are seeing via email).

We went through AA.com mobile site pretty intensively to set up the Airside Express app. If you want, you can get it from the App Store (its free) and see if that works for you. It takes a moment or two to process when you log-in to aa.com, but then it saves your itinerary and mbp right on your iPhone.

Cheers,
-Worldwide Viking