It wouldn’t, though. You’d still need one person at each camera admitting people, since these don’t come with self-service turnstiles, a la the IAH test from a decade and a half ago, or Boston.

Frankly, with COVID I don’t mind one gate agent handling boarding, whereas the second/third, etc. handles upgrades/standby/bag check/questions/etc.

In Canada, it seems like most airlines have all agents handling passes during boarding, which creates more congestion, and can create a stall, if someone has questions during boarding, etc.

Yes, that's a good point - biometrics could eliminate the passport match aspect at the gate.

Digital ID - BETA
 

I saw an option to "Help us test our newest tech" in the boarding pass page after checking in.


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Unfortunately it errored out after taking a selfie and scanning my ID with:

Was anyone able to create an ID sucessfully?

Ummm a big no thank you to giving my biometric data to a corporation. Same with CLEAR.

You honestly think they don't already have it?

Yeah, I've gone from curb to seat (on the flight) at SFO without scanning my boarding pass. Both TSA and UA at the gate used other means of identification.

If you're flying across a border, they already have it.

Have a clear photo of my face? No. A scan of my passport that has a difficult-to-see-fine-details photo of my face? Probably so, but lacking enough detail to be something that might concern me. They don't have my fingerprints or any other personally identifiable biometrics.

US Customs has these details through my Global Entry membership so they can do facial recognition at their kiosks and land borders, but this data is not shared with United or any other private company - if they tried it, the lawsuits would be flying fast and furious.

With the millions of cameras in the world and every "social media" site selling photos to anyone who wants them? I find that hard impossible to believe. But if it makes you feel safer, you can continue to believe it.

I have not seen that yet. Where were you flying from, ORD? I'm all about making travel easier/more seamless.

No.

Who has it? if United? Where did they get it from? I believe the G (maybe others?) gates at SFO only match your face to your passport that you scan at the same time - opt-out is also available. Not sure where else they would get your photo ID, but if it is from somewhere else I would be very interested in knowing about it.

or the US Gov? that would make sense for them to have it as it is a requirement for a passport - the use for that data is also regulated. Opt-in to giving a Corp and giving permission to store my biometric data and to use it however and whenever they see fit is not the same as agreeing to give the information to the US government in exchange for travel privileges a US Passport affords.

edit to add:
One would first have to have a social media account that trafficked in photos. Not everyone does, I can't even take a selfie with my phone atm since I have covered all front facing cameras since they first started putting them above the computer screens (Macs). Will also be very hard pressed to find any photo (film or digital) of me after about 4-5y/o since I would always hide and stubbornly refuse to take pics or cover my face. This includes gatherings with friends, I have become very adept at quietly slipping out of pics when people start taking them. I have never liked them, and maybe its a bit neurotic - but the over abundance of people taking pics of themselves is completely crazy (bordering on narcissistic) to me.

CBP already has all of your biometrics. At least AA has been boarding international flights that way. As you go to the plane your picture along with PRN is sent to a third party that sends it to CBP to verify you. BA is doing something similar in the UK. Big brother is watching you.

Yes, United. Where did they get it? I don't know? A previous scan of my passport? There was no scan of my passport at the gate. Just a machine taking a photo of my face.

yea ORD


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Avoiding discussions about large corporations collecting individual biometric data, what benefit does this have? It looks like it currently is just to speed up the bag drop process? Presumably in the future this will be expanded to expedite more things? But what else would this actually improve?

It benefits UA and their bottom line. Less agents needed to verify ID, reduces costs, etc. But I assume the trend is to move towards less friction during the entire airport experience. Like how TSA doesn't require boarding pass to get through security now and how airlines are adopting boarding by facial recognition, etc.