qasr

Things can be a lot more serious than that. Say my real name is on a passenger watch list, call it Mr. Terrorist. I book a ticket under "John Smith" which is assumedly NOT on the watch list.

I then forge my BP to show my real name, but keep the barcode in tact. I show my geniune ID and matching BP to the checker and proceed through to the gate. I just got through security with a name on the watched list and no one picked up on it--I didn't even get secondary screening! When I board, the manifest and all associated record will show that a John Smith flew when it was actually Mr. Terrorist.

But all these concerns are far too practical for the current TSA hooligans to think to change.

SEAUAKID

I got the flimsy white BP in KIX back in mid-July.

worcestershire sauce

Isn't the genesis of the flimsy stock related to the spread of the common-use automatated check-in kiosks - the ones that are used by multiple airlines?

silver springer

When I got the "new" boarding passes at IAD, went into the RCC. Found out that the new ones arent scannable so you have to pull out your RCC club card instead of having your BP scanned. This caused a minibackup as people adjusted.

superEGO

Hmm.. I got the gold cardstock ones there like a week ago

rar indeed

Absolutely effing outrageous. They snuck upon us the flimsy BP jackets and now they're doing the same with the flimsy white BPs? Nonsense like this is just outrageous. Soon enough the Biscoff packs will just have one cookie.



It's sickening to think that I can get receipts from stores that are sturdier and thicker than UA BPs.

...and a few for good measure.

ualboston1k

I haven't gotten one of these BP's yet, but have seen them a few times while connecting in ORD and SFO.

To be honest, I don't care too much. Yes, the gold BP's are pretty. BUT...the entire system is evolving and I think United needs to do what it can to stay current.

If you think about it, the size of the blue / gold boarding passes is the same as "old" paper airline tickets. Nowadays, most people use e-tix, therefore boarding passes no longer need to be that same size. It's just a waste.

In addition, "magnetic strip" technology is about 20 years old. Bar Code technology is much more advanced and flexible. Sure, this may mean that other stip readers in Europe, etc, may not be able to read our BP's for a few months...but they'll catch up. I imagine in the future that RFID passes may be possible. Anyone who has used the subway in Tokyo or Hong Kong will know both of those systems currently use RFID tickets. No barcodes or magnetic strips. Passengers just "wave" their card at the kiosk.

I also have noticed the UA First "jacket" is also flimsier than before. Again, I really don't care. I frew LH yesterday...they don't even give you a jacket. They just hand you your bag tag which you can attach to anything you want (I prefer my passport). Recently, when I have flown UA, I have opted not to take the regular or gold ticket jacket because...well..what's the point. I just attach the bag tag to my OLCI boarding pass or to the back of my BP stub. IMHO there is no need for the jackets anymore either.

The first time I flew Jetblue, I was intrigued to see their paper receipt boarding pass. It was completely different in terms of size (not paper ticket sized) and in look (generic). The more I thought about it, they more I thought they were very smart.

There is no need for BP's to be "paper ticket sized" any more. Thermal printing technology is more advanced, better quality, and easier to use than the current Dot Matrix technology. Barcode technology is more advanced then magstripe.

The current barcode readers at the gate do need to be improved. They do take a few second longer. although I don't think this is a big deal since passengers currently queue up in the jetway after scanning their BP's anyway.

Anyway...just my $0.02. I agree with another poster from a few pages ago..I would rather have UA stay "modern" and cutting edge and focus on areas that really matter (improved F service, IFE, meals, baggage handling (make priority tags mean something), etc).

rar indeed

What does the size have anything to do with anything? The flimsy paper BPs are approximately the same size as the sturdy cardstock BPs.

I can't ever remember receiving a BP printed with a dot matrix printer. Both the flimsy paper BPs and the sturdy cardstock BPs are thermal. Why can't UA print barcodes on the sturdy cardstock BPs like AA does? Barcode vs. magstripe is irrelevant in the discussion of BP sturdiness.

Rebmig

Oh No! Is it really worth the cost savings? I mean I'm sure it is but ugh.

ualboston1k

Not true...BP's are sturdy so that they can be fed through the mag stripe readers (although they were sturdy before magstripe readers existed).

I guess my point is...who cares? Yes, sturdy is nice, but given where the industry is going (bar codes, etc, where sturdy is not needed) there is no need.

uastarflyer

As long as they don't stick the baggage claim tags to the flimsy BPs - now that would be the worst!

One of my major peeves about SQ - they stick the bag tags on the back of your BP, or in one case for me, my passport!

Hope they at the very least keep the paper ticket jackets...

N37077

Or AirTran.

kcvt750

Or Greyhound.

goodo

Can anyone post a pic of the this new BP?

thanks
goodo

AdamUK

I'm sure UA are saving money across the board on making this change, I doubt they'd do it just to annoy flyers... (perhaps they would )

Of course i'm sure if when booking there was an option to receive a cardstock BP for $10 everyone would be paying it... ... Hmmm not a bad idea actually... "Would you like an upgrade to E+/Business for $$$ ? Would you like a cardstock BP for $10 or a crappy flimsy one for free?"