/ Source: The Associated Press
Major airlines have agreed on a standard that will allow travelers to check in using a bar code sent to their cell phones, the International Air Transport Association said Thursday.
Passengers will register their cell-phone number when buying a ticket and receive a bar code by text message, the group representing most commercial carriers said.
Check-in staff will scan the bar code directly from cell phones, doing away with the need for a boarding pass. Alternatively, passengers can also receive the code by e-mail and print it out.
IATA said the move would help the industry phase out paper tickets by 2010 and save more than $500 million annually.