In April 2023, Alaska Airlines announced plans to radically change the airport check-in experience. The airline appears to have just implemented a new restriction that’s part of this plan, as flagged by JT Genter.
In this post:
Alaska Airlines says goodbye to the airport kiosk
Alaska has updated its travel advisories page, to outline a new restriction on how you can get your boarding pass at the airport. You’re of course encouraged to get your boarding pass prior to getting to the airport using your own smartphone. But if you don’t show up at the airport with a boarding pass, you’ll no longer be able to print it at one of the kiosks. Rather, you’ll have to see an agent.
Here’s how the airline explains this:
Our airport kiosks no longer print boarding passes—this means you’ll need to check in and access your boarding passes through the Alaska Airlines mobile app, from a computer, mobile device, or print them at home. If you’re checking bags, you’ll use our new bag tag stations to print bag tags, add a bag, or pay for your checked baggage. If you are unable to obtain your boarding pass before arriving at the airport, please see an agent for a paper version.
How Alaska Airlines is changing the airport check-in experience
Alaska is overhauling the airport check-in experience in a pretty bold way, and kiosks no longer printing boarding passes is a small part of that. Alaska is investing $2.5 billion in its airport lobbies, with the goal of getting passengers from the check-in hall and through security in five minutes or less.
Here are the key aspects of this:
- Passengers will be encouraged to check-in using their smartphone, and the airline is hoping that 90% of people will eventually check-in via this method
- Alaska will no longer have traditional airport check-in kiosks, but will instead replace those with new bag tag stations, where passengers will be able to pay for and tag checked bags using iPad tablets, and put the bags on the belt themselves
- There will still be customer service agents available, should you need help
This whole plan is essentially based on Alaska’s belief that most passengers will not only embrace using these self-service options, but will be able to use them without too much friction. I’m sure Gen Z passengers won’t have any issues with that, while I imagine some Baby Boomers may feel differently.
Only time will tell if this makes the airport check-in experience faster, or simply increases wait times to see an agent.
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines is changing the airport check-in process. In the near future we’re going to see airport kiosks fully eliminated, though in the meantime, kiosks no longer print boarding passes. The airline encourages passengers to check-in prior to arriving at the airport. If you need a boarding pass once at the airport, you’ll have to see an agent.
What do you make of Alaska’s updates to airport check-in?
We who travel a lot and are elderly, do not use a phone for such activity. Unfortunately most people especially the younger generation eat with a phone, sleep with one and carry one every where they go. To me that is sad. Who wants to be controlled by such a device. It sure is a safety concern with these, people are so busy taking on a phone they do not pay attention where they are going, especially while driving. I see it all the time
As an 80-year old who recently got a cell phone but haven't figured out how to use it yet except to take pictures and see email, I feel marooned in a world of hi-tech I haven't kept up with. I can print an outbound boarding pass at home with my computer, but don't know what I'll do coming home with just my new cell phone that has no apps.
This has been the case for several months now. I can't remember when I last flew Alaska, but I think it was late 2023. Kiosks didn't print passes but the roving agent went to the counter with a bit of an eye roll and got mine printed. I don't want to have to make sure my phone brightness is just right and that I'm not doing something else on the phone or even that it's...
This has been the case for several months now. I can't remember when I last flew Alaska, but I think it was late 2023. Kiosks didn't print passes but the roving agent went to the counter with a bit of an eye roll and got mine printed. I don't want to have to make sure my phone brightness is just right and that I'm not doing something else on the phone or even that it's in my hand. Shocking, I know, but sometimes it's in my pocket or my backpack. Or I have the wrong phone in my hand.
Paper is easier and provides a paper trail, no pun intended, for when flights aren't credited or an agent makes a change without asking.
Doing away with printed boarding is a good initiative in enhancing passenger service..
I love traveling in Alaska for its seamless check in, air port counter service and more specially the inflight service, seating comfort and on time arrivals.
It’s a truly traveller friendly airlines.
Please keep up the good service and look forward for enhanced service at all times.
How does taking something some people want away, improve service. Are you the Alaska Airlines version of Tim Dunn?
Emirates Airlines is the first to adopt the boarding pass option through its mobile application instead of paper cards since last year . ✈️
3/17/24:
Self-check in gives the passenger a responsibility regarding travel to do and be aware off. However, it will not ever eliminate the long lines of passengers to take ones turn to the self tag lines. People will still have to experience waiting in line to complete the check in process. SO, WHY ELIMINATE THE KIOSKS? GIVE OPTIONS OR KEEP THE OPTIONS for people to checkin at least to
another line to go...
3/17/24:
Self-check in gives the passenger a responsibility regarding travel to do and be aware off. However, it will not ever eliminate the long lines of passengers to take ones turn to the self tag lines. People will still have to experience waiting in line to complete the check in process. SO, WHY ELIMINATE THE KIOSKS? GIVE OPTIONS OR KEEP THE OPTIONS for people to checkin at least to
another line to go to get your luggage checked in. LONG LINES AND LONG WAIT FOR ONES TURN TO COMPLETE THE CHECK IN PROCESS WILL ALWAYS BE AN ISSUE TO STAY.
Alaska Airlines, I for one of many want a Paper Boarding Pass not all of your customers, want to use a Phone App, as a boarding pass.
This has been the case at their hubs for months. Now they get to make customers waste time getting in line for an employee to print passes if they want a paper one like it's 1995. Truly the most intelligent of decisions.
With all the 'savings' from less boarding passes, less printers, less desks and chairs for check-in staff, less check-in staff(!), less EVERYTHING connected with a normal check-in....will Alaska now also be charging less? Oh, of course....NO. You're all paying this asshat airline for serving yourself.
I want to deal with a human, not a machine, period!
This sounds very similar to Qantas in Australia where you place your own bags on the belt. It does seem to be quicker. And there are humans there to help too.
There's nothing wrong with the machine. Think of using an ATM vs walking in to deal with a teller at the counter. You generally want the machine to function to do as much as can be accomplished. Once again, using the ATM, you can withdraw money, transfer money between accounts, and deposit money. When I lived in Korea twenty years ago, you paid your bills (utilities and the like) using the ATM. They needed to...
There's nothing wrong with the machine. Think of using an ATM vs walking in to deal with a teller at the counter. You generally want the machine to function to do as much as can be accomplished. Once again, using the ATM, you can withdraw money, transfer money between accounts, and deposit money. When I lived in Korea twenty years ago, you paid your bills (utilities and the like) using the ATM. They needed to do that because the government required the use of obsolete (twenty years ago) systems to enact any online banking. The banks knew it was assinine, so they (and the utilities) set up the bills for optical character recognition (think of old passports), and the banks set up the ATMs to read the bill, and allow you to pay.
Nothing is stopping you from standing in line for a boarding pass if it's social interaction you're after.
I’ve had my seat randomly reassigned a couple of times to a middle set while at the gate. My electronic boarding pass reflected the change immediately with no history, and after the gate agents denied I was moved (aka lied to my face), my paper boarding pass got me put right back in the aisle seats I originally selected. Plus, the battery never dies on my paper boarding pass.
Considering many airports have horrendous cell phone service, what happens when the Alaska app loses your boarding pass while you are on line to board because of some glitch?
Take a screenshot of the boarding pass ;-)
You're supposed to load the boarding pass to the phone's mobile wallet by clicking the button "add to wallet" next to the boarding pass. Then it's stored without the need for a cell signal. An amateur move is to screenshot the boarding pass to the phone because you may need to turn up the brightness and turn off the phone orientation to get it to display for the scanner. I can't tell you how many...
You're supposed to load the boarding pass to the phone's mobile wallet by clicking the button "add to wallet" next to the boarding pass. Then it's stored without the need for a cell signal. An amateur move is to screenshot the boarding pass to the phone because you may need to turn up the brightness and turn off the phone orientation to get it to display for the scanner. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people jiggle the phone because the screenshot of their boarding pass either isn't in frame or it keeps changing orientation if not held right and isn't bright enough for the reader.
Even if you initially move the boarding pass to the wallet, it can still change in the wallet feature without notice to you. As an example, gate or time of departure delays. Re-assigned seats are no different.
The only issue I have with this is when I bring my dog with me on trips it won't give me a digital boarding pass. Sometimes I forget to ask for one when checking everything in which requires a return to the line after realising the issue going into TSAPrecheck. Needing to wait in the line a second time is kind of rediculous.
I flew Alaska from PDX just this morning and needed to get a separate paper boarding pass for my daughter, so she could go through security without me (we were traveling on the same reservation and she doesn't have a smart phone). What a pain in the *ss to have to stand in line behind all the other folks checkling luggage/having troubles with their reservation only to ask an agent to print out a hard-copy...
I flew Alaska from PDX just this morning and needed to get a separate paper boarding pass for my daughter, so she could go through security without me (we were traveling on the same reservation and she doesn't have a smart phone). What a pain in the *ss to have to stand in line behind all the other folks checkling luggage/having troubles with their reservation only to ask an agent to print out a hard-copy version of her pass. Alaska's billion dollar investment in this new effort didn't "speed" me through the process at all. I hate it. I'm writing as a 75k Alaska mileage member/million miler so I know this airline well, and can still say this decision was a dumb one.
The materials saved can be used for 3-D printing bolts needed to secure door panels to the fuselage.
"Alaska is investing $2.5 billion in its airport lobbies"
is there a decimal off in that?! the entire company's market cap is only $4.7 billion. That seems like an awfully large sum to spend on buying a few iPads and printers...
i dont see why they are taking away the ability to self print boarding pass. maybe an increasingly small % of fliers utilize that... but why go out of your way to...
"Alaska is investing $2.5 billion in its airport lobbies"
is there a decimal off in that?! the entire company's market cap is only $4.7 billion. That seems like an awfully large sum to spend on buying a few iPads and printers...
i dont see why they are taking away the ability to self print boarding pass. maybe an increasingly small % of fliers utilize that... but why go out of your way to majorly marginalize that group? The new machines presumably already have thermal printers to print the luggage tags so maintaining ability to print boarding passes doesnt seem like it should be much added expense?
I'd imagine most of those people will just end up standing to have a real person spend 10 minutes printing your boarding pass. How much money could they be saving by removing the check-in kiosks?
And yes, this may work for Finnland or New Zealand or some other utopia, but this is America. Let's live in reality here.
And why would you expect consumer behaviour in the USA be different to Finland or New Zealand?
The idea of printing boarding passes at home is wonderful, assuming folks have a computer and a printer. What about the return flight? 50% of a trip potentially is without a paper boarding pass. Although I am a techy and happy to use my phone, I always have a paper boarding pass for times when (A) phone service doesn't work, ( B) phone is stuck in my pocket, and (C) it's just quicker to hand...
The idea of printing boarding passes at home is wonderful, assuming folks have a computer and a printer. What about the return flight? 50% of a trip potentially is without a paper boarding pass. Although I am a techy and happy to use my phone, I always have a paper boarding pass for times when (A) phone service doesn't work, ( B) phone is stuck in my pocket, and (C) it's just quicker to hand someone a paper boarding pass. Also, for post-flying claiming of FF miles (for whatever they're worth these days), the boarding pass is essential, particularly if you forgot to take a screen shot of what's on your phone.
Such a stupid move from an otherwise very good airline. Great FF program, generally good service, decent food/snacks. I totally agree with Rich. I'm tech savvy, but always use a paper boarding pass at least as back up and often to claim missing miles, especially when claiming to BAEC (British Airways FF); which somehow almost never shows up automatically. I was MVP Gold last year, now only MVP since I switched to BAEC (Silver). Alaska...
Such a stupid move from an otherwise very good airline. Great FF program, generally good service, decent food/snacks. I totally agree with Rich. I'm tech savvy, but always use a paper boarding pass at least as back up and often to claim missing miles, especially when claiming to BAEC (British Airways FF); which somehow almost never shows up automatically. I was MVP Gold last year, now only MVP since I switched to BAEC (Silver). Alaska is my choice when flying domestic. Just can't understand how much savings there is to be made when the equipment is already in place. We all know that labor is so much more expensive, that is assuming that it is available. If they truly believe that most people don't want/need paper boarding passes, then there won't be much expenses anyway. We are literally taking about some thermal printer and paper supplies cost! Why risk adding even a few additional dissatisfied customers?
I've been dealing with this on multiple flights out of SFO as it has already been implemented. Luckily wait for an agent hasn't been long as I mostly fly during non holiday times, but during those time I'm sure things won't be smooth. Not to mention during major flight/weather disruptions.
Alaska is missing a huge revenue opportunity... Rather than removing kiosks, they should retain them, and add a tipping option on the screen... 18, 20, and 25%. The flexible $ or % amount buttons shall be hidden well..
Dear Alaska's CEO, I know you don't read this blog (as you are too busy spreading around bribe money in Hawaii while taking payoffs from Boeing) (feel free to sue me for defamation you pig) but I know your sycophant goons do read this blog, so please pass this question on to the CEO: Is the same management team responsible for not properly inspecting the 737-Max-9 plug blow-out plane before the accident responsible for this...
Dear Alaska's CEO, I know you don't read this blog (as you are too busy spreading around bribe money in Hawaii while taking payoffs from Boeing) (feel free to sue me for defamation you pig) but I know your sycophant goons do read this blog, so please pass this question on to the CEO: Is the same management team responsible for not properly inspecting the 737-Max-9 plug blow-out plane before the accident responsible for this roll out, or is it the management team responsible for getting rid of your Airbus planes so you could be Boeing's Board of Directors cuckolds with one manufacturer and no upper hand over Boeing to negotiate with Airbus, responsible for this rollout? Just want to know which management team is running this show so I can set my expectations appropriate. Thanks in advance you dirty Inuit.
No. They work at two different companies.
I think this idea is not good. First because as others mentioned code shares and second - those check bag self service machines could print boarding passes too. They could just eliminate the stand alone self check in kiosks. Some people do need the printed boarding card still for various purposes.
Saves a few trees. Big deal. Who the heck still prints boarding passes in 2024 anyways?
I do :-)
Given that Alaska's app won’t allow you to check in or see a boarding pass if you are traveling with them on a code share flight, this change has been a royal PITA for me. On eight recent Alaska flights I’ve had to go to the ticket counter because of this “progress.” I also don’t love being forced back to 1992 with the need to carry around a printed boarding pass and hope I don’t lose it.
Encouraging people to use self service options by removing the possibility to use a self service option and forcing people to see an agent. Sure, that makes perfect sense!
Seems dumb. You still have kiosks to print out bag tags. Why not let them print a boarding pass also for people that need one?
I’ve run into problems in the past traveling with children, and having all of our boarding passes on a single device. At some airports in other countries, you have to scan your boarding pass to enter the security area. This is impossible to do when multiple people have their boarding passes on the same device.
As a customer and also a supporter of ak air employees i don't mind checking in online, but i protest having my personal time, energy, and uncompensated physical labor conscripted by ak air inc or any other seller of goods or services. That will be me, at the baggage load belt, loudly proclaiming the unfairness of it all, even as i join the other unpaid drones and do what is apparently going to be required of me in order to fly my favorite airline.
This was originally mentioned over a year ago...why is this news now?
Alaska has been removing kiosks for years now....old news.....why the outrage?
Finnair already does this concept there....just visit Vantaa airport and you will see the model alaska is going to....(same for NZ in AKL).
Glad I left the airline last year
It already sucks with online visas not working with phone apps etc and now websites don’t always load F off Alaska no thanks
No thanks
I am stunned that even this blog has so many completely ignorant readers
Air New Zealand has similar domestic check in and bag drop off concept for years and works great .
To the whinies - well if you that dumb to go against tech , don’t bother with advance protocols and fly with someone else …
Hmm...I just did 4 domestic trips on Air NZ in the last couple of weeks, and each time I checked in and got a printed boarding pass at the kiosk. So I would say that their kiosks operate much like the ones Alaska has ditched.
The first time I encountered Alaska's new system was in Newark late last year. For some reason, the app check-in failed for me, so I needed to get a...
Hmm...I just did 4 domestic trips on Air NZ in the last couple of weeks, and each time I checked in and got a printed boarding pass at the kiosk. So I would say that their kiosks operate much like the ones Alaska has ditched.
The first time I encountered Alaska's new system was in Newark late last year. For some reason, the app check-in failed for me, so I needed to get a boarding pass at the airport. An agent who was stationed near the new bag check kiosks offered to send it to my phone, which was fine until I realized that what she sent me was only for the first segment. I had to speak to a gate agent in SEA to get a boarding pass for my next flight. This was decidedly not efficient.
Incredibly dumb and short sighted. It is *always* the customer that pays the price.
INCREDIBLY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE MOVE.
MORE RACNG TO THE BOTTOM WITHIN THE US AIRLINE INDUSTRY.
The people who don’t get their boarding passes on their phone….cannot for whatever reason. For those passengers, this will result in longer waits in line, and ultimately may require the airline to hire more agents. Are boarding-pass-print-capable kiosks THAT expensive??
Agreed! I have had issues both at kiosk and online and now the wait to see a rep will double!
Yes, they are very expensive and antiquated machines built and maintained by a third party. Alaska has replaced them with modern iPad kiosks that they can quickly deploy software updates to themselves. That is a huge benefit to the customer experience, and saves money for the airline over time. It doesn't make sense to add an additional printer and card stock to these new machines so they can print boarding passes for the small number of people who prefer them.
Okay, so they don't want to print boarding passes. Fine.
But why not have an option that you can check in on the kiosk, and it generates a QR code that you can scan on your phone and get to a website with your mobile boarding pass?
This would be extremely easy for them to do. And it would be there for the people who were not able to check in online for...
Okay, so they don't want to print boarding passes. Fine.
But why not have an option that you can check in on the kiosk, and it generates a QR code that you can scan on your phone and get to a website with your mobile boarding pass?
This would be extremely easy for them to do. And it would be there for the people who were not able to check in online for whatever reason, without taking up more agents' time and would presumably end up printing fewer boarding passes because many of the people who will need one will have had problems with online check in.
Non tech versed companies don't have to do it this way. They believe in black and white because they don't actually think about it. I agree with their move but everyone is concerned about the fringe cases. I'm sure statistically its rare that our phones won't satisfy the workflow but it will happen and we all know the one's with issues make the most noise. There is nothing wrong with having 1 or 2 kiosks...
Non tech versed companies don't have to do it this way. They believe in black and white because they don't actually think about it. I agree with their move but everyone is concerned about the fringe cases. I'm sure statistically its rare that our phones won't satisfy the workflow but it will happen and we all know the one's with issues make the most noise. There is nothing wrong with having 1 or 2 kiosks next to the agent. People will know there is a back up plan. The software should be the same as what the agent is using so there is no change in software maintenance cost. Reducing the kiosks down by 80-90% still gives exec something to brag about. So why can't they step down instead of all or nothing?
#OK BOOMER here... who loves his iPhone, iPad, streaming tv etc etc...AND can remember when AS was a very high touch, high quality carrier. Ah the olden days...
I am ok with this but many of you raise very valid concerns and there are folks (regardless of age) who may not have a smart phone and /or are tech challenged and those poor AS agents ! not sure is this is a great look for AS
I don't get it - what are they gaining by restricting old kiosks from printing tickets?
I'm always checked in online or via app, so not my issues, but I totally get why people would print a pass at the airport. It's not like they'll save significant amounts of money by restricting existing machines from printing a small piece of paper that they had been designed to print.
Or maybe it does cost a lot and inflation is highlighting that. I think it's also likely that the printer being printers hand high ink cost and tends to break down a lot. Any electronics with mechanical parts are dicey. So maybe they want to reduce head count and /or they have too many kiosk maintenance engineers sitting around.
No ink involved with most boarding passes. It's thermal paper printing like most store receipts.
@Bob
You jest sir???
Next time you go to the grocery or big box store, no need to print a receipt. Any different than a boarding pass. Any different than printing baggage tags. Any different than printing a meal voucher for delays.
I pray you never drop your phone and wail like a child because you have to rely on a crabby, over stressed agent to print your boarding pass so you...
@Bob
You jest sir???
Next time you go to the grocery or big box store, no need to print a receipt. Any different than a boarding pass. Any different than printing baggage tags. Any different than printing a meal voucher for delays.
I pray you never drop your phone and wail like a child because you have to rely on a crabby, over stressed agent to print your boarding pass so you can get home.
The next step is to $charge$ for a printed boarding pass just like the ULCC airlines. I suggest you get a sturdy cover for your cell phone because I don’t want to hear you complaining at the Alaska/Hawaii counter!
I think these flimsy passes that get printed are thermal. They use no ink. Think of your grocery store receipt. It's a treated paper that darkens when exposed to heat.
If they are not thermal printers, then they are laser printers, where your per-page cost is a lot lower than an ink printer (think of running a photocopier. Your per-page cost is the same, because the mechanism is largely the same). It is pennies.
I'm...
I think these flimsy passes that get printed are thermal. They use no ink. Think of your grocery store receipt. It's a treated paper that darkens when exposed to heat.
If they are not thermal printers, then they are laser printers, where your per-page cost is a lot lower than an ink printer (think of running a photocopier. Your per-page cost is the same, because the mechanism is largely the same). It is pennies.
I'm reminded of an ad Alaska ran in the late-1980s (now I'm dating myself), where they showed somebody trying to get exact change on an airplane to use a pay toilet. Obviously, this is no longer the Alaska Airlines of 35 years ago (a quality operation). One hopes they are not the Alaska Airlines of 25 years ago (crash a plane because you neglect the maintenance), but certain recent events give me pause. The door blow-out was a Boeing problem, but I think there was an incident in the last few days that speaks to maintenance. I just can't find it right now.
so many times the kiosk to zap your boarding pass is out of order at the gate--many check-in manual if not pre-printed BP it will take lots longer.
We're paying more and more to do their jobs. There is no service. This is why I hate consolidation. They promise the gov't. the world, and then take it away.
I'm getting progressively more glad that I cashed out my Alaska miles when I did (especially as there's no Partner Business options to SYD anymore within the searchable date range) - it seems like all of these cost-cutting measures are their way of preparing for the Hawaiian acquisition and becoming an international airline.
It'll get worse.
At least I'm not the only one who cant find any business awards to SYD
Dumb. Phone runs down.
I check in on my phone so I have the mobile boarding pass, I tag my bag(s) and put them on the conveyer belt. My question is what time do I load my checked bag onto the plane????
Frontier is trialing having customers load checked baggage starting next week. $20 charge to climb back up the stairs to get on the plane.
I use a mobile boarding pass every time I am able. However, I always print them at home/hotel/airport prior. I have needed a paper pass to request missing milage a handful of times. I have also (more importantly) needed a paper pass a couple of times when my device was timing out during boarding or at security. Forget their possible tech issues. My tech can fail & I don't really want to show up early...
I use a mobile boarding pass every time I am able. However, I always print them at home/hotel/airport prior. I have needed a paper pass to request missing milage a handful of times. I have also (more importantly) needed a paper pass a couple of times when my device was timing out during boarding or at security. Forget their possible tech issues. My tech can fail & I don't really want to show up early to the airport "just in case" I need to line up to print it out. I don't check luggage & the AS lounges are not worth an early arrival.
I imagine this will impact all of the west coast once a year vacationers flying to/from all of AS Mexico & Hawaii destinations that don't really know how to navigate from the curb to the gate efficiently & are more likely to check in at the terminal.
with all due respect, Cranky covered this months ago and many of the same comments here were there.
I personally think it is a mistake not to have any easy mechanism to print boarding passes and I am not alone.
Every time I fly, I've noticed it takes considerably longer to scan a mobile boarding pass, rather than a paper one. And as long as you need a copy of your boarding pass to claim missing flight credit, I'll stick to paper, thanks.
This is just too far... even the ULCCs haven't gotten this cheap. The app has issues, what if cell service is down, etc.
My company requires boarding pass as part of the expense report (I had a coworker who would buy a flight, expense it, cancel it, then use miles to get there and pocket the $800 or whatever). I always get a paper one in case the online one expires, or disappears, or whatever.
does a screenshot work at your company for reports?
@Tim Dunn
Would you accept it, if they reimburse you with screenshot of dollar bills.
I think at one point AA said over 80% of their customers are less than frequent fliers. If Alaska's percentage is anything like this, I will pray for the check-in agents. Heck, on Delta I get all the reminders to either download or print my boarding pass, yet when I go to the airport, most people are printing it at the airport.
In my experience, people just don't come to the airport "prepared"...and I...
I think at one point AA said over 80% of their customers are less than frequent fliers. If Alaska's percentage is anything like this, I will pray for the check-in agents. Heck, on Delta I get all the reminders to either download or print my boarding pass, yet when I go to the airport, most people are printing it at the airport.
In my experience, people just don't come to the airport "prepared"...and I don't mean this in a negative sense. These airline brainiacs come up with these stupid ideas like this expecting that everyone will just fall in line like robots. It just doesn't happen and it's for a variety of reasons.
Download error? I have it happen.
Downloaded boarding pass gate obsolete when I get to the airport? Yup.
Boarding pass downloaded somehow not registered as valid? Yep, and still figuring out how this happens.
And you know darn well Alaska is not going to increase the number of agents at check-in...so now you have kiosks with less functionality, meaning more people fighting for the limited agents available. Yeah, that's a winner of an idea.
The only thing is what if its an international destination and you get the dreaded SSSS. My first time getting this was when I thought british airways had another IT meltdown and when I got to check in, ah that's why.
This, I would absolutely not get on an international multi leg / codeshare flight without a paper boarding pass.
Normally, a big fan of going all-digital, but not like this.
I always have a paper boarding pass as backup, and keep it until all mileage/credit has posted. That's come in handy soooo many times.
I've little consideration for using AS, despite living on the west coast. This has made that even less.
It is insane that Alaska requires you to swipe a credit card instead of enabling tap to pay, based on the video. Select European credit cards have removed magnetic swipe strips entirely, and the US is only 3-4 years away from doing the same. I'm always taken aback by how Boomer US executives are so behind on payments. I'm a millennial and prefer Apple Pay 10x over swiping or dipping in a chip, but then again the vast majority here seem to prefer dipping in chips.
Heck, the Target Visa already doesn't have a magstripe!
My physical Target card is expired (and no mag stripe).... I use the barcode in the app every time.
Are you sure? Do you mean Target Red Card - the store-only card? Visa has not announced a magnetic stripe phaseout like Mastercard. Mastercard announced 3 years ago that phase out of magnetic stripes will begin in Europe this year but I cannot find any info to confirm if this has started and which bank issuer has done this.
Which European Mastercards removed the magnetic stripes now? I couldn't find this info. They announced this back in 2021 that 2024 was the year some European banks would start the phaseout, but I haven't found an update on this. Have you?
I don't know, but even when I was traveling as a poor college student through Europe in 2004 (twenty years ago), a lot of kiosks (especially when trying to buy train tickets) would only accept a chip card, not a magnetic stripe. It was something of a pain in the ass, having American cards that had not yet adopted the chip.
I can see my boomer parents not really loving this (luckily their last flight was more than a decade ago). Add the feature to the bag tag station and everyone is happy.
This would be fine if their app could do everything. But their app won’t even show lap infants and I have to talk to an agent to confirm that and get the boarding document? Even airlines with terrible apps like JetBlue and Southwest show the lap infant in the app and they also have kiosks. Not sure if you’ve flown Alaska with your son Ben but it’s actually really frustrating and no agent has figured...
This would be fine if their app could do everything. But their app won’t even show lap infants and I have to talk to an agent to confirm that and get the boarding document? Even airlines with terrible apps like JetBlue and Southwest show the lap infant in the app and they also have kiosks. Not sure if you’ve flown Alaska with your son Ben but it’s actually really frustrating and no agent has figured out a fix.
FWIW I always get a hard copy boarding pass in case an airline tries to play shenanigans with their seating or the app stops working.
Really dumb. When phones don't work and check-in counters are busy it's going to screw up the whole thing.
Sure as a Gen Z, I don't have problems going all digital. I use it all the time, with papers safely tucked in my carry on.
But when things hit FUBAR, these papers are the only evidence I have to use against your power trip organization.
You're not in Business class, well the app might be right, but not according to the paper.
You're in my seat, well the app might be right, but not...
Sure as a Gen Z, I don't have problems going all digital. I use it all the time, with papers safely tucked in my carry on.
But when things hit FUBAR, these papers are the only evidence I have to use against your power trip organization.
You're not in Business class, well the app might be right, but not according to the paper.
You're in my seat, well the app might be right, but not according to the paper.
Missing credits, oops the app deleted old boarding passes, but not according to the paper.
You never checked bags, well the app might be right, but not according to the paper.
Your flight departed on time and you're late, well the app might be right, but not according to the paper.
I use paper because you always mess up but try to blame me.
Paper is my only line of defense.
And some long busy days I run out of battery and the last flight out is about to depart but the agent line is long.
Or your app suddenly would not show a boarding pass because there is no internet connection.
Why would the boarding pass not load if you've already stored it in your mobile wallet? That's what trips up people at stadiums. They wait until they arrive to download the ticket to their phone and have to compete with the tens of thousands of people also using their phones.
@askmrlee
If you travel every week, with at least 4-6 segments and same day changes you end up with tons of these boarding pass.
Then you have to figure out which trip is personal or business and for who.
You answered in another one about wallet archive automatically.
If you don't clean up your wallet would end up have 1000 boarding passes from 2018 and keeps growing like all those 100000+ unread emails...
@askmrlee
If you travel every week, with at least 4-6 segments and same day changes you end up with tons of these boarding pass.
Then you have to figure out which trip is personal or business and for who.
You answered in another one about wallet archive automatically.
If you don't clean up your wallet would end up have 1000 boarding passes from 2018 and keeps growing like all those 100000+ unread emails from 2005.
Of course this would be a non issue if you fly twice a year.
This is exactly right. I have no problem using a mobile boarding pass primarily, but the paper boarding pass is a solid backup when technology fails, which I've encountered Alaska Airlines more frequently than on other airlines.
As an example, I had a flight a few years ago where I was upgraded at the gate. Alaska had - I think it's since been fixed - an issue where your seat assignment would get stuck in...
This is exactly right. I have no problem using a mobile boarding pass primarily, but the paper boarding pass is a solid backup when technology fails, which I've encountered Alaska Airlines more frequently than on other airlines.
As an example, I had a flight a few years ago where I was upgraded at the gate. Alaska had - I think it's since been fixed - an issue where your seat assignment would get stuck in an intermediate state while processing an upgrade, and the app would show a message that said Refresh. If you boarded with your old boarding pass, either paper or mobile, the gate agent would verbally mention the new seat assignment. However, the upgrade would finish processing in the background after you had scanned your old seat assignment. The system would then see that you hadn't boarded with your new seat assignment and remove you from the manifest.
This happened to me, and we had already pushed back and were taxiing when we suddenly returned to the gate due to a paperwork issue. One of the F FAs sprung up from her seat and immediately demanded my boarding pass. Of course at the moment, my phone was acting up, but fortunately I had a paper boarding pass, albeit with my old Premium seat assignment. At least I could prove I was on the flight because I wasn't on the manifest! Furthermore, the GA boarded and confirmed that I had, in fact, been upgraded at the gate. What if I didn't have a paper boarding pass and cpuldnt pull up something on my phone? What if the GA hadn't corroborated my being on the flight (and upgraded)?
Since that incident I have INSISTED on a paper boarding pass for every Alaska Airlines flight I take. I don't care if I have to wait in line for a ticketing agent or take up a ticketing agent's time for what should be a simple self-service request, and I'll write an Alaska Listens every time I get push back citing my reasons for the importance of having a paper boarding pass when taking an Alaska Airlines flight.
The change has significantly slowed my Airport experience. Before, I printed a boarding pass..Now I must wait in line to get it printed. I need a paper boarding pass.
Paper can be recycled and also provides memories. Smartphone batteries wear out and are hazardous waste. Not gorgeous.
You could of course print it yourself at home
@James K
You're missing the point.
You could also take the Greyhound, drive you own car, hitchhike, etc.
This logic makes no sense as no one is buying a smartphone just to present electronic boarding passes - at least I hope not.
Why do you need a paper boarding pass?
Perhaps now it's the time to let go of the fear of needing paper just in case. Kind of like I need my landlines just in case my phone doesn't work. I need to print out my taxes just in case my hard drive fails or hackers steal my cloud files or I need a paper copy of driving directions from map quest in case my GPS is not working.
Which is the complete opposite of most airlines. If you cannot check in online it’s usually a simple process at the self service machine, which they are now preventing.
I don't have much confidence that this will work with code shares, connecting international flights or anything more complicated than tickets solely on Alaskan Airlines.
95% of the time, I also just use the boarding pass on my phone, along with saving a screenshot of it and to my phone's digital wallet (if the airline app supports it) as a back up.
However, it is sometimes nice to easily have the paper option (especially if you don't have a printer at home or your vacation destination). Additionally, I will always get a paper boarding pass for an international trip, as...
95% of the time, I also just use the boarding pass on my phone, along with saving a screenshot of it and to my phone's digital wallet (if the airline app supports it) as a back up.
However, it is sometimes nice to easily have the paper option (especially if you don't have a printer at home or your vacation destination). Additionally, I will always get a paper boarding pass for an international trip, as sometimes I have been asked to present it at entry/exit immigrations outside of the US, and I am not going to hand over my phone to an immigration officer.
Alaska making it more difficult to get the paper boarding pass is a negative for me, even if I don't use it most of the time. It's really a penny pinching move at that point.
If you fly few times a year. That's not hard.
If you fly every week, now you got a lot of housekeeping to do.
One draw back of the wallet is you need to delete them and it adds up fast.
Really? Is that a Google / Android walllet thing? Apple Wallet auto archives expired passes.
"Alaska is investing $2.5 billion in its airport lobbies, with the goal of getting passengers from the check-in hall and through security in five minutes or less."
They're going to have to do a whole lot more than take away check-in kiosks to get passengers through security in less than 5 minutes.
No need to hand over the phone to an agent. I've shown the watch boarding pass to the TSA Precheck agent who needed to validate that I had Pre on my boarding pass. Now if only United didn't make that so microcopic.