Apple Passbook' Potential Impact on the Travel Industry

“Last week, Apple announced Passbook, a new default app coming to iOS 6 for iPhone later this year which stands to get a lot of attention in our industry. This is in part because it is Apple, in part because of the pending iTravel patent, but also because Apple is taking a lot of the pain out of how people access electronic boarding passes, cards and coupons.”

“The Passbook app is digital storage for your existing boarding pass (or event tickets, or loyalty cards). The concept is not new, but the execution has all the hallmarks you would expect from Apple. Simply put, it is just another way for passengers to get their boarding passes onto the iPhone – but the boarding pass shows up in Apple’s own app (not the airline’s app).”

“As most Apple observers would agree, Apple is a control freak and the Apple product experience is what differentiates it from all others. Looking at Passbook on my iPhone, I can see clearly that it reduces issues that cause problems for passengers, such as fumbling to retrieve their barcode at security or the gate. In addition to knowing you are at the airport, it also allows airlines to provide update notifications of gate changes or departure delays. Showing the pass at the right time right from the unlock screen is a nice touch – this will be a confidence builder for many. Without a doubt, Apple’s innovation will drive adoption of barcode ticketing of all kinds. It will be habit forming which is part of what is currently lacking in 2D barcode pass adoption at airports.”

TTS’ take: At TTS we are heavy users of passbook for all our “digital boarding passes”. In our opinion, it’s one of those technologies that once you have it, you cannot live without it as it makes the traveller’s journey easier and less complicated. 

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