Frontier Airlines is all BCBP, all the time
The Denver-based carrier became the first US airline to become 100% BCBP at all ticket counters and gate locations system-wide, 20 months ahead of the IATA 2010 mandate.
Frontier’s 14.8 million passengers on 57 routes can now benefit from the added convenience offered by the IATA 2D barcode. “One of the main reasons we wanted to move to 2D BCBP was so that we can eventually give passengers one boarding pass for their entire journey – even if they’re flying multiple segments,” said Roland Williams, Manager, System Quality Assurance, at Frontier (F9).
The airline moved at record speed to implement BCBP. While F9 was using 1D barcodes for the past seven years, they only began using 2D barcodes in January 2008. Ten months later, 2D BCBP was rolled out to all airports the airline operates at. “We moved quickly because 2D barcodes get better scanning results at the gate,” explains Roland. “Our boarding agents encountered problems with scanning the 1D boarding passes because the lines would often run together. As a result, they would manually board a flight, which was inefficient and subject to human error.” The IATA 2D standard barcode offers better readability due to the error correction mechanism it provides.
The move to 100% BCBP, as opposed to 80% or 90% penetration, is also delivering network benefits for the airline. It allows Frontier to conduct its operations in a consistent, streamlined fashion. “Since becoming 100% BCBP, we’ve had a great success rate for scanning boarding passes at our Denver hub – it’s less work for agents and has increased our on-time performance,” adds Roland. “And most importantly, it reduces cost – and that’s what it’s all about in this environment.”
Frontier is now moving forward with IATA standard mobile BCBP, and is looking to extend the benefits of BCBP through its interline check-in partners.
The majority of the world’s boarding passes are now barcoded – but the road to 100% is challenging
The bar coded boarding pass (BCBP) project crossed a major milestone this month: more than half – in fact, 56% - of boarding passes now feature the IATA standard 2D barcode.
The project is now well on its way to meeting the 60% board target for 2009. The reasons behind BCBP progress:
- The 200 capable airlines in 2008 are ramping up BCBP use quickly in the first months of 2009
- Large carriers are quickly progressing to capability in the 95-100% range
- With the vast majority of airlines capable, airports are now upgrading their printers
- African and Middle Eastern carriers are quickly catching up
The project team measures worldwide capability through the BCBP Matchmaker. To date, over 200 airlines and 400 airports are registered on this free, secure web portal.
“Airlines and airports who are implementing BCBP in 2009 are also getting cost savings in 2009,” said Eric Léopold, BCBP Project Manager. “With the range of crises the industry is facing, from recession to influenza A, that’s something airlines desperately need to reduce cost.”
The IATA global network recently engaged airlines around the world to understand their plans for 100% BCBP. Airlines representing 95% of passenger volumes were engaged. The result: An end 2010 BCBP forecast of 80%.
Much of the gap can be attributed to a lack of commitment, or a lack of a detailed plan for 100% BCBP. “We will focus our efforts now on closing the gap,” said Eric. “I urge all airlines and airports who haven’t yet shared their detailed 100% BCBP plans with us to do so immediately, so that we can work with them to eliminate expensive magnetic stripe boarding passes.” Airlines and airports who aren’t committed to the target will be engaged by the IATA global network in the coming months.
Read the complete results of the campaign.