Continental takes one step closer to paperless ticketing

When paperless tickets were first announced back in October, it seemed like it would be several years before we’d be able to use our cell phones or PDAs to check in at the airport. However, the future is now. Continental Airlines, with the approval of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), has launched a pilot program to test the paperless boarding pass.

Continental passengers flying out of Houston can use their mobile device as their boarding pass. At this time, the 90-day test will only affect domestic passengers leaving Houston. Eventually, if all goes well, the paperless ticket will be used in every airport.

This is the first step in an industry-wide paperless boarding pass implementation, as most major U.S. carriers were only waiting on the final nod from the TSA. Continental will be the first U.S. airline to incorporate this new technology.