Calling Dick Tracy! Calling Dick Tracy!
Airline Boarding Passes via Mobile Phones Now Available From China Southern
GUANGZHOU, China - April 8, 2009 - China Southern Airlines, (NYSE:ZNH) (HKSE: 1055) (SHA: 600029) - www.csair.com/global - the newest member of SkyTeam and the largest airline in The People's Republic of China has formed a new partnership with Baiyun International Airport that will allow the use of a new mobile phone check-in service.
According to Mr. Jerry Hu, China Southern Airlines’ Chief Information Officer, this exciting all-new IT product, “is an all new electronic boarding pass in which customers will enjoy a simplified, paper-free and time-saving travel experience.”
This new service is currently available to China Mobile users in the Guangzhou area.
Currently under trial format on CZ3157 from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou, China Southern will progressively introduce the new service to other routes.
According to Mr. Hu, this new mobile phone check-in system at Baiyun International Airport will “offer travelers the option of receiving an electronic boarding pass after checking in online or via mobile (in the form of SMS text messages containing relevant flight data, such as the name of traveler, flight number and seat number, plus a 2D barcode).”
He explained that the “barcode on the traveler’s phone becomes the passenger’s boarding pass and can be read by scanners at security checkpoints and at the boarding gate - thus eliminating the need for a paper ticket from the check-in process. Customers may log onto China Southern Airline’s Chinese website at www.csair.com after 2:00 p.m. the day before their departure, find the ‘online check-in procedure’, enter the required information, choose a seat yourself or allow the computer select your seat, then click ‘print the electronic boarding pass’ and input your mobile phone number.”
Mr. Hu said that once the procedures are complete, electronic documents will be transmitted directly to the passenger’s mobile phone.
“Alternatively, customers without Internet access can simply send “?” to 95539 and download the barcode according to system requirements. Passengers without baggage to check in can proceed directly to the airport security screening area. Passengers with baggage to check should proceed as usual to baggage drop off points prior to security screening,” said Mr. Hu.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has mandated a move to 100% bar coded boarding passes by the end of 2010.
The following is a timeline of landmark IT services launched by China Southern Airlines:
The newest member of SkyTeam – www.skyteam.com – and the largest airline in The People’s Republic of China for the past 29 years, China Southern Airlines - www.csair.com/global - connects more than 80 cities around the globe. Major business and vacation destinations served in China include: Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Guilin, Hong Kong, Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan and as well as International service, including: Amsterdam, Bangkok, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Islamabad, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Lagos, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Moscow, Osaka, Paris, Penang, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.
For China Southern Airlines reservations and information, please contact your local travel agent.