Air France extends its mobile phone boarding pass service to flights to the French Overseas Departments

. A first in France on a long-haul network

. 800,000 passengers concerned

A few days ago, the mobile phone boarding pass service was introduced on all flights to the French Overseas Departments (Pointe à Pitre, Fort de France, Cayenne and Saint Denis de la Réunion). This service enables customers to board their flight with no other paper document apart from their passport, on departure from Paris-Orly.

For the first time on a long-haul network, Air France is launching this service on flights from France, which has been tested since September 2008 between Paris and Amsterdam.

The mobile boarding pass service has been available since March 2009 on medium-haul flights departing from Paris-Orly and Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

Since its launch, over 6,000 passengers have been checking in every month on their mobile phone.

Making travel easier

However the ticket was booked, after having checked in online on their mobile phone at http://mobile.airfrance.com (from 30 hours before the latest check-in time), passengers can receive their boarding pass on their mobile phone with a secure bar-code, in the form of an SMS or MMS in the case of a normal phone or by e-mail in the case of a smartphone with internet access.

This paperless boarding pass contains the same information as on a traditional boarding pass (passenger name, time of boarding, gate number, time of departure, seat number, cabin class etc.).

At the airport, passengers show their boarding pass on their mobile phone to:

* Check in any baggage at the baggage drop-off counter by having the bar-code scanned,
* Go through the security checkpoint, by showing their phone,
* Access the lounge for those eligible, by showing their phone,
* Access the aircraft at the boarding gate, by having the bar-code scanned,
* Board the aircraft by showing their phone to the crew at the door of the aircraft.

In the same way as for the electronic ticket, all information relative to the passenger’s reservation remains accessible in the check-in systems at all times. If a phone does not work or if its battery needs recharging for example, passengers can print their boarding pass at a self-service kiosk or have it printed out by an Air France agent at any time while they are at the airport.

“On flights to the French Caribbean, French Guyana and Reunion Island, Air France is constantly offering its customers new services using recent, innovative technology. The mobile phone boarding pass service will make travel even easier for passengers travelling to and from the French Overseas Departments by giving them even more freedom and flexibility as there are no paper documents needed.” declared Antoine Pussiau, EVP Caribbean and Indian Ocean.

Air France in the French Overseas Departments

In 2008, Air France carried 800,000 passengers on departure from Paris-Orly to Pointe-à-Pitre, Fort de France, Cayenne and Saint-Denis de la Réunion.

A service available on all medium-haul flights departing from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly.

The mobile phone boarding pass service has been available since September 2008 on the 15 daily flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol, both ways, without connections.

This service has been available since March on all medium-haul flights departing from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly to all French destinations (including La Navette) and European destinations (excluding the UK).

It is also possible to check in on your mobile phone on departure from several other French and European destinations.

A new environment-friendly service

The mobile phone boarding pass service is yet another initiative by Air France as part of its commitment to the environment. In the long-term it will replace 800,000 ‘paper’ boarding passes.