Aer Lingus App and electronic boarding pass

candy_pants

Hi there,

I'm flying to Heathrow tomorrow morning and tried out the Aer Lingus app to check in. Worked great and it gave me a QR code for boarding. I didn't realise the app also included an electronic boarding pass but I'm just wondering if anyone has tried it out yet? I'll have a paper one just in case as it would be just my luck they wouldn't accept the mobile version and then I'd be screwed!

Thanks!

smartblaa

i'm sure you know the answer to this question by now!

I used this last month going to LHR.

Although the boarding gate staff weren't fully aware, all of the desks at the gates were equipped with QR scanners (kind-of looks like a lotto ticket checker) Works like a charm, just hold the phone screen under the red light.

Two things you need to be aware of.

1. When flying back (ie. at UK airport) you'll need to re-visit the web-link to bring up the QR code again. I didn't have roaming enabled, so I had to quickly find a WIFI hotspot to bring it up.

2. When using airport shopping, they normally need your paper boarding card.
They are not equipped with the scanners, but I just read out my flight number and they manually touched it into their system.

Overall I was very impressed. I honestly didn't see airlingus doing this first!

candy_pants

smartblaa wrote: »

i'm sure you know the answer to this question by now!

I used this last month going to LHR.

Although the boarding gate staff weren't fully aware, all of the desks at the gates were equipped with QR scanners (kind-of looks like a lotto ticket checker) Works like a charm, just hold the phone screen under the red light.

Two things you need to be aware of.

1. When flying back (ie. at UK airport) you'll need to re-visit the web-link to bring up the QR code again. I didn't have roaming enabled, so I had to quickly find a WIFI hotspot to bring it up.

2. When using airport shopping, they normally need your paper boarding card.
They are not equipped with the scanners, but I just read out my flight number and they manually touched it into their system.

Overall I was very impressed. I honestly didn't see airlingus doing this first!

Well I did indeed use it at Dublin Airport and it was really great, even the man at security said "It's cool isn't it?" when I grinned at it working! Same at the gate itself although it's not very seamless for the air hostesses having to go from scanning tickets to taking the iPhone. It sort of feels there needs to be a more integrated system or something but that's a small complaint.

That's good to know about airport shopping as well. I didn't buy anything so I didn't realise. They'll need to sort that out pretty quickly as it catches on I reckon.

Like you, I didn't have internet on my phone to check-in on the return journey so had to check in the old fashioned way. I didn't mind though and hopefully can sort out the iPhone and just use that in the future. Between that and a QR code for the Heathrow Express I had a very techie enhanced trip and it was the first time I've really felt that the iPhone has been invaluable to me (since I got it just a few weeks ago!).

Fair play to Aer Lingus alright - good to see them embrace it relatively early on!

Gotham Knight

I tried using the mobile check-in for the first time this morning but didn't find it a painless experience at all. I've used web check-in for years and thought I'd try the shiny new world of QR codes.

The check-in process worked very smoothly on my phone. I got an email with a link that looked very promising, but all it would do is take me to the Aer Lingus home page.

I rang them (once I had unearthed a number hidden on their website) and I spoke to three different people, none of whom had a clue what I was on about. The first lady sounded amazed and impressed that such a thing as mobile check-in with QR codes was possible, the second guy said he knew nothing about that sort of thing and I should dial the number again and hopefully get through to someone who did (!!?), the third woman told me she could reverse my check-in and I could try again (though she had no idea what was wrong or if it would work).

This last woman put me on hold. I assume she was going to try to get some information. After 15 more minutes of holding I hung up...

:mad:

Seems no-one at Aer Lingus knows anything about this process.

I found out by accident that even though I had checked in on my phone I could still generate a boarding pass through the normal web check-in routine. But the staff couldn't even tell me that.

Great idea but not yet properly implemented in a staff training sense. And the last thing you want at 5am at the airport is problems getting through security at check-in.

Random

i just saved the image link so i didnt need to find a hotspot in the airport.

one lady in heathrow seemed more inclined to blame my htc sensation screen then her own incompetence at scanning. we waited for 5 mins while the whole queue looked at me like i had done something wrong. it worked first time as soon as i took the phone from her and swiped it myself over the scanner.

i like the service a lot.

podge018

I plan on using this going out to Spain on Thursday and home on Sunday. I see the posts above saying you need to check in again coming home, can I do this at the same time as check in going out and just save the image I get to my phone?

mikedragon32

You won't be able to check in for the return leg until you're within 30 hours of departure.

Remember too that not every airport accepts the electronic boarding pass. You can always just check in at the airport anyway. Aer Lingus don't charge for check in (yet).

podge018

thanks, but I've never checked in before coming home from anywhere. I've always checked in and printed both boarding passes before the outward journey.

Is this stipulation only when using the iphone app? Or is it a new Aer Lingus policy.

podge018

maybe I'm getting mixed up with Ryanair. I don't have to check in online with Aer Lingus is that right?

mikedragon32

podge018 wrote: »

thanks, but I've never checked in before coming home from anywhere. I've always checked in and printed both boarding passes before the outward journey.

Is this stipulation only when using the iphone app? Or is it a new Aer Lingus policy.

It's not new. You could never check in more than 30 hours ahead of departure on Aer Lingus.

With Ryanair, you can check in up to 15 days ahead of your flight.

prettygurrly

and just in case anyone is reading this in 2014 like me, you can now check in outside the 30 hours prior to departure with AerLingus if you pay a fiver...

good to know about the app working...going into a printerless world so need to use the app. I wonder if they'll bring one out for the windows phone some day...

cgcsb

Hi there,

old thread but have a related question. I have a windows phone....I know I know bad call. I was wondering if I checked in online and emailed the boarding pass to myself would I be able to just open the pdf on my phone and scan it?

failing that, my friend who I'm travelling with has an iPhone with the aer lingus app. Can he just scan himself in and pass me the phone and I'd do the same?

I've no printer at home and it'd be such a hassle to go back into work now and do it.

galvo_clare

Can't tell you if the windows phone will work but you can check in on the iPhone, save the QR code to Photos, go back and check in another person.

Just make sure you don't mix up the two codes.

January

Download the PDF and take a screenshot of it. That is what I did and it worked perfectly.