A step towards iTravel? Delta and American Airlines confirm support for Apple Passbook
With Apple expected to unleash iOS 6 next week, you can expect Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and undoubtedly other carriers to be supporting Passbook's mobile boarding pass functionality at launch or soon thereafter.
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple's move into travel has been telegraphed since 2010, when Patently Apple surfaced an 'iTravel' application filing describing a phone that would handle tickets, check-in and itineraries. Passbook, arriving with iOS 6 — a release still rumored for next week rather than officially dated — is the first shipping piece of that vision, and the airline confirmations are what turn it from a developer API into something passengers actually touch.
The story traveled unusually far for a launch-week feature note: 9to5Mac's report of airlines integrating Passboard ahead of iOS 6 was picked up by GigaOM, Mashable, AppleInsider and at least five other outlets the same day. That breadth reflects the stakes both sides see — Apple gets marquee travel partners for an unproven app, while Delta and American get day-one credibility with iPhone users.
First-order effects
- Delta and American Airlines passengers on iPhones can use Passbook-stored mobile boarding passes at launch or shortly after, replacing printed passes and carrier-specific apps for the check-in-to-gate flow.
- Carriers that have not committed — the rest of the US and international majors — face immediate pressure to announce Passbook support before iOS 6 ships, since absence will read as a gap against Delta and American.
Second-order effects
- Passbook becomes a de facto distribution channel airlines must integrate with, shifting leverage over the boarding-pass experience from airline apps and airport kiosks toward whatever Apple's wallet format supports.
- Rival platform holders and third-party travel apps must decide whether to adopt Apple's pass format or defend their own, since every major carrier validating Passbook raises the cost of staying out.
Third-order effects
- If boarding passes prove the wedge, the logical extension is the fuller iTravel picture — payments, itinerary management, loyalty — making the phone the primary travel credential and positioning Apple between airlines and their customers.
- The pattern also sets a template for how Apple launches new categories: secure one or two flagship partners (here Delta and American), then let competitive pressure among the rest do the recruiting.
The trend: Airline touchpoints are migrating onto the smartphone, with Apple using Passbook's boarding-pass beachhead to work toward the broader iTravel ambition it patented back in 2010.