Airlines begin integrating Passbook for mobile boarding passes ahead of iOS 6 launch
While we expect a ton of businesses to soon start integrating iOS 6′s Passbook feature for storing boarding passes, loyalty cards, coupons, etc., it appears one airline has already done so.
Context & Ripple Effects
The phone-as-boarding-pass idea has been circling since at least 2007, when USA Today reported carriers testing cellphones at the gate, and Apple's iTravel patent filing in 2010 showed it wanted a travel-centric hub on the iPhone. With iOS 6 days away, that concept is shipping as Passbook — an OS-level home for passes rather than another app.
The same-day confirmation that Delta and American Airlines support Passbook means the two biggest US carriers are live or committed before the software even reaches users, and the story's pickup across eight outlets from Skift to TUAW signals how much weight the travel industry is putting on Apple's wallet play. It also lands two weeks after Google announced Wallet would store IDs and boarding passes, framing a direct platform duel over the pass.
First-order effects
- Delta and American gain day-one access to every upgrading iPhone user's lock screen for boarding passes, without building or promoting their own pass-delivery apps.
- Apple gets launch-day proof points for Passbook from marquee brands, de-risking the feature's debut for the rest of its retail, coupon, and ticketing partners.
Second-order effects
- Google Wallet's plan to hold IDs and boarding passes now competes against a feature baked into the dominant smartphone upgrade cycle, pushing Google to differentiate on what Passbook does not store.
- Loyalty programs and coupon issuers face pressure to generate Passbook-format passes quickly or cede the iPhone's most glanceable real estate to competitors who do.
Third-order effects
- If airlines set the template, wallets shift from per-merchant apps to platform-owned pass formats, handing Apple and Google gatekeeper leverage over how tickets, cards, and coupons reach consumers' screens.
The trend: Mobile ticketing is consolidating into OS-level wallets, with airlines as the anchor category in the emerging Apple-Google pass-platform contest.