tsx wrote:So, about the "security" value brought by check in, it looks like all agree there's indeed no advantage between
- online check in with entering ID details at that time
- automatic check in where you entered your ID details earlier during the booking process.
Thank you, that is indeed the sole difference there is to it.
tsx wrote:Now, what remains opened is the cursory ID check made when boarding
Yet that is not part of the check in process at all, it's a separate thing which is done later (or not).
tsx wrote:So the question remains:
What does that bring today in practice to the security of flight travel ?
I fully agree with you that the way it is done now doesn't bring much security at all; its not done by border agents or dedicated security staff, nor are they using machinery to check the ID for possible forgery.
What it does is it creates a pre-arranged window of opportunity for authorities to raise the level of checking from 'just done for the show' to 'for real' should there ever be a need for such.
If you compare the way in which commercial staff on certain airlines check your IDs to the way your documents get checked over by professionals when entering say the USA (or the Schengen zone as a non EU citizen), you know what I mean.
tsx wrote:As for the practical advantages of checking in to say you're in the airport and ready to flight :
it would also be possible to use the airport mechanism of checking the boarding passes.
If a passenger isn't at security 30' before flight, he's not really in.
LHR actually started to do that and label it
Positive Boarding
Indeed, IMHO, it's another brilliant innovation to make things go smoother.
Now, imagine the 2 combined: you get your boarding pass automatically sent to you 2 hours before departure without any action from your side whatsoever, AND somewhere in the airport premisses it gets scanned so as to tick you off as 'present' at the airport. Not at the gate like now (because that's actually quite late), but earlier, say at security or when passing by in the lounge.
Done, all without intervention of ground staff or customer, so much easier, with lower costs and with no risk of any fees.
FWIW- innovation needn't end there, and it doesn't.
At FRA or ZRH for instance, you board the plane automatically by simply scanning your electronic boarding pass at the gate which is equipped with an access mechanism, just as found at an underground station.
A gate agent is present, but isn't actually tearing a strip from boarding passes or manually scanning the QR-code on the self printed ones, because THAT too is so 1960s.
Are there any plans to come to such a system in BRU, or do you need an own terminal for that?
I am sure that in a couple of years, flying through big airports will be much more hastle free than it is today by combining all those new electronic possibilities, thus making flying on a European flight into something as convenient as taking a train.