British Airways Introduces New Boarding Technology

News for owners of the Apple Watch, British Airways is launching new technology to make the travelling process smoother and more convenient for those who have BA’s app on their device.

British Airways have seen an incredible rise in the number of people using their app, with the usage nearly quadrupling over the space of fourth months. Statistics show that in fact 5% of BA’s overall app usage comes from those using an Apple Watch. In response to this popularity, British Airways have designed new scanners that will allow passengers to simply slide their wrist under one of the new ‘Scan and Go’ machines to scan their boarding pass and print their own bag tags, greatly speeding up the process. BA will begin to introduce the devices on December 15th, in time for the busy Christmas period, with 136 of the new scanners being installed at check in desks in Heathrow airport Terminals 3 and 5.

BA was among the first airlines to introduce an app especially for the watch, giving passengers access to their flight’s status, gate information, a countdown to their departure time, as well as the weather at their destination. The app is also available for smartphones, and phone users will also be able to scan their device under the scanners and receive the same features.  

While similar scanners have existed before, their positioning has made it awkward for users to slide their wrists under them at the correct angle. BA have counteracted this issue by making the scanners handheld, improving their functionality.