Use a cell phone to check in for your flight

Technology can make life easier and a company's Information Technology organization can facilitate that change. Airlines have a long history of using technology to innovate, improve customer service or to decrease cost. This is another example of that trend.

The New York Times article reviews the roll out (including Continental's) of a service that will allow travelers to bypass the printing a boarding pass! Just display the encrypted bar code, provided by the carrier, on your Blackberry, cell phone or other mobile device and you're on. No more trying to figure our where to print a boarding pass at a hotel.

This type of project with a direct impact on customer experience is ideal for an I.T. Organization. It is a chance to work with the business, to improve customer service and customer experience. It is an opportunity to reward key people with work on an interesting, high visibility project.

I'll watch Continental's roll out - which is only in Houston at the moment - and will try it just as soon as it's available at EWR.