Last week, I traveled to Saint John, NB and decided to try my hand at using Air Canada’s mobile boarding pass feature to save some paper as well as learn how well it works. A couple of thoughts went through my mind. What if the weblink went down, or I could not get it and I was standing in line waiting to board and a whole pile of impatient people are behind me, or the agent checking my mobile pass is anxious. How could I keep a backup copy of the barcode on my iPhone. Bingo. Just use the easy iPhone image capture technique of holding down the Off/On Button at the top of the iPhone, and hitting the Home Button right after. A screen capture is made and stored instantly in your camera roll. A quick check of my camera gallery revealed the bar code was indeed stored there. A relief! Unless, of course, the battery fails.
Mobile boarding pass Air Canada
Oh, yes. There was no problem with using the bar code for check-in and boarding. I was in, checked through at the Air Canada terminal by the agent, the bar code and itinerary information were again checked at security, and again on boarding the aircraft along with my passport. Seamless, effortless, paperless!
Mobile devices will increasingly help us to travel sustainably as well as offer us new ways to engage and experience travel. How we use these mobile devices to simplify our lives will be an important part of the learning process. Could bar codes help us get into the local visitor centre or the local movie, or attend a music concert? Instead of running to a ticket office to get a printed ticket, what if the ticket vendors started issuing bar codes and sent them to me? Wouldn’t that make it easier to get into a SongWriter’s Circle that I decided to attend on the spur of the moment while visiting the Harmony House Theatre in Hunter River, PEI?
Oh…did you want the story of Harmony House? Right…of course, it’s the story that is the heart of every great experience. Originally constructed as a church in 1846, its proud owners undertook many months of renovations in order to arrive at the neat show place it is today! This very charming, hip yet mature, rustic yet modern, completely comfortable, 140-seat venue is now the perfect setting for a cozy and intimate, high-quality performance. Harmony House Theatre is equipped with a professional sound and lighting system, large screen and movie projector, sloped theatre seating, air conditioning, reception area and concession stand, and is also wheel-chair friendly. New for the 2009 season is a brand-new downstairs lounge and on-line booking with select-seating!
This summer, my wife and I had the opportunity to experience a Songwriter’s Circle with Lennie Gallant with several additional songwriters. Harmony House was all it promised, and more. Lennie was full of stories. And, his incredible guest Meaghan Blanchard blew us away with incredible songs full of the wisdom of someone 10 years her senior.
Where will this mobile technology lead us to next? Hopefully, one experience after another….some with careful planning, some much more spontaneously.
