Southwest Customer and Community Champion @elijahbrantley skips the check-in desk and heads towards the gate where his 6:00 a.m. flight from Charlotte (CLT) to Nashville (BNA) is about to depart. With moments to spare, he is welcomed onboard just by scanning his phone; no paper ticket required. “In an early flight, every second matters, this is one less stop I have to make,” added @elijahbrantley.
Brantley is a part of The Southwest Community Champions Program, where the top contributors or “Champions” from The Southwest Airlines Community lead the conversation, answer questions, author stories, and foster meaningful conversations.
Since 2013, the Southwest Mobile Boarding Pass has helped Southwest Customers and many of our Community Champions get through the airport in an easier and greener way. It is just one of the ways Southwest is trying to improve the Customer Experience while keeping the environment in mind. At Southwest, we are conscious of our environment, and we want our Customers to feel the same.
Customers who choose this option can bypass printing a paper boarding pass at their home, office, or at the airport. Instead, they can simply scan the barcode on their smartphone at airport security checkpoints and at the gate during boarding. Customers can request a Mobile Boarding Pass at the time of check-in at Southwest.com, the Southwest.com mobile site, or using our Southwest mobile app for iPhone or Android.
For Customers like Community Champion @bec102896, paper tickets are a thing of the past. “It makes travel with my family much easier. A quick scan and boom, you are off to see the world—without all the paper waste,” said @bec102896.
As for the Mobile Boarding Pass, Customers can receive the two-dimensional barcode along with Customer and flight information in three ways. Customers can choose to view in browser, send to their smartphone via e-mail, or send via text message. The pass can be used at the TSA security checkpoint and to board Southwest flights. The Mobile Boarding Pass can be saved to Apple Wallet on iOS and Google Pay on Android for added convenience. For accessibility and personal preference, Southwest still offers paper boarding passes too.
What about the beloved free drink coupons? For Customers who purchase a Business Select Fare and elect to use a Mobile Boarding Pass, their drink coupon eligibility will be noted on the Mobile Boarding Pass. In order to receive the complimentary drink inflight, Customers can simply show the drink coupon portion of their Mobile Boarding Pass to the Flight Attendant. Here’s a pro tip from Community Champion @DancingDavidE: “save the coupon to your wallet on iPhone or Android for your beverage.” To view eligibility, flip to the back of the Mobile Boarding Pass in Apple Wallet or scroll to the bottom of the pass in Google Play.
The Mobile Boarding Pass, with our Customers’ support, has helped Southwest operate more sustainably. Since 2015, we’ve reduced our waste generated in tons by 12.9 percent. Today, nearly 38 percent of the waste we generate is recycled. To learn more about our sustainability practices visit southwestonereport.com.
To find out more about Mobile Boarding Pass or to book your next flight, visit Southwest.com.