Travellers on board Qantas’s trans-Tasman services between Australia and New Zealand can now check-in using mobile devices and receive digital boarding passes for clearing immigration, security and boarding.
Currently, web and mobile check-in is limited to the airline’s website, though next month Qantas aims to make it feasible through its app. The service is not restricted to any particular passport holders, though some visa restrictions do apply, and will only be available for single customer itineraries on direct flights between Australia and New Zealand on Qantas marketed and operated services.
Ultimately the airline is looking to make the trans-Tasman travel experience more like domestic travel in terms of efficiency – something the Australian and New Zealand governments have also been pushing with efforts to streamline border processing.
This is an area Qantas has been keen to push for some time now – the airline rolled out its “smart check-in” service on its trans-Tasman routes back in 2011, a year after it introduced the service on its domestic flights.
“Seamless domestic travel has been a reality since Qantas pioneered smart check-in technology in 2010, but the barriers have always been a lot higher for international flights.
“It’s a great example of how industry and governments working together can change what’s possible for travellers. The goal is ultimately to make this technology for international routes the ‘new normal’.”
Other international routes will also be targeted for the service, though Qantas hasn’t specified any particular destinations to which it is keen to see it extended.
