Aeroflot Introduces Mobile Phone Check-In, Sort Of…

Russian flag carrier Aeroflot struggles at times to keep up with the times. Aeroflot has made considerable strides in some areas, such as introducing a modern Airbus fleet with an average age of less than three years old and an order for 22 Boeing 787-800 aircraft scheduled to enter service in 2016.

As Aeroflot is taking two steps forward in some areas of the customer experience, in other aspects of the customer experience realm, the airline has just announced it is taking two steps backward.  With airlines all over the world shifting towards mobile phone check-in and eBoarding Passes that allow passengers to utilize their mobile phone as their boarding pass, Aeroflot has unveiled a mobile phone scheme that allows passengers to check-in, choose their seats and have a bar-coded boarding pass sent their phone … that surprisingly does not allow passengers board their flight.

Once a passenger who has checked-on online arrives at the airport they must present the bar-code on their mobile phone at a kiosk, or at check-in counter, where they will receive a paper boarding pass to board their flight.

In the age of online check-in where passengers can check in from a computer, select their seats online and print a paper boarding pass from any location that has a printer, then go straight to the plane … I have to wonder why any passenger would choose to check-in via their mobile phone, only to have to add an additional step to the process and have a paper boarding pass printed for them at the airport.

As much as I have enjoyed watching Aeroflot improve their fleet and bring their long-haul in flight experience on par with many other European airlines, I think the airline might want to rethink the launch of their new mobile phone check-in system.

Below is a photo of a British Airways boarding pass on my iPhone … no additional steps required to get through security.

Happy Flying!