I just saw this on yahoo news:
Southwest Abandons Plastic Boarding Cards
Wed Jun 19, 6:03 AM ET
DALLAS (Reuters) - It is no longer plastic, but paper for Southwest Airlines ( news - web sites) passengers as the low-cost carrier started on Tuesday to phase out its plastic boarding card system.
Southwest, which does not have assigned seating, dispensed its first paper boarding passes at Dallas's Love Field as it began the gradual retirement of a piece of the airline's history. The change is aimed at cutting waiting time for customers, who have to pass through more stringent security measures after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The plastic boarding cards were one of the quirks that set Southwest apart from other airlines. The carrier has been using them for 30 years, issuing the color cards on a first-come, first-served basis to customers arriving at the departure gate.
Under the new system, customers can receive paper boarding passes at the Skycap counter, the ticket counter or the departure gate. Under the plastic system, customers could receive the plastic boarding passes only at the departure gate after passing through ticketing and security.
The paper passes will not have a seat number, but a letter -- A,B,C -- that will divide passengers into groups for boarding, with those arriving first getting on board first.
"We've not changed our open seating policy," said Dave Ridley, Southwest vice president for ground operations. "We've simply made it possible for customers to check in for their flights at more than one location, which means that customers will stand in only one line, excluding security."
Southwest said customers waiting for flights to depart have used the plastic pass as a bookmark, fly swatter, back scratcher, fan, shoe horn, toothpick and pocket protector. The cards were in 23 colors and had the color written on the back for those people who are color blind.
Southwest Abandons Plastic Boarding Cards
Wed Jun 19, 6:03 AM ET
DALLAS (Reuters) - It is no longer plastic, but paper for Southwest Airlines ( news - web sites) passengers as the low-cost carrier started on Tuesday to phase out its plastic boarding card system.
Southwest, which does not have assigned seating, dispensed its first paper boarding passes at Dallas's Love Field as it began the gradual retirement of a piece of the airline's history. The change is aimed at cutting waiting time for customers, who have to pass through more stringent security measures after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The plastic boarding cards were one of the quirks that set Southwest apart from other airlines. The carrier has been using them for 30 years, issuing the color cards on a first-come, first-served basis to customers arriving at the departure gate.
Under the new system, customers can receive paper boarding passes at the Skycap counter, the ticket counter or the departure gate. Under the plastic system, customers could receive the plastic boarding passes only at the departure gate after passing through ticketing and security.
The paper passes will not have a seat number, but a letter -- A,B,C -- that will divide passengers into groups for boarding, with those arriving first getting on board first.
"We've not changed our open seating policy," said Dave Ridley, Southwest vice president for ground operations. "We've simply made it possible for customers to check in for their flights at more than one location, which means that customers will stand in only one line, excluding security."
Southwest said customers waiting for flights to depart have used the plastic pass as a bookmark, fly swatter, back scratcher, fan, shoe horn, toothpick and pocket protector. The cards were in 23 colors and had the color written on the back for those people who are color blind.
