easyJet trials mobile boarding passes, excludes Windows and BlackBerry

UK-based airline group, easyJet, is trialling mobile boarding passes for passengers but they have to first use an easyJet app to do it, which doesn't run on Windows or BlackBerry phones.

The easyJet app only currently runs on iPhone and Android devices. The airline is now trialling mobile boarding passes for flights departing from London Stansted, London Southend, Manchester, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Nice - just six of the 130 airports easyJet flies from.

Passengers travelling from the airports included in the trial can now "check-in in less than 10 seconds", says easyJet, and download and store their boarding passes on iPhone and Android phones.

Peter Duffy, marketing director for easyJet, said: "Mobile boarding passes are the next important step in our aim to make travel easy and affordable. Following a successful trial, we will be working with each of the airports in order to rollout the function across the network."

Duffy said the trial will also be extended to include multiple boarding passes on the same device so that families can all check-in using one or a number of mobiles, depending on their preference.

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Once boarding passes have been downloaded they are stored offline so no network coverage or WiFi is required and no roaming charges will be incurred.

Boarding passes can be downloaded from between 30 days and two hours before the flight departs. The easyJet app can also recognise if a passenger has checked-in on a computer through easyJet.com, and allows them to download the boarding pass without needing to check-in again.

The app also has Apple's Passbook functionality so that customers can easily store boarding passes for upcoming trips in one convenient place.

Since its launch in late 2011, easyJet claims more than 4.5 million people have downloaded the easyJet app. The app supports seven languages across Europe, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese.

EasyJet said the initial trial will be extended to include standard mobile web networking to cater for Windows Phone 7/8 and Blackberry devices "later this year".

Most major airlines already offer mobile boarding passes on the majority of their routes, and passengers don't need to run an app on their phone to get their boarding passes, which can be sent as an SMS text message or as an email.