The ability to check in and choose your own seat online has proved extremely popular, so a new facility to print your own boarding card at home is also likely to be a hit.

ECONOMIST: The travel industry

After then checking in as normal at the same kiosk, passengers can pass through a miSense automatic security gate by placing their finger on a scanner and inserting their boarding card into the reader.

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These charming ladies are on hand to help you with your travel needs, anything from directions and security regulations to liquid restrictions and boarding card details -- the kind of things that can often baffle infrequent fliers.

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In addition, passengers must be prepared to present a local, state, or federal government-issued identification card at the boarding gate, along with the boarding pass.

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Finally, the ID card is flashed at the gate no boarding pass needed and agents there hand the traveler a receipt with the seat number printed on it.

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When a traveller enters an airport with one of these smart cards, sensors read the passenger's card and automatically send a gate number and electronic boarding pass to the passenger's smartphone.

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If they don't have a frequent-flier ID card, travelers check in online or at kiosks and get a bar code on a printed boarding pass or on a mobile phone, just like at other airlines.

WSJ: Flying Through the Airport