Briefly: British Airways, Subway UK apps add support for Apple's Passbook

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's Passbook gained compatibility with two major apps on Tuesday as British Airways updated its boarding pass and travel title to support the coupon and pass management service, while Subway added integration for customers in the UK.

Passbook


The British Airways app is a straightforward implementation of Apple's digital repository, with basic support for boarding pass storage. All other functions, like seat changes and push notifications, are taken care of by the company's official app.

The app also lacks integration with Passbook's geolocation services, which in the case of an airline app would bring up a user's boarding pass upon arriving at the airport. The airline said such service would come in an update expected by mid June.

British Airways for iOS comes in at 6.3MB and can be downloaded for free from the App Store.

As for Subway, the restaurant chain is now linking its Subcard loyalty point card app to Apple's service, allowing users to check recent transactions and points balance directly from Passbook. Once customers accumulate enough points, they can redeem them for a free sub sandwich. The new support is limited to the UK.

Subway's Subcard app is a 1.9MB free download from the App Store.

The new additions comes after Alaska Airlines announced adoption of Passbook last week, taking advantage of the service's advanced features like dynamic updates for seat assignments and geolocation integration.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    About time, BA.
  • Reply 2 of 19
    bestkeptsecretbestkeptsecret Posts: 4,265member


    I'm in London and will be flying BA back to India in a week. I think I'll try the BA app. It will be the first time I use Passport!

  • Reply 3 of 19
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    It's a trickle, not a flood. And a random one at that. Tough to keep track of, so I find it personally not terribly useful.

    Apple should partner with someone like Amex or Visa to roll this out more systematically/globally. And buy Square already.
  • Reply 4 of 19
    shogunshogun Posts: 362member
    I haven't used passbook once. The whole experience just feels odd to me. Having a wallet I don't understand that might automatically open unbeknownst to me when I arrive places sounds... Like something I'd rather not deal with.
  • Reply 5 of 19
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member


    Apple's weirdest addition to iOS. Not at all obvious why this had to appear or what worth it has for most people, but it is a waste of icon space for most.

  • Reply 6 of 19
    tokoloshtokolosh Posts: 101member


    Although some don't see the point to Passbook it really is useful to many of us. I use it all of the time, primarily as I travel and try to keep straight rewards accounts with several airlines and several hotel chains.


     


    For one thing, as you are heading through TSA and other security lines globally I find it easier to use my iPhone as the boarding pass instead of carrying an extra piece of paper and my passport. Boarding passes are odd sizes and don't easily slide in and out of pockets without getting bent and in the way. The phone is quick and slips back in my pocket easily. It is a minor convenience, but a convenience nonetheless.


     


    With hotel chains I don't have to have a fat wallet of reward cards, it's all in the iPhone. As more food chains adopt the app it will become more and more useful.

  • Reply 7 of 19
    pfisherpfisher Posts: 758member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tokolosh View Post


    Although some don't see the point to Passbook it really is useful to many of us. I use it all of the time, primarily as I travel and try to keep straight rewards accounts with several airlines and several hotel chains.


     


    For one thing, as you are heading through TSA and other security lines globally I find it easier to use my iPhone as the boarding pass instead of carrying an extra piece of paper and my passport. Boarding passes are odd sizes and don't easily slide in and out of pockets without getting bent and in the way. The phone is quick and slips back in my pocket easily. It is a minor convenience, but a convenience nonetheless.


     


    With hotel chains I don't have to have a fat wallet of reward cards, it's all in the iPhone. As more food chains adopt the app it will become more and more useful.



    Although I'm far from being a Luddite (don't read paper books anymore, for instance), I still like to have a paper copy of my e-ticket. I don't know, maybe the phone might fail. It's just a backup measure and I don't want things to go wrong when I travel. I need that triple assurance.

  • Reply 8 of 19
    Heathrow Rewards, the rewards program for Heathrow Airport and Heathrow Express, also just added Passbook support. Even if you don't care to collect points, your membership number doubles your free wifi time at the airport to 90 minutes. Oddly, there is not Passbook support for the actual Express ticket.
  • Reply 9 of 19
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tokolosh View Post


    Although some don't see the point to Passbook it really is useful to many of us. I use it all of the time, primarily as I travel and try to keep straight rewards accounts with several airlines and several hotel chains.


     


    For one thing, as you are heading through TSA and other security lines globally I find it easier to use my iPhone as the boarding pass instead of carrying an extra piece of paper and my passport. Boarding passes are odd sizes and don't easily slide in and out of pockets without getting bent and in the way. The phone is quick and slips back in my pocket easily. It is a minor convenience, but a convenience nonetheless.


     


    With hotel chains I don't have to have a fat wallet of reward cards, it's all in the iPhone. As more food chains adopt the app it will become more and more useful.



    Do you carry back-up batteries too, especially for an international flight?

  • Reply 10 of 19
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    It amazes me how many loyalty cards here in the us aren't on Passbook when the company has put out an app. And the cards are barcodes. If it was a strip stripe okay that makes a little more sense. You would have to change support systems. But if you are scanning a barcode or QR anyway why not.
  • Reply 11 of 19
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    I find passbook annoying, I don't want to have to download apps to use passbook functionality.
  • Reply 12 of 19
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Shogun View Post



    I haven't used passbook once. The whole experience just feels odd to me. Having a wallet I don't understand that might automatically open unbeknownst to me when I arrive places sounds... Like something I'd rather not deal with.


    That's describing NFC, not Passbook.


    NFC means you're pocket can get "picked" by a thief with a scanner walking past you, with Passbook you have to deliberately display the screen to a visual scanner to transmit any information: far more secure.


     


    Part of the securioty concern for pasports with NFC, unless they have a radiowave blocking cover everything in them is wide open for identity theft with the right scanner.

  • Reply 13 of 19
    tokoloshtokolosh Posts: 101member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Do you carry back-up batteries too, especially for an international flight?



     


    Most international flights have USB or plugs available for charging. That being said, I haven't had an issue with battery life. When the phone is in airplane mode the drain is very slow.

  • Reply 14 of 19
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    tokolosh wrote: »
    Do you carry back-up batteries too, especially for an international flight?

    Most international flights have USB or plugs available for charging. That being said, I haven't had an issue with battery life. When the phone is in airplane mode the drain is very slow.

    Who has USB? That's a new one to me.
  • Reply 15 of 19
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post





    Who has USB? That's a new one to me.


    Seatguru might help:


    http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/British_Airways/British_Airways_Boeing_777_300.php


     


    I've rented cars with USB, I've not noticed them on domestic American flights anyway, but then the flight itself is short enough I don't tend to care.

  • Reply 16 of 19
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post


    Apple's weirdest addition to iOS. Not at all obvious why this had to appear or what worth it has for most people, but it is a waste of icon space for most.



     


    I'd rather waste icon space on my iPhone than carry more store cards in my wallet. There many sites and apps that transform your card (that uses bar codes) into a passbook pass.

  • Reply 17 of 19
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by saarek View Post



    I find passbook annoying, I don't want to have to download apps to use passbook functionality.


     


    You don't have to download anything to use passbook. Passes can be downloaded from the web or emailed to you. You can even make your own pass on your Mac and it will show up on your iPhone.

  • Reply 18 of 19
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Do you carry back-up batteries too, especially for an international flight?



     


    I personally carry this when I go on long trips.

  • Reply 19 of 19
    kaywankaywan Posts: 1member
    This is gorgeous!!!! Hope more merchants can utilize passbook to fulfill our digital wallet!!!!
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