[HiPhish]

> Out of curiosity, what happens when someone does not own a smartphone (or the battery is dead)?

Or you drop your phone. Or it gets stolen. Or for whatever reason the software fails. Electronic devices are so flimsy, even if you want to use an app it's worth having paper as a backup option. It's the same reason why I always carry cash and a card on me (and I pay in cash as much as possible anyway).

[majorchord]

> If you have already checked-in online and your smartphone or tablet dies, you will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport.

> If passengers don’t have a smartphone or tablet, as long as they have already checked-in online before arriving at the airport, they will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport.

https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa...

[kjs3]

My wife used to laugh at me that I almost always print out a boarding pass. Until the day her phone died at the gate.

[chickensong]

Not to mention that the hard copy always scans flawlessly at the gate. Phone scans, not so much.

Not only does the phone scan not work well, but people often aren't prepared and so the boarding line stalls while people unlock their phone and retrieve the e-ticket.

[kmoser]

> Not to mention that the hard copy always scans flawlessly at the gate. Phone scans, not so much.

Not true. Recently I printed a hardcopy of my boarding pass at the airline's kiosk, then found it wouldn't scan at security. Luckily I was able to pull up the barcode on my phone.

[chickensong]

Ouch. Perhaps it's a dice roll either way. I guess I just assumed everyone else also had issues with phone tickets, and not with paper. You and your sibling comment have opposite experiences however, so it seems I must retract my statement.

[kjs3]

That's the point...always have a backup. You never know which failure mode is gonna find you.

[extraduder_ire]

One thing their phone app does is crank the brightness to maximum when you view the boarding pass.

[matwood]

Phone scan works fine. People not knowing how to travel/board a plane is a different issue.