WO2006029658A1

WO2006029658A1 - Method for performing a clearance procedure, a system and a sofware product

Info

Publication number: WO2006029658A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/004231
Authority: WO
Inventors: Klaus Heeder; Ricardo Letosa
Original assignee: Sita Information Networking Computing N.V.
Priority date: 2004-09-13
Filing date: 2005-04-20
Publication date: 2006-03-23
Also published as: WO2006029639A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for performing a clearance procedure of a passenger, preferably an air passenger, comprising the steps of accomplishing of a check-in procedure via at least one passenger service module; generating of boarding pass data by the passenger service module at least after accomplishing of the check-in procedure; assigning of identification data to the boarding pass data; and communicating of the identification data to at least one identification device by the passenger to allow the passenger a boarding onto at least one transportation vehicle, preferably an airplane, based on the boarding pass data; a system for performing a clearance procedure of a passenger and a software product.

Description

SITA Information Networking Computing N.V.

Heathrowstraat 10 (Sloterdijk) 1043 CH Amsterdam, Netherlands

Method for performing a clearance procedure, a system and a software product

The invention relates to a method for performing of a clearance procedure for a passenger, preferably an air passenger.

In the sense of this invention clearance in particular means the handling of a passenger after purchasing of a ticket by the passenger until the departure of a transportation vehicle onto which the passenger has boarded, especially comprising the steps of accomplishing a check-in procedure and a boarding procedure. Check-in in the sense of this invention in particular means the final seat and/or plane assignment for a passenger in at least one database of at least one transportation company, this includes, if necessary, the generating of a boarding pass document as printed, i.e. check-in means the registration of a passenger in a passenger list, preferably followed by a confirmation check-in message issued by the transportation com¬ pany.

For the time being when a passenger has planed a flight he contacts the airline or a travel agency and makes a reservation for a specific trip. After doing so the passenger receives a ticket that is issued by a booking or a reservation (RES) system of the specific airline. Before starting the flight the passenger has to complete a check-in and boarding procedure at the de¬ parture airport. For this reason the passenger contacts the airline, after arriving at the airport, either by contacting a airline employee at a counter or using a check-in terminal. In both ways a connection to a database of the airline reservation system is build up to verify the data of the flight ticket. Furthermore the passenger can make a seat selection and can check-in his bag¬ gage. After this check-in procedure at the airport a boarding pass is generated by printing out a physical boarding pass which is handed out to the passenger. Additionally the flight data of this passenger is sent and stored in a departure control system (DCS) of the airline. After this _

2 check-in procedure the passenger goes to the departure gate. Before entering the gate the pas¬ senger has to run through a vetting procedure. During this procedure he hands out his board¬ ing pass and an ID to an employee of the airline or the airport which verifies the data of the boarding pass with the ID of the passenger. In the last phase before the flight a last verifica¬ tion of the data of the boarding pass is made. The ,boarding pass is for example put into a boarding pass reader which is in data connection to the DCS of the airline. After this final verification of the boarding pass data with the data stored in the departure control system the passenger can board the airplane.

The disadvantage of the above check-in and boarding procedure is that the passenger has to be at the airport during the check-in procedure and he has to locate the representents of the spe¬ cific airline he wants to travel with.

In the UK patent GB 2361570 B a method of operating and ticketing system for avoiding pa¬ per documents is proposed. After a passenger has made a reservation a Passenger Name Re¬ cord (PNR) code is sent to a mobile station associated with the passenger, like a mobile phone. This PNR code is used as a electronic ticket as follows. In the mobile station the PNR code is converted into a barcode format which is displayed on a display of the mobile station. This barcode can be read by a barcode reader during each phase of the check-in and boarding procedure. The disadvantage of this method is that the barcode reader has to be connected to the airline RES or DCS of the airline to check whether the passenger has a valid ticket and whether this ticket is used by the right person, especially during the vetting procedure before entering the departure gate. This necessitates the installation of additional reading devices which has to be connected to the airline databases and the passenger has still to be present at the airport for the check-in procedure. Furthermore, this method does not allow the handling of passengers using different airlines.

Furthermore, it is know in the state of the art that ticket data, that is transferred to a mobile device can be used to redeem this ticket. For example the US 2004/0039635 Al discloses a ticketing apparatus and method. After a user has purchased a ticket at a ticket centre the ticket centre sends a person user identification ticket to a wireless device, for example a mobile phone. During the purchase the ticket data are read out of the mobile phone, for example by using a barcode reader and a ticket data is compared with tickets data contained in a data base for verification purposes. The disadvantage of this method is that a connection to a data base comprising the details of valid tickets of the reading device has to exist. _

3

The EP 1 341 327 Al discloses a mobile terminal and electronic commerce system. A mobile phone of a consumer can receive via a mobile phone provider an encrypted registration num¬ ber which is associated with product information. When the consumer goes subsequently to a shop where a reading device is located this information can be transferred to this reading de¬ vice. After this data transfer a verification of the registration number with a virtual shop is accomplished, which makes the use of a live data connection between the reading device and the virtual shop necessary. Such a connection to a central data base is also necessary if the commerce system is used for a reservation system for airports. Thus, high costs arise when installing the reading devices.

Furthermore, the US 2003/0105954 Al discloses a method, system and computer program product for secure ticketing in a communications device. In this system a mobile device can receive a ticket via a radiolink from an issuing device. To use the electronic ticket the user sends the ticket data to a collection device via a radio connection. To redeem the ticket it is necessary that the mobile device communicates bi-directional with the collection device, wherein the data has to be decrypted, changed and encrypted actively by the mobile device. Thus a complicated method has to be used to redeem the ticket after the ticket data has been sent to the mobile device.

Furthermore, it is known from the US 6,736,322 B2, which discloses a generic method for communicating information in barcode form with a mobile communication device, that a user can request a boarding pass in a barcode form from a special airline to avoid paper docu¬ ments. After the boarding pass is received from the mobile communication device the user contacts a special ticket airline agent who checks the user identification and scans the barcode displayed on the mobile communication device to enable the user to board the airplane. The barcode scanner is connected to an airline computer to allow the verification of the boarding pass data. Thus, this barcode reader also needs a live connection to a data base and further¬ more also this method does not allow the handling of passengers of different airlines.

In the state of the art also data filtering methods and filter tools are known to evaluate data for different purposes.

For example the US 6,295,527 Bl discloses a filter tool for establishing and viewing groups of devices within a network of devices. A filter mechanism receives information about differ¬ ent network devices by a polling service, that means an automatic, sequential testing of each potential servers of input of the network. The received information are stored and the stored data are later searched for a filtering of the data. The disadvantage of such a filter tool is that the data is not received from selected data sources and that only the data interesting for the filtering are stored. Thus, the filter process is very time consuming and needs a lot of storing resources.

Furthermore, the US 2001/0039540 Al discloses a method and structure for dynamic conver¬ sion of data especially to convert a data from multiple sources to multiple clients enabling for each user to see the wished data. To reach this conversion dynamic filters are constructed by using and combining a set of partial filter adapters. The disadvantage of this method is that it cannot be used for filtering data when in one filtering process different filter criteria has to be fulfilled whereby the different filter data are located on different data servers.

Furthermore, in the state of the art different attempts were made to allow the data communica¬ tion of different elements within a communication system. For example the US 5,912,897 discloses a method for converting different formats in communication systems. To allow a communication using different releases of a software this method uses a conversion table which defines how to convert a single message from one system to another. During this con¬ version message elements in this single message can be added or deleted. The disadvantage of this method is that it does not allow the communication of different system elements using different message sequences to reach one and the same transaction.

Furthermore, the DE 102 41 197 Al discloses a message conversion method. By this method a conversion of different signalisation protocols of different communication systems is reached. Thus, also by this method only converting signalisation protocols a communication between data servers using different message sequences for one and the same transaction is not possible.

The US 2002/0147823 Al discloses a computer network system comprising a plurality of hosts and plurality of hubs in which at least one host can communicate with a hub through a connection service using one or more host protocols. To allow the communication a message mapping is accomplished to translate a XML message into a native command format of a host and to translate the host response back into a XML message. But this mapping does not allow the communication with a plurality of data hosts using different message sequences for one and the same transaction. Furthermore, different methods of tracking the local position of an object are known in the state of the art.

For example the US 6,741,927 B2 discloses a user definable communication method and sys¬ tem to notify a user in advance of the impending arrival of a vehicle or a user, for example a bus, a train or a delivery van. For the tracking of the object a global position system or a de¬ livery list together with information about accomplished deliveries is used to estimate the lo¬ cation of the object. Thus, additional devices or a complex tracking method are used.

Furthermore, the WO 2004/034721 Al discloses a method of providing information regarding a mobile station. By this method it is indicated whether the mobile station is leaving or enter¬ ing an area around a respective base station with which the mobile station communicates dur¬ ing the normal use.

Thus, it is the object of the present invention to further develop the method and the system to perform a clearance procedure of a passenger, comprising a check-in procedure of the pas¬ senger, to overcome the disadvantages known in the state of the art, especially to provide a method and a system that allows the passenger a comfortable check-in procedure and that allows the further usage of existing data communication structures and devices that are al¬ ready present at departure locations as airports. To higher the comfort for the passenger it should be especially avoided that the passenger has to be in possession of all boarding pass data to finalize the clearance procedure by the boarding procedure.

This object is achieved by a method for performing a clearance procedure of a passenger, preferably an air passenger, comprising the steps of

• accomplishing of a check-in procedure via at least one passenger service module;

• generating of boarding pass data by the passenger service module at least after ac¬ complishing of the check-in procedure;

• assigning of identification data to the boarding pass data; and • communicating of the identification data to at least one identification device by the passenger to allow the passenger a boarding onto at least one transportation vehi¬ cle, preferably an airplane, based on the boarding pass data.

It is preferred that the accomplishing of the check-in procedure is carried out by the passenger at least partly via at least one mobile device, wherein preferably the passenger initiates the check-in procedure via the mobile device, especially by starting a software application on the mobile device for a communication between the passenger service module and the mobile device.

The invention further proposes that the check-in procedure is accomplishable for at least one transportation company, preferably for a plurality of transportation companies and the pas¬ senger service module is in operational connection with respective data hosts of the transpor¬ tation companies.

It is possible that before accomplishing the check-in procedure at least one transportation trip list, preferably comprising information concerning the trips provided by the transportation company or companies at at least one departure location, is rendered and stored by the pas¬ senger service module.

In this embodiment the invention advantageously provides that the passenger service module contacts at least one respective data host of the transportation company or companies, pref¬ erably comprised by the reservation system (RES), the operation system (OPS) and/or the Departure Control System (DCS) of the respective transportation company for rendering the transportation trip list.

In the two aforementioned embodiments is proposed that the transportation trips of the trans¬ portation company or companies departing within a predefined time range are stored in the transportation trip list and/or the data stored in the transportation trip list are updated in a pe¬ riodical manner, preferably by periodically retrieving the respective data from the respective data hosts of the transportation company or companies.

It is also possible that predefined transportation trips are not stored in the transportation trip list, especially based on the date of transportation, departure city, departure location, arrival city, arrival location and/or the number of stop over during the transportation trip. With the invention it is further proposed that the passenger service module accomplishes prior to the check-in procedure at least one passenger eligibility check to determine the eligibility of at least one passenger for the check-in procedure.

In this embodiment is preferred that the eligibility check is accomplished by at least one com¬ parison of at least one piece of passenger related data information, especially passenger re¬ lated data information stored in the transportation trip list, with at least one predefined crite¬ ria, wherein preferably the passengers fulfilling the criteria are stored in at least one eligible passenger list by the passenger service module.

In the two aforementioned embodiments it is preferred that the eligibility check is preformed only for passengers having registered in a registration procedure for participating at the check- in procedure, preferably listed in at least one registered user list stored by the passenger ser¬ vice module.

It is also possible that the eligibility check is accomplished based on criteria predefined by the transportation company or companies and/or based on criteria stored by the passenger service module in at least one eligibility criteria list.

With the invention it is further proposed that the passenger service module retrieves during the eligibility check, preferably for each transportation trip listed in the transportation trip list, at least one reservation passenger list from at least one data host of the respective transporta¬ tion company, especially from at least one data host comprised by a reservation system (RES) of the respective transportation company.

In this embodiment it is possible that the reservation passenger list comprises at least one pas¬ senger data set, preferably comprising at least one piece of information of a passenger name record (PNR) like a passenger name, travel segments, especially air and/or rail segments, an urgent indicator, a destination indicator, frequent flyer details and/or a unique identifier of the passenger.

Furthermore the invention proposes that at least after initiating the check-in procedure the passenger service module determines the transportation trips for which the passenger can check-in via the check-in procedure, preferably by querying the eligible passenger list and/or the transportation trip list, and preferably communicates at least one determined transportation trip, especially via the mobile device.

In this embodiment it is proposed that the transportation trips are only communicated to the passenger in the case that more than one transportation trip is determined.

In the two before mentioned embodiments of the invention it is proposed that the transporta¬ tion trip for which the check-in is accomplished is defined by the passenger choosing at least one of the communicated transportation trips.

It is also possible that the passenger service module communicates data with at least one data host of the transportation company executing the determined transportation trip, preferably comprised by the DCS system of the respective transportation company.

In this embodiment it is proposed that the passenger service module retrieves at least one piece of information concerning available seats of the determined transportation trip from the data host and preferably communicates these information to the passenger, especially via the mobile device.

With the invention it is further proposed that at least one piece of information concerning available seats of the determined transportation trip is communicated together with a seat pre- assignment, preferably determined by the passenger service module based on personal data of the passenger, especially comprised in the registered user list, and/or determined by the trans¬ portation company.

In the two before mentioned embodiments it is proposed that the passenger selects at least one available seat based on the information concerning available seats and/or by amending the seat pre-assignment.

The method according to the invention can be characterized in that at least one piece of in¬ formation concerning the number of baggage items the passenger checks-in at the departure location and/or at least one piece of information concerning security questions is sent to the passenger service module during the check-in procedure. ,

9

It is also proposed that the passenger service module sends, preferably after finishing the check-in procedure, the necessary check-in data, especially the flight number, the seat selec¬ tion data and/or the number of baggage items, to at least one data host of the transportation company executing the determined transportation trip, preferably a data host comprised by the DCS system of the transportation company and/or stores the check-in data at least partly in a boarding passenger list, especially comprised by the passenger service module.

Furthermore it is possible that the boarding pass data comprises at least one passenger name, at least on flight number, at least one departure airport information, at least one departure city information, at least one departure terminal information, at least one departure time, at least one gate number, at least one seat allocation number, at least one destination airport informa¬ tion, at least one Destination City information, at least one arrival time, at least one airplane type information and/or at least one Passenger Name Record (PNR).

Furthermore the method according to the invention can be characterized in that the boarding pass data is stored in at least one database, especially one data host of the respective transpor¬ tation company or companies, preferably comprised by the DCS system of the transportation company or companies, and/or one database comprised by the passenger service module, preferably the boarding passenger list.

In this embodiment it is also preferred that the boarding pass data is stored together with the identification data assigned to the boarding pass data.

Furthermore with the invention it is proposed that the identification data comprises at least one identifier of the mobile device and/or the passenger.

In this embodiment it is preferred that the identification data comprises at least one, prefera¬ bly unique, identifier of the mobile device, preferably at least one International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) and/or at least one Security Identity Module (SIM) identifier.

In the two before mentioned embodiments with the invention it is proposed that the identifica¬ tion data comprises at least one piece of personal data of the passenger, preferably at least one first name, at least one surname and/or at least one date of birth, especially the unique identi¬ fier stored in the reservation passenger list. A preferred embodiment is characterized in that identification data comprises at least one ran¬ dom generated identifier, preferably generated during the respective check-in procedure.

One in particular advantageous embodiment of the method is characterized in that the identi¬ fication data comprises at least one piece of additional information to assign different identifi¬ cation data to different boarding pass data of the same passenger generated during different check-in procedures, especially the additional information comprises information allowing to reproduce the order of the respective check-in procedures of the passenger during which the respective boarding pass data are generated, preferably at least one sequential number and/or at least one piece of information concerning the point in time of generating of the respective set of boarding pass data.

Furthermore it is suggested that the identification data, especially the at least one identifier of the mobile device and/or the passenger, is at least partly transmitted to the passenger service module prior to the check-in procedure, preferably during the registration procedure, espe¬ cially by the mobile device and/or the passenger.

It is also preferred that the identification data, especially the at least one random generated identifier and/or the additional information, is at least partly generated by the passenger ser¬ vice module and/or the mobile device, preferably during and/or subsequent to the check-in procedure.

In this embodiment with the invention it is proposed that the identification data at least partly generated by the mobile device is transmitted to the passenger service module.

Furthermore it is proposed that the identification data is stored by the passenger service mod¬ ule, especially in the registered user list, the eligible passenger list, the boarding passenger list and/or the reservation passenger list.

Also a method according the invention can be characterized in that the identification data, especially the identification data stored by the passenger service module, is at least partly transmitted to the passenger and/or the mobile device by the passenger service module.

In this embodiment it is preferred that the identification data is at least partly transmitted to the passenger in form of at least one paper document, in form of at least one Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), in form of at least one acoustic message and/or in form of at least one electronic message, preferably by using at least one e-mail, at least one SMS, at least one MMS, at least on FMS and/or at least one notification via a send/retrieve procedure.

Furthermore with the invention it is proposed that the identification data is at least partly transmitted to the passenger service module, the mobile device and/or the passenger and/or is at least partly stored by the mobile device and/or the passenger service module in encrypted form.

The invention proposes furthermore that the identification data is at least partly and at least indirectly communicated to the identification device, especially the identification data is at least partly communicated to a person operating a respective identification device.

Also it is preferred that after communication of the identification data to the identification device the identification device transmits the identification data at least partly to the passenger service module, preferably via a wireless connection, like a wireless local Area Network (WLAN), an optical connection and/or an electromagnetic connection, and/or a wired connec¬ tion.

In this embodiment with the invention it is proposed that after receiving of the identification data the passenger service module retrieves the boarding pass data assigned to the identifica¬ tion data.

In a first alternative it is proposed with the invention that the passenger service module sends at least partly the boarding pass data to the identification device, especially to allow a verifi¬ cation of the passenger prior to boarding of a transport vehicle.

In a second alternative it is proposed with the invention that the identification device transmits additional information concerning the boarding pass data, like departure gate and/or terminal information data and/or flight information data, especially concerning a flight number, a de¬ parture time and/or a destination location, wherein the passenger service module verifies the additional information with the retrieved boarding pass data and preferably transmits the re¬ sult of this verification to the identification device. Furthermore the inventiveness of the method can be characterized in that the identification device is located at the departure location, preferably at at least one baggage drop counter, especially for generating at least one bag tag, at at least one security check location especially to check the identity of the passenger, at at least one location to generate a physical boarding pass and/or at at least one boarding gate.

Also it is suggested with the invention that at least one physical identification document, par¬ ticularly a printed and/or machine readable paper document like a boarding pass and/or a bag tag for the passenger is generated by the identification device based on the boarding pass data, send by the passenger service module.

In this embodiment it can be realized that the generating of the identification document com¬ prises the printing of information onto a paper document and/or the writing of information onto a magnetic strip.

Finally the method according to the invention can be characterized in that the communication of the identification data comprises reading of two-dimensional barcode information, the reading of an paper document, the acoustic transmitting of information, especially the reading to a third person, the transfer of data via an infrared link, the transfer of data via at least one short distance communication method, e.g. Bluetooth^® and/or short distance link (SDL), the transfer of data via a mobile network like GSM, CDMA, TDMA, GRPS, UMTS, HCSD and/or CSD, and/or the reading of an Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID).

The inventive method is of course accessible to a computer-based and/or computer- implemented processing and can exist on a system, especially a computer system, and/or can be implemented by such a system. Thus the invention also comprises such systems imple¬ menting and/or embodying the method described before.

Especially the invention provides a system for performing a clearance-procedure of a passen¬ ger, preferably an air passenger, equipped to carry out the inventive method, comprising at least one passenger service module, preferably in operational connection with at least one mobile device and/or at least one data host of the at least one transportation company.

In this embodiment it is preferred that the passenger service module is a software module ex¬ ecutable by a data processor. _j

13

It is also proposed with the invention that inventive system is characterized in that the mobile device is at least one mobile phone, like a WAP phone, a GSM phone, a CDMA phone, a TDMA phone, a GRPS phone, a UMTS phone, a HCSD phone, a CSD phone and/or a small phone, a Smartpad Notepad or a two way pager, a personal digital assistant, a short distance communication device, e.g. a Bluetooth^® device and/or a short distance link (SDL) device, a wireless internet device and/or a handheld PC.

The invention also comprises a software product comprising program code information to accomplish all steps according to the method of the invention, in case the software product is executed by a computer processor.

Also with the invention a software product comprising such program code information stored on a computer-readable storage medium is provided.

Finally the invention provides a software product comprising program code information stored on a storage medium to accomplish all steps of the method according to the invention, in case the program is executed by a computer processor.

A further preferred embodiment is characterized in that the eligibility check is accomplished via at least one dynamic filter module preferably comprised by the passenger service module.

In the last mentioned embodiment it is preferred that the dynamic filter module

Retrieves at least one first logical record comprising at least one first piece of in¬ formation, preferably the data stored in the transportation trip list, concerning the check-in procedure;

Retrieves at least one second logical record comprising at least one second piece of information concerning the passenger, preferably comprised in the passenger list and/or the passenger data set, from a first data host, wherein the first data host is selected based on the first piece of information;

Retrieves at least one respective first criteria from an eligibility criteria list, wherein the first criteria is selected based on the first piece of information; Checks whether the second logical record comprises the necessary data for the comparison with the first criteria;

wherein the dynamic filter tool

Retrieves at least one first piece of data location information where to retrieve the necessary data in case the second logical record does not comprise the necessary data for the comparison with the first criteria; and

Contacts at least one second data host based on the first piece of data location in¬ formation to retrieve at least one third logical record comprising the necessary data about the passenger for the comparison with the first criteria, whereby par¬ ticularly at least one piece of information comprised by the first and/or the second logical record is used to retrieve the third logical record.

o possible that after the comparison with the first criteria the dynamic filter module

retrieves at least one second criteria from the eligibility criteria list,

- checks whether the first, second and/or third logical record comprises the neces¬ sary data for the comparison with the second criteria,

wherein the dynamic filter module

retrieves at least one second piece of data location information where to retrieve the necessary data for the comparison with the second criteria in case the first, second and/or third logical record does not comprise the necessary data for the comparison with the second criteria; and

contacts at least one third data host based on the second piece of data location in¬ formation to retrieve at least one fourth logical record comprising the necessary data about the object for the comparison with the second criteria, whereby particu¬ larly at least one piece of information comprised by the first, second and/or third logical record is used to retrieve the fourth logical record. _

15

In a preferred embodiment it is suggested that a plurality of second criteria is compared by the dynamic filter module, wherein the dynamic filter module also checks whether one of the previously retrieved fourth logical records comprises the necessary data for the comparison with the second criteria, retrieves the at least one additional second piece of data location in¬ formation in case also one of the previously retrieved fourth logical records does not comprise the necessary data for the comparison with the second criteria and/or uses particularly at least one piece of information comprised by one of the previously retrieved fourth logical records to retrieve at least one additional fourth logical record.

The method can be characterized in that the dynamic filter module does store subsequent to a positive comparison with the first and/or the second criteria at least one piece of information comprised by the second, third and/or fourth logical record in the eligible passenger list.

It is also possible that the first piece of information allows the identification of at least one transportation company, the second piece of information allows the identification of at least one passenger and/or the first and/or second criteria comprises personal data of the passenger, particularly the age, the place of domicile, frequent traveller information, and/or special ser¬ vice requests of the passenger, like needing oxygen, passenger having a fire arm and/or wheelchair passenger.

It is preferred that the first data host, the second data host and/or the third data host is or are comprised by a RES-system, a DCS-system and/or a OPS-system of a transportation com¬ pany.

It is also possible that the first and/or the second piece of data location information is re¬ trieved from at least one data location table.

It is also proposed that the passenger is notified, preferably via the mobile device that he can initiate the check-in procedure.

In this embodiment it is preferred that the notification is accomplished a predefined time be¬ fore a planned departure of at least one transportation trip for which the passenger can check- in, when the passenger enters a predefined area, preferably an area within a predefined radius around a point of interest, like a departure airport, a parking lot and/or a domicile address, and/or at a fixed point of time, preferably predefined by at least one transportation company, _ .

16 wherein preferably these accomplishing criteria and/or accomplishing preferences for the no¬ tification are predefined by the user and/or stored in the registered user list.

Furthermore it is proposed that the location of the passenger is determined based on informa¬ tion retrieved by the passenger service module via a global position system (GPS), preferably in operational connection to the mobile device and/or at least one vehicle of the passenger, like a car, and/or based on information retrieved by the passenger service module via at least one service provider of the mobile device, preferably based on information in which area the mobile device is localised.

One in particular advantageous embodiment is characterized in that the notification comprises the sending of at least one text message, preferably at least one SMS, FMS and/or at least one e-mail, at least one voice message, preferably sent to the mobile device, and/or at least one notification via a send/retrieve procedure.

Furthermore it is preferred that at least one piece of information concerning at least one noti¬ fication, preferably the name of the notified passenger and/or the status of the notification, especially whether the notification is pending, the notification is sent, the notification is dis¬ carded and/or the notification returned an error, is stored in at least one data base table by the passenger service module.

It is also suggested that before sending a new notification to at least one passenger the new notification is compared to the notifications stored in the data base table, preferably to avoid a duplication of notifications to one and the same passenger, wherein especially the notification is compared to notifications of at least two different transportation companies.

It is also suggested that the passenger initiates the check-in procedure via the mobile device, preferably provided that the passenger is listed in the eligible passenger list, especially by starting a software application on the mobile device for communication between the passen¬ ger service module and the mobile device.

It is also possible that the passenger, preferably before starting the check-in procedure, veri¬ fies his identity, preferably by sending verification data to the passenger service module, es¬ pecially via the mobile device, whereby the verification data preferably comprise the identifi¬ cation data, at least one username, at least one password, at least one identifier of the mobile device and/or voice verification data, wherein the verification of the identity is especially at least partly accomplished automatically, preferably by the mobile device, and/or manually by the user.

In this embodiment it is preferred that the verification data are verified with personal data comprised in the registered user list.

It is also suggested that the passenger service module sends, preferably after finishing the check-in procedure, additional information to the mobile device, like the time the user has to be at the departure location in advance for boarding, the availability and/or location of bag¬ gage drops and/or a terminal configuration.

Furthermore it is possible that the boarding pass data and/or the bag tag data are transmitted from the mobile device to at least one appropriate device located at the destination location, preferably at at least one baggage drop counter, especially for generating at least one bag tag, at at least one security check location especially to check the identity of the passenger, at at least one location to generate a physical boarding pass and/or at at least one boarding gate, especially via at least one short distance communication method, e.g. Bluetooth^® and/or short distance link (SDL), via at least one infrared connection and/or via at least one visual connec¬ tion, preferably using a 2d barcode.

In a further embodiment is proposed that at least one physical identification document, par¬ ticularly a printed and/or machine readable paper document like a boarding pass and/or a bag tag for the passenger is generated based on the electronic boarding pass and/or bag tag data.

In a preferred embodiment it is suggested that the communication between a first data proc¬ essing module, preferably the passenger service module, the dynamic filter module and/or the mobile device, and at least one data host is accomplished by using a message sequence nor¬ malisation.

In this embodiment it is preferred that the message sequence normalisation comprises the steps of

- receiving at least one transaction command of the first data processing module by at least one message sequence normalisation module, - identification of the received transaction command and identification of the data host with which the transaction has to be accomplished by the message se¬ quence normalisation module,

- converting of the received transaction command into a message sequence com¬ prising at least one message set by the message sequence normalisation mod¬ ule, wherein the number of message sets comprised in the message sequence depends on the identified data host and the received transaction command, and

- communicating the message sets of the message sequence between the message sequence normalisation module and the identified data host.

In the method the message sequence can comprise at least two message sets which are com¬ municated subsequently between the message sequence normalisation module and the identi¬ fied data host.

Furthermore it is suggested that after the receiving of the transaction command the storing of the transaction command, preferably in the message sequence normalisation module.

It is also possible that the transaction command comprises at least one first parameter, particu¬ larly an identification information concerning the identified data host, a username, a pass¬ word, a PNR identification, a flight number, a departure airport and/or departure city identi¬ fier, a destination airport and/or destination city identifier and/or a seat selection.

One in particular advantageous embodiment is characterized in that the message set comprises at least one first and at least one second message set element, wherein the first message set element comprises at least one first message that has to be sent to the identified data host by the message sequence normalisation module and the second message set element comprises at least one second message received as a response of the identified data host to the first mes¬ sage by the message sequence normalisation module.

In this embodiment it is preferred that the first message comprises at least one second parame¬ ter and the second message comprises at least one third parameter, wherein preferably the first, second and/or third parameter is or are stored at least temporarily preferably by the mes¬ sage sequence normalisation module. It is also proposed that the first or second parameter and/or the first, second and/or third pa¬ rameter is or are further processed into at least one fourth parameter, preferably by the mes¬ sage sequence normalisation module, which especially is at least temporarily stored, prefera¬ bly in the message sequence normalisation module.

In a further embodiment it is possible that the fourth parameter is further processed into at least one fifth parameter after the communication of a least one subsequent message set of the message sequence with the identified data host, preferably using the first parameter, the sec¬ ond and/or the third parameter of the subsequent message set.

A advantageously embodiment of the method comprises the step of exchanging of at least one transaction result, particularly the first, second, third, fourth and/or fifth parameter between the first data processing module and the message sequence normalisation module after the communication of the complete message sequence with the identified data host.

Furthermore it is proposed that the message sequence is retrieved from at least one interface definition table accessible by the message sequence normalisation module.

Also it is possible that the transaction command, the transaction result, the at least one mes¬ sage set, the first message and/or the second message are sent, received and/or communicated on the same network layer.

Also a system to accomplish the check-in of a passenger, preferably an air passenger, is pos¬ sible that is equipped to carry out one of the methods of the invention, comprising at least one passenger service module in operational connection with at least one mobile device, at least one dynamic filter module, at least one message sequence normalisation module and/or at least one data host of the at one transportation company.

It is preferred that this system is characterized in that the passenger service module, the dy¬ namic filter module and/or the message sequence normalisation module is or are software modules executable by a computer processor.

It is furthermore preferred that at least one Interface definition table is realised in way of at least one plug-in dynamically loadable into the message sequence normalisation module and/or dynamically unloadable out of the message sequence normalisation module, wherein the Interface definition table can preferably be amended without the necessity to suspend the execution of the passenger service module, the dynamic filter tool and/or the message se¬ quence normalisation module.

It is also suggested that at least one data location table and/or at least one eligibility criteria list is or are realised in way of at least one plug-in dynamically loadable into the dynamic fil¬ ter module and/or dynamically unloadable out of the dynamic filter module, wherein the data location table and/or the eligibility criteria list can preferably be amended without the neces¬ sity to suspend the execution of the passenger service module, the dynamic filter tool and/or the message sequence normalisation module.

Finally it is provided a software product comprising program code information to accomplish all steps of the method of the invention, in the case the software product is executed by a computer processor.

Furthermore it is preferred that this software product comprising program code information, is stored on a computer-readable storage medium.

It is also suggested that this software product comprises program code information stored on a storage medium to accomplish all steps of the method according to the invention, in the case the program is executed by a computer processor.

Thus, the present invention is based on the astonishing perception that a method for perfor ming a clearance procedure comprising the accomplishing of a check-in procedure of a pas¬ senger, preferably an air passenger, can be designed that this procedure is more comfortable for the passenger, especially that the passenger does not have to be in possession of the board¬ ing pass data to allow a boarding onto a transportation vehicle.

By avoiding that the boarding pass data generated during the check-in procedure has to be transmitted to the passenger the clearance procedure is speed up as the transmission of the boarding pass data, especially to a mobile device is time consuming. Furthermore this source of defect is avoided. Usually a passenger uses different airlines for his trips. When he wants to accomplish a check-in especially via a mobile device he has to install, use and/or access a variety of different applications, one application for each airline. In contrast by the method according to a preferred embodiment the invention the user has only to install one application that allows him the accomplishing of a check-in procedure with the variety of airlines he is using for flights. The possibility of accomplishing the check-in procedure with a variety of transportation companies or airlines is especially enabled by using the message sequence normalisation. This normalisation allows it that a passenger service module, especially a mo¬ bile passenger service module can communicate with data hosts of a variety of airlines which are using different message sequences to accomplish one and the same transaction. It has to be noted that the term Data host of an airline or a RES-, DCS- and/or OPS-System of an air¬ line includes in the sense of this application also third party managed airline host services, i.e. that this data host/service is or are provided by a third party in the name of the airline. The use of different message sequences leads furthermore to the advantage that the existing communi¬ cation structures of the airlines has not to be amended to allow a check-in procedure accord¬ ing to the invention. Thus no additional investments has to be made on behalf of the airlines. Furthermore the airlines can use the existing reading devices and data communication devices existing at the airports to accomplish a boarding after the check-in. To allow such a boarding it is preferred that a boarding pass is printed out with a identification device in form of a iden¬ tification document generator or boarding pass printer according to the invention. Thus also the workflows at the airport are not changed, especially no further agent are necessary for a boarding after a check-in procedure according to the invention. Thus also no additional costs arises for the airline and airport operators by implementation of the invention.

Furthermore the invention makes it possible that a check-in procedure can be accomplished especially via a mobile device when a passenger has purchased new types of tickets. For ex¬ ample it is possible that a passenger can purchase a ticket that allows Mm to fly at one special day from one departure location to a predefined destination location with different flights of one airline or also different flights of different airlines. As during the check-in procedure all flights for which the passenger has a reservation are communicated and/or displayed the pas¬ senger can choose between the different flights of different airlines in one check-in procedure without the necessity to check-in at the airport. Thus the invention makes the implementation of such new types of tickets possible.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become evident from the following de¬ scription, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention in form of an air passenger check-in system is explained by way of an example with reference to schematic drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a flow chart showing the actions taken by the user of the system;

Fig. 2 is a flow chart showing the actions taken by a passenger service module of the system;

Fig. 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a system embodying the inven¬ tion;

Fig. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the interaction of a message se¬ quence normalisation module with other elements;

Fig. 5 a shows an example of a transaction table;

Fig. 5b shows an example of an interface definition table;

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the interaction of a dynamic filter module with other elements;

In the following the invention will be explained by the description of an embodiment, i.e. an implementation of the invention in form of a mobile air passenger check-in service system. It has to be understood that the invention is not limited to this implementation. Especially other channels for accomplishing the check-in procedure instead of a check-in via a mobile device can be choosen, for example a check-in procedure via a wired telephone. In such a case a pas¬ senger service module not connected to a mobile device is used.

In Fig. 1 the steps a user has to accomplish to use the mobile check-in service are pictured. In a first step 1 the user has to register for the check-in service. After this registration procedure the registration data of the user are stored in a registration user list in step 3. Once the user has registered for the check-in service the user can contact a registration service of a transporta¬ tion company in form of an airline or a travel agent to buy a flight ticket. After this ticket pur¬ chase in step 5 the ticket data are stored in a reservation (RES) system of the transportation company in form of an airline or air carrier for which the user has purchased a flight in step 7. As shown later these reservation data are stored by a data host of the airline and are accessible by the mobile check-in system. In a following step the user can start in this embodiment of the invention a check-in procedure via a mobile device, for example a mobile phone, a PDA and/or a handheld PC in step 9. Preferably this check-in procedure is realized by a JAVA ap¬ plication or another device specific application stored on the mobile device.

Because a mobile device is used for this check-in procedure, as shown later, the user is flexi¬ ble when and where to start the check-in procedure, especially he has not to be present at the airport. Especially in the short time prior the departure of an airplane many people want to check-in at the airport during this time. By using the mobile device for the check-in procedure the user can avoid to check-in during such peak hours at crowded check-in counters or check- in terminals. Furthermore, contrary to a check-in procedure via the world wide web (www) the user is not locally fixed to do check-in where he has access to the world wide web.

The details of this check-in procedure are given below and after finishing this check-in proce¬ dure in step 11 boarding pass data are generated by the passenger service module. As shown later the generated boarding pass data can be used to generate a boarding pass.

As shown below in a special embodiment of the invention a physical boarding pass as known in the state of the art in which the boarding data are printed on or stored on a magnetic strip is generated. The transfer of the boarding pass data from the passenger service module to the boarding pass generator can be reached by a visual transfer of identification data for example by using a two-dimensional barcode displayed on the mobile device and scanned by a identi¬ fication device in form of a boarding pass generator or via a wireless connection as short dis¬ tance communication methods, e.g. Bluetooth^® and/or short distance link (SDL) or infrared connections between the mobile device and the boarding pass generator. After generating the boarding pass the user can show the boarding pass during security checks together with his ID. At the gate the passenger can use this boarding pass to board the airplane in the step 15 as known in the state of the art without the necessity to install additional reading devices beside the boarding pass generator.

In Fig. 2 the steps accomplished by the mobile check-in system are shown. In the step 21 the mobile check-in system connects, as shown later, to a data host of the operation systems (OPS) of a plurality of airlines to retrieve information concerning the flights provided by the airlines on a variety of different airports. In step 23 a transportation trip list in form of a flight list comprising the retrieved information is stored in the mobile check-in system and this flight list is used in a step 25 to accomplish a passenger eligibility check which user fulfils special criteria mainly specified by the respective airline. As shown later, during this eligibil- ity check the data of the RES systems of the plurality of airlines and the data of the departure control system (DCS) of this airline are used. All users or passengers which fulfil the eligibil¬ ity criteria will be stored in step 27 in an eligible passenger list of the mobile check-in system. Depending on different criteria the users stored in the eligible passenger list can be notified in a step 29 to start the mobile check-in service via a mobile device. In step 31, which is identi¬ cal to the step 9 in Fig. 1, a check-in service is provided to a mobile device of a user and to the departure control system of one or a plurality of airlines. After finishing the check-in ser¬ vice in step 31 a boarding passenger list is stored in the mobile check-in system in step 33 and boarding pass data are generated in step 35. After finishing the check-in procedure the inven¬ tive clearance procedure of the passenger is completed by verifying the boarding pass data using identification data as described later.

In Fig. 3 a schematic overview is given over the elements comprised by the mobile check-in system and the connections to other elements cooperating with the mobile check-in system are shown. With aid of Fig. 3 the details of the procedures shown in Fig. 1 and 2 are now de¬ scribed.

The core element of the mobile check-in system is the passenger service module 15 especially in form of a mobile passenger service module. In a preferred embodiment this passenger ser¬ vice module is realized by a software application executed on a computer processor. The pas¬ senger service module 50 is cooperating with a registration module 52.

In a preferred embodiment the registration module 52 is realized by a web based interface application. By the registration module 52 a future user of the mobile check-in system can provide the necessary information to the passenger service module 50. For example the user provides the following details: full name, e-mail address, mobile device details, preferably mobile phone details, especially at least one International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) and/or at least one Security Identity Module (SIM) identifier, frequent flyer account, home or base airport, APIS information (i.e. passport number, nationality, expiry date), a seat selection preference, i.e. whether the user wants to sit in a window/idle/middle seat, near to an emer¬ gency exit, on the right or the left side of an airplane and/or on a specific seat, and/or notifica¬ tion preferences, i.e. whether the user wants to be notified in step 29 by receiving a notifica¬ tion on the mobile device 84 a specific time period before the departure of flight and/or by a notification when he approaches an airport, as described later. Via the registration module 52 it is further possible for the user to modify his personal details, for example changing the mobile phone detail, e-mail address, frequent flyer number, base airport, flight preferences, seat selection preferences and/or notification preferences. As men¬ tioned concerning step 3 in Fig. 1 this details of the user are stored in a registered user list 54. This registered user list 54 is comprised by a relational data base management system (RDBMS) module 56 of the mobile check-in system.

Furthermore, the module 56 comprises a flight list 58. In this flight list 58 all flights are stored in the step 23 shown in Fig. 2 for which a passenger eligibility test in step 25 is accomplished. For building up the flight list 58 the passenger service module 50 contacts a plurality of data hosts of a variety of airlines to receive the respective flight data. The passenger service mod¬ ule 50 does contact especially data hosts 60a, 60b of the operating systems of airlines 1 to N and/or data hosts 62a, 62b of DCS systems of airlines 1 to N. The communication with the different data hosts of the different airlines is possible thus a multi-airline environment can be handled. This communication with the data host 60a, 60b, 62a, 62b becomes preferably pos¬ sible via a message sequence normalisation module 64.

The functionality of the message sequence normalisation module 64 will now be explained with reference to the Figs. 4 to 5b. To allow a communication between the passenger service module 50 representing a first data processing module and a plurality of X data hosts 66a, 66b, for example the data hosts 60a, 60b, 62a, 62b, beside a format normalisation and a proto¬ col normalisation of the communication messages, a message sequence normalisation is ac¬ complished by the message sequence normalisation module 64 representing a second data processing module. During a communication between the passenger service module 50 and the data hosts 66a, 66b a transaction command preferably comprising a plurality of first pa¬ rameters, like a username, a password, a registration number, is sent from the passenger ser¬ vice module 50 to the message sequence normalisation module 64. In Fig. 5a an example of a transaction list used by the passenger service module 50 is shown. The transaction commands of the transaction list are subsequently sent to the message sequence normalisation module 64. The transaction list comprises N transactions 68a, 68b, 68c, 68d and 68e named as TA₁, TA₂, TA₃, ..., TAN-_I and TAN- For example the transaction command 68a stands for the transaction TA₁ for connecting to a data host 66a, 66b, for example the data host 66a. The message se¬ quence normalisation module 64 is cooperating with an interface definition table 70. One ex¬ ample of such an interface definition table 70 is shown in Fig. 5b. The interface definition table 70 comprises message sequences 70a, 70b, 70c, wherein each message sequence 70a, 70b, 70c comprises a first message set element 71a and a second message set element 71b. In each line of the message sequence 70a, 70b, 70c in the first message set element 71a a mes¬ sage that has to be sent to the data host is defined whereas in the second message set element 71b the response message of the data host to the sent message is defined. Thus in the interface definition table 70 it is defined that when the transaction TA₁ has to be accomplished with the data host 1 first a message 5¹M₁ ¹I, preferably comprising a second parameter, like a registra¬ tion number, has to be sent and a response message

, preferably comprising a third pa¬ rameter, like a verification information, is sent back from the data host 1. After receiving the message the message SM₁ ¹2, preferably comprising at least one further second pa¬ rameter, e.g. the verification information and the username, is sent to the host 1 and no return message will be sent from the host 1. Thus, after sending the message SM₁2 the message 5M₁ ¹S , e.g. comprising a password is sent to the host 1 and the message

is received from the host 1 by the message sequence normalisation module 64. After sending and receiv¬ ing further messages to accomplish the transaction TA₁ with the host 1 finally the message Y is sent and the message RM\ Z is received from the host 1. After finishing the trans¬ action TA₁ the message sequence normalisation module 64 sends the data probably received from the host 1 to the Passenger Service Module 50. As can be seen from the Fig. 5b in the interface definition table 70 it is defined that for accomplishing the transaction TA₁ with the host 2 in contrary to the accomplishing of the transaction TA₁ with the host 1 only one mes¬ sage has to be sent, namely the message 5¹M₁ ²I and from the host 2 the message ,RM₁ ²I is received. Furthermore it can be seen from Fig. 5b that for accomplishing the transaction TA₁ with the host X only one message 5M₁* 1 has to be sent and no reply is received from the data host X. Thus the message sequence normalisation module 64 allows the communication of the passenger service module 50 with the different data bases of the variety of different airlines using different numbers of messages to accomplish a transaction.

During this communication with the data hosts 60a, 60b, 62a, 62b to build up the flight list 58 the passenger service module 50 communicates with these data hosts via the message se¬ quence normalisation module 64 to monitor a number of flights due for boarding and depar¬ ture in a predefined time range. The list of flights to be monitored is preferably defined as a set of range defined on basis of a carrier code of the airline, departure time and/or a flight number. It is also possible that special flights are not stored in the flight list 58 using exclu¬ sions criteria as date of the flight, day of the week, departure city, arrival city, the number of stopovers etc. Once the flight list 58 is build up only the flights that are listed therein and that are in a predefined coverage time concerning for example the departure time, are monitored preferably with a predefined monitoring frequency. By this monitoring the flight data for the flights already stored in the flight list 58 are updated by receiving the respective data from the data hosts 60a, 60b, 62a, 62b if a change for example in the departure or arrival time will arise or if flights are cancelled. The monitoring frequency could be for example 15 minutes and the coverage time could be 24 hours that all flight within the next 24 hours are monitored every 15 minutes. It is also possible that the passenger service module 50 is configured in this way that blackout periods are defined for example if regular maintenance work is done at the data hosts 60a, 60b, 62a, 62b of the airlines. During this blackout times no flight monitoring is performed by the passenger service module 50 for the respective flights.

Once the flight list 58 is stored a passenger eligibility check for each flight in the flight list 58 is accomplished. The passenger service module 50 retrieves a passenger list from the data hosts 72a, 72b of the reservation system of the respective airlines 1 to N depending which airline is handling the flight in the flight list 58. This data retrieving from the data hosts 72a, 72b is also performed using the message sequence normalisation module 64 and it returns to the passenger service module 50 the passenger data for the passengers booked on that flight, especially the following data of the passenger name record (PNR): passenger name, air seg¬ ments, urgent indicator, destination indicator, ticket types, group travel indicators, security alerts indicators, frequent flyer details and/or passenger e-mail address. The received data is then filtered to build up a eligible passenger list 74.

These filtering is accomplished as follows and explained with reference to Fig. 6. The passen¬ ger service module 50 comprises a dynamic filter module 76. It is possible that each airline can define its own eligibility criteria list in which the criteria are defined which a passenger has to fulfil that he can use the mobile check-in service provided by the passenger service module 50. The dynamic filter module 76 is connected with this eligibility criteria list 78 for each airline. During the eligibility check the dynamic filter module 76 retrieves a first logical record in form of flight information from the flight list 58. For each passenger of each flight listed in the flight list the dynamic filter module 76 receives at least one eligibility criteria from the eligibility criteria list 78 for the respective airline. As can be seen from Fig. 6 the dynamic filter module 76 receives the above mentioned passenger data representing a second logical record via the method sequence normalisation module 64 from the data hosts 62a, 62b, 72a, 72b. In the first step the dynamic filter module 76 checks if the passenger is listed in the registered user list 54. If this is the case the dynamic filter module 76 compares each eligibil¬ ity criteria of the airline listed in the list 78 for the respective airline with the passenger data received from the data hosts 62a, 62b, 72a, 72b. In the case that a eligibility criteria is given by the airline and the necessary passenger data cannot be received from the data hosts 62a, 62b, 72a, 72b the dynamic filter module 76 contacts a data location table 80. In this data loca¬ tion table 80 the location of respective passenger data is stored. For example it is possible that the reservation data host 72a, 72b can only provide the dynamic filter module 76 with a fre¬ quent traveller number or another unique identifier without the information of the frequent traveller mileage account of this passenger. For example this data is stored in one of the data hosts 1 to X, e.g. the data host 1 (82a). In this case in the data location table 80 it is stored that the dynamic filter module 76 needs the frequent travel number received from one of the data hosts 62a, 62b, 72a, 72b and has to sent a request comprising the frequent traveller number to the data host 82a to retrieve the mileage account representing a third logical record of the pas¬ senger in dispute. This procedure is repeated for each passenger for each eligibility criteria stored in the eligibility criteria list 78 for the respective airline. If the passenger fulfils every eligibility criteria his data is stored in the eligible passenger list 74. It is preferred that the eli¬ gibility check for one passenger is interrupted when one criteria is not fulfilled by the passen¬ ger.

In a preferred embodiment the dynamic filter module 76 is realized as a software application and the data location table 80 as well as the eligibility criteria list 78 are realized as dynami¬ cally loadable and dynamically unloadable plug-ins for this application. This leads to the ad¬ vantage that the execution of the dynamic filter module 76 has not to be stopped to implement new eligibility criteria into the list 78 for one airline as well as to add new information where respective data can be found on the different data hosts 62a, 62b, 72a, 72b, 82a, 82b to the data location table 80. Thus a very flexible filter application is provided. Examples for the eligibility criteria are whether the frequent flyer details, mobile phone details and/or e-mail address details received from the reservation or DCS system of the airline match with the data in the registered user list 54. It is also possible that all passengers are excluded when the PNR comprises more than one name or no name, no assignments, no origin destination informa¬ tion, a fraud prompt indicator and/or a group indicator. It is also possible that passengers are excluded which have connecting flights or interline connecting flights or connection taking place at an airport listed in a exclusion list. Furthermore it is possible to exclude passengers from the eligibility passenger list 74 which have made a special service request, for example unaccompanied minors, passengers needing oxygen, prisoners, passengers having animal in hold, passengers that have a pet in the cabin, passengers with fire arms, passengers with a transit without visa or wheelchair passengers. Usually this data are all stored on different data hosts beside the RES and DCS system data hosts of the airlines and thus the dynamic filter tool 76 contacts first the eligibility criteria list 78 to receive the criteria and than uses the data location table 80 to retrieve the information where to find the respective data that has to be filtered/compared with the eligibility criteria.

It has to be noted that the mobile check-in service system also allows the first time in the state of the art a check-in of a whole group, e.g. a couple, via one mobile device. In these cases the PNR record comprises more than one passenger identification. During the check-in of such a group first the data sets of the passengers are separated, mainly as the check-in procedure via the check-in system is personalized to the user of the respective mobile phone. First the check-procedure for a first passenger of the group, including the sending of the necessary in¬ formation to the DCS system of the respective airline is accomplished. Subsequently the check-in of the next passenger is accomplished. For identification purposes of this subsequent passenger of the group preferably the personal data stored in the registered user list are used. For example in the registered user list it is stored that the second person can accomplish a check-in also via the mobile device of the passenger checked in prior when they are travelling as one group. After such an identification the check-in for this passenger is accomplished, wherein preferably the data, e.g. flight number of the check-in of at least one prior checked-in person of the group is used. Thus preferably for the subsequent passenger only the seat choice has to be accomplished.

After the eligible passenger list 74 has been stored in step 27 a eligible passenger can initiate a check-in procedure via his mobile device 84. It is preferred that the passenger receives a notification that the check-in service via the mobile device 84 is available for him. Such a notification can comprise a written message like a SMS (Short Message Service), FMS (Flash Message Service) and/or an e-mail that is sent to the mobile device 84 as well as a call via the mobile device 84, for example including an automatic voice message.

It is also possible that the passenger is notified via a so called send/retrieve procedure. The newest generation of mobile devices are all the time switched on, at least in a stand-by mode and allow at any time a communication between with the mobile device via the mobile net¬ work. This makes it possible that also when the mobile device is in a stand-by mode via the send/retrieve procedure a notification can be send to the mobile device, that preferably causes the mobile device to change in a operational mode. After the notification is displayed via the mobile device the user may start with preferably one confirmation action, like pressing one key on the mobile device, an application on the mobile device which is predefined by the con¬ tent of the notification message. Thus the passenger can initiate the check-in procedure in very comfortable and uncomplicated way when receiving such a notification via a send/retrieve procedure.

As described above during the registration procedure a user can define his personal notifica¬ tion preferences. It is for example possible that the user decides that he does not want any notification that he can initiate the mobile check-in service. It is also possible that the user decides that he will be notified a predefined period of time before the flight departure of the flight that he can check-in via the mobile device 84. In a preferred embodiment the notifica¬ tion process uses a local tracking of the mobile device 84. If the user has agreed to authorizing access to a location tracking information concerning his mobile device 84 he will be notified when his mobile device 84 is localized in a predefined area around a departure airport from which the user will depart with a flight for which a mobile check-in service is available as the passenger is stored in the eligible passenger list 74 and the respective flight is stored in the flight list 58. The details when such a location based notification is sent can also be defined by the user with his notification preferences. It is possible that the notification is sent when the mobile device 84 is tracked within a predefined radius around the respective airport or when the mobile device 84 is localized in an area around a predefined address not being a destination airport, for example a parking lot that is usually used by the passenger when de¬ parting from a respective airport. For this notification process the passenger service module 50 also comprises a data base table to store a list of notifications. In this internal data base table all notification procedures for the variety of passengers are stored. Especially the status of the notification process is stored, i.e. whether the notification is pending to be send, is send, is discarded or returned an error. To avoid a duplication of notifications new notifications requests are verified against the stored internal database table. It is also possible that new pas¬ sengers can be added to a list of pending notifications, including a copy of their flight infor¬ mation, PNR and/or customer profile. Via this notification process the check-in processes via mobile devices 84 of the variety of the users or passengers can be timely distributed to avoid peak times and also the comfort for the passenger and user is increased as he can do the check-in procedure via his mobile device 84 when it is comfortable for him. After finishing this notification process in step 29 of Fig. 2, which can be, as explained above, skipped, the passenger which is stored in the eligible passenger list 74 can initiate a check-in service in step 9 and 31 respectively. The aim of this check-in procedure via the mobile de¬ vice 84 of the passenger is that the DCS system of the respective airline is provided with the necessary information that the passenger can be put on a passenger list as well as providing the passenger with the necessary boarding pass data as explained below. In a preferred em¬ bodiment the mobile check-in procedure is accomplished via an application, especially a Java application, that is installed on the mobile device 84. Preferably this installation of the appli¬ cation takes place during the registration process in step 1 via the registration module 52. When starting the check-in process via the mobile device 84, in particular using the before mentioned application, the user preferably has to log in using a user name and a password before allowing access to the check-in steps described below. It is also possible that a combi¬ nation of a user name, password and/or an identifier of the mobile device 84 are used for au¬ thentication purposes. During this procedure the passenger service module 50 especially veri¬ fies the data sent by the mobile device 84 with the data of the registered user list 54. After accomplishing this log in procedure the passenger service module 50 starts to query the eligi¬ ble passenger list 74 using the personal data of the respective user. In particular the PNR ref¬ erence number, the passenger name or the frequent traveller number can be used to retrieve a list of flights for which the user can check-in via the mobile device 84 during the check-in procedure. It is important to notice that more than one flight can be handled during this mo¬ bile check-in procedure. For example it is possible that a passenger has purchased a ticket in step 5 which allows him to use different flights of one airline between one predefined depar¬ ture airport and one predefined arrival airport within a special time period, for example within one day. Probably the user can check-in in different flights of different airlines between these departure and destination airports within a predefined time period with this ticket. Thus, if the user fulfils the eligibility criteria of the different airlines he can probably choose between dif¬ ferent flights, especially of different airlines during this check-in procedure. It is also possible that the ticket allows the user to depart from a variety of different departure airports within a predefined area, for example to depart from one airport in Chicago, e.g. Midway Airport or the O 'Hare Airport, and to fly to different destination airports within an area, for example the city area of New York, for example the John F. Kennedy Airport, Newark International Air¬ port and/or LaGuardia Airport. Thus the user can chose from a variety flights selected by the passenger service module 50 and displayed via the mobile device 84. In a preferred embodi¬ ment the user is informed via the mobile device 84 if one of the departure airports does not provide a baggage drop and that only hand baggage is allowed for the user when accomplish¬ ing the check-in procedure via the module device 84.

After selection of a flight the passenger service module 50 contacts via the message sequence normalisation module 64 a respective DCS system of the respective airline of the selected flight. After retrieving information about the available seats from the DCS data host 62a, 62b of the respective airline the user can accomplish a seat selection via the mobile device 84. In a preferred embodiment the passenger service module 50 uses the seat preferences stored in the registered user list 54 to make a pre-assignment of a seat. This pre-assignment is communi¬ cated and/or displayed to the user via mobile device 84. It is also possible that a seat prefer¬ ence of the user is retrieved from other data hosts, for example from the data hosts 86a, 86b which preferably store frequent flyer data of the respective user. In a preferred embodiment the passenger has the option to change the seat assignment using a seat map that is retrieved also from the airline DCS system 62a, 62b. If for the connection to the data hosts 62a, 62b of the DCS systems of the airlines APIS data has to be used, the passenger service module 50 uses these APIS data stored in the registered user list 54 to provide this information to a data host 62a, 62b via the message sequence normalisation module 64. If some of the APIS data is not available the user is prompted to enter the necessary APIS data via the mobile device 84 to allow the data communication with the data host 62a, 62b. This information retrieval leads to a significant time saving for the passenger using the mobile check-in service. For the time being this time consuming inquiry concerning APIS data is accomplished for each passenger at the airport. This leads usually to the build up of waiting queues. By using the mobile check- in system the passenger can avoid to be detained in this way.

After making the seat selection the user can, depending on the eligibility criteria of the spe¬ cific airline, specify the number of bags to be checked-in at the airport if he has to check-in bags beside the hand baggage. In particular the user is prompted to answer security questions concerning the bags, especially whether the user has packed the bags himself and whether the bags have been under attendance all the time. In this case it is preferred that the passenger service module 50 sends the necessary information and instructions to the DCS data hosts 62a, 62b of the respective airline that bag tags can be pre-printed at a respective baggage drop desk at the departure airport, where the passenger can drop the baggage. Preferably the user can use, as described below, the boarding pass data stored by the passenger service module 50 after finishing the check-in procedure to print the bag tag on his own. After finishing the check-in procedure as described below the passenger service module 50 sends preferably additional information to the mobile device 84 especially concerning the time the user has to be at the airport in advance for boarding, connection times, the availabil¬ ity of baggage drops and their location information about the terminal configuration and so on. As described later these data can be sent in encrypted form and can be used by the user at the airport to print out a boarding pass and/or at least one bag tag. In a preferred embodiment a plurality of sets of boarding pass data are generated in case the user has booked additional connecting flights at an airport where a check-in via the mobile device 84 is possible. As a matter of cause before generating additional boarding pass data the check-in procedure de¬ scribed before has to be accomplished by the user also for the connecting flights.

As mentioned before the communication between the passenger service module 50 and the data hosts 60a, 60b, 62a, 62b, 72a, 72 and/or 86a, 86b is carried out via the message sequence normalisation module 64. Typical transaction commands (TA₁, TA₂, TA₃, TA_N-1 and TAN) for this check-in are "open flight", "check-in", "seat map", "change seat", "add bag", "receive boarding pass data" and/or "receive bag tag data". As described above the single messages that has to be sent to the respective data host and has to be received from this data host to ac¬ complish this transaction is very different from airline to airline. For example one DCS sys¬ tem of a first airline only needs a flight number to open the flight. Thus, only one message comprising the flight number is sent to the DCS system and a verification is received from this data host. This flight number is comprised by the transaction command of the passenger Service Module 50 sent to the message sequence normalisation module 64, and is further processed by the message sequence normalisation module 64 by introducing it in the respec¬ tive message sent to the data host. It is possible that a for opening a flight it is necessary that a registration number, user name and a password is sent before a message for identifying the flight that has to be opened is sent to the data host. For this transaction preferably only one transaction command comprising as a parameter the flight number is sent from the passenger Service module 50 to the message sequence normalisation module 64, and the further infor¬ mation are retrieved from the Interface definition table 70. With this data host a first message has to be sent comprising the registration number and a verification answer has to be awaited from this data host. After receiving this message another message is sent comprising the user name and the password after sending of which a verification response message has to be awaited. Not until receiving this response message a message is sent to this data host of this airline comprising the flight number. Thus, it can be seen that the communication with the _

34 different data hosts of the different airlines makes the use of different message sequences nec¬ essary. It has to be noted that the message sequence normalisation module 64 further proc¬ esses the parameters received with the transaction command from the passenger service mod¬ ule 50 as well as the parameters sent and received with the messages to and from the data hosts to provide the dynamic filter module 76 and/or the passenger service module 50 with the requested data. As a result the accomplishing of a check-in procedure with data hosts of different airlines via the passenger service module 50 is made possible especially by the mes¬ sage sequence normalisation module 64.

After finishing the check-in procedure via the passenger service module 50 and the mobile device 84 the check-in data is stored in a boarding passenger list 88. Particularly also the boarding pass data are stored in the boarding passenger list 88.

In the following the procedure after finishing the check-in procedure to allow a passenger to board onto an airplane based on the generated boarding pass data is described.

As described above in the step 11 or 35 the boarding pass data that allows the passenger to accomplish the necessary security checks at the airport and to board the airplane are generated within the passenger service module 50 and are stored preferably in the boarding passenger list 88. To allow an access to the boarding pass data with the invention the following different procedures are proposed. All these procedures have the main idea in common that the board¬ ing pass data of the respective passenger is assigned to identification data, especially compris¬ ing at least one unique identifier of the passenger or the mobile device 84. By providing the identification data to the passenger and/or the mobile device 84 the passenger can use this identification data to retrieve the boarding pass data via the passenger service module 50, preferably in form of a mobile passenger service module, whenever the boarding pass data are necessary, for example for a vetting or verification procedure during the boarding of an trans¬ portation vehicle, like an airplane.

In a first embodiment of the invention a unique identifier of the mobile device 84 is used as at least a part of the identification data. For this purpose preferably the International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) of the mobile 84 is used. To allow a retrieval of the boarding pass data using this identifier of the mobile device 84 it is necessary that within the passenger service module 50 the identifier is present when generating the boarding pass data to allow a assigning of the identification data to the boarding pass data. This can be reached in different ways. Firstly during a registration procedure via the registration module 52 the identifier can be transmitted to the passenger service module 50 and can be preferably stored within the registered user list 54. During a later check-in procedure the passenger service module 50 uses this identification data stored in the registered user list 54 to assign the boarding pass data generated during the check-in procedure to the identification data. Secondly it is possible that the unique identifier of the mobile device 84 is transmitted to the passenger service mod¬ ule 50 as identification data during a check-in procedure carried out via the mobile device 84. Thus when the boarding pass data are generated an assignment of the identification data to the boarding pass data is achieved by the passenger service module 50.

This assignment of the identification data to the boarding pass data makes it possible that when the identification data are sent to the passenger service module 50 that the respective boarding pass data can be retrieved. Such a transmission of the identification data is prefera¬ bly achieved by a identification device being at least temporarily connected to the passenger service module 50. The identification device comprises at least one interface to allow the re¬ ceiving of the identification data in form of the IMEI of the mobile device. Preferably the in¬ terface comprises an optical reading device that allows to receive the IMEI of the mobile de¬ vice 84 by scanning a two-dimensional (2d) barcode showing in encrypted form the IMEI. It is also possible that the IMEI is transmitted to the verification device via another wireless interface, e.g. via Bluetooth. After receiving the identification data in form of the IMEI the verification device sends the data to the passenger service module 50 which in turn retrieves the boarding pass data assigned to the identification data.

In one preferred embodiment the boarding pass data are then transmitted to the identification device to allow a verification of the passenger to allow the passenger a boarding onto an air¬ plane. For this purpose the boarding pass data can be used by the identification device to gen¬ erate a paper boarding pass the passenger can use to pass the different vetting procedures at the departure gate before boarding the airplane. Thus the already available procedures for a security check and the boarding at a boarding gate are used. In this preferred embodiments the user prints out a boarding pass using the boarding pass data generated as described before. The further security check and the boarding is accomplished in the known way that the pas¬ senger shows an ID and his boarding pass to an agent for a security check before entering the departure gate and before boarding the airplane the passenger hands out the boarding pass to a agent who puts the boarding pass into an appropriate reading device to verify the boarding pass data with a central data base for listing the passenger on a passenger list of this flight and to verify the validity of the boarding pass.

It is also proposed with the invention that the identification device only displays the boarding pass data to a security person to allow a verification of the passenger for example at the boarding gate, preferably by comparison of the boarding pass data with an ID of the passen¬ ger.

Such a verification of the passenger can also be accomplished via the identification device in the following way. When transmitting the identification data to the passenger service module 50 additional information are transmitted by the identification device. Such data comprise for example information concerning a gate where the identification device is located and at which the passenger wants to board onto an airplane. After receiving the identification data the pas¬ senger service module 50 retrieves the stored boarding pass data and compares the additional information with the boarding pass data. In case the respective information of the boarding pass data coincidence with the additional information the passenger service module 50 do not transmit the boarding pass data to the identification device but only the positive result of this comparison. After receiving such a positive verification result the passenger is allowed to board the airplane.

In case that more than one set of boarding pass data of one passenger is stored within the pas¬ senger service module 50 or the respective boarding passenger list 88 the adding of additional information to the identification data can be used to distinguish the respective sets of boarding pass data of the passenger. If for example the identification device adds information concern¬ ing the airport where it is located and/or concerning departure time information of a flight to the identification data the passenger service module can compare this information with infor¬ mation contained in the boarding pass data concerning the departure airport and/or the depar¬ ture time. Thus by the passenger service module 50 the sets of boarding pass data regarding other departure airports or flights departing later can be filtered out leading to the result that one respective set of boarding pass data can be elected by the passenger service module 50.

This aim could also be reached in this way that during the check-in procedure respective addi¬ tional information are added to the identification data beside the unique identifier of the mo¬ bile device 84. For example a sequential number representing the number of check-in proce¬ dures accomplished by the respective passenger can be added. This identification data is then stored in the mobile device 84 as well as in the passenger service module 50. Thus in case the identification data is submitted to the passenger service module 50 via the identification de¬ vice a definite selection of the respective boarding pass data relating to the respective check- in procedure is possible. Preferably the passenger can choose via the mobile device 84 be¬ tween the respective sets of identification data stored in the mobile device 84.

In an alternative embodiment it is also possible that the identification data comprises unique information that are independent of an identifier of the mobile device 84. For example during each check-in procedure a random generated identifier is created by the passenger service module 50 or the mobile device 84 that is stored both in the passenger service module 50 and in the mobile device 84.

By using such identification data, preferably using an unique identifier of the mobile device 84, mainly the advantage is reached that a transmission of boarding pass data to the mobile device 84 or to the identification device as described before can be avoided. Such a transmis¬ sion of the boarding pass data to the mobile device 84 is time consuming because of the ex¬ tensive amount of data in comparison to the amount of data included in the identification data. Furthermore the transmission of extensive amount of data is fault-prone.

In a further embodiment of the invention the whole clearance procedure can be performed at least partly without the usage of a mobile device. In this embodiment the passenger firstly registers for a check-in service. During this registration procedure a unique identifier is gener¬ ated especially based on the personal data of the user/passenger. This unique identifier is es¬ pecially stored as identification data within a passenger service module, especially within a registered user list and is used for every check-in procedure performed by the respective pas¬ senger. The identifier is also sent to the passenger subsequent to the registration procedure for example in form of an e-mail, hi this case the identifier can be send to the passenger in unen¬ crypted or in encrypted form. After the registration the passenger can use different channels, for example a web based application or a call center, to accomplish the check-in procedure as the identification data allows the identification of the passenger during the check-in procedure and also the assignment of the identification data to the boarding pass data generated during the check-in procedure. After an arrival at the airport the passenger can furthermore use the identification data to complete the clearance procedure for example by communicating the identification data to an appropriate identification device allowing the generating of a paper boarding pass. Such a communication can be reached by voice commands given from the pas- senger to the identification device, by reading a document comprising the identification data and/or by typing in of the identification data via an appropriate interface of the identification device.

In an advantageous alternative of this embodiment the identification data is sent to the pas¬ senger in form of a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID). Preferably this RFID is realised in form of a tag or an adhesive label. The advantage of such an RFID is that it is comparable cheap, it can be read out over a quite great distance and the data transfer rates for reading out of the RFID are comparable high. Thus it is possible that the passenger can pass by a respective identification device allowing the communication of the identification data stored on the RFID to the identification device without the necessity to present any object showing the identification data like a display of a mobile device for an optical scan of a 2d barcode or the like. As described above the identification device preferably adds additional information concerning its location to the identification data received from the RFID to allow a doubtless selection of the appropriate boarding pass data stored in the passenger service module for the passenger.

The identification devices to which the passenger can communicate the identification data are located at the respective locations at the airport, for example at the baggage drop counter, the security check location, where the ID of the passenger is compared with the boarding pass data, and/or at the boarding gate to allow the passenger to board the airplane.

The features of the invention as disclosed in the above description, in the drawings and in the claims may be essential for the implementation of the various embodiments of the invention individually and in any desired combination.

Reference list

,3,5,7,9,11 ,13,15 step 1,23,25,27, 29,31,33,35 step 0 passenger service module 2 registration module 4 registered user list 6 relational database management system 8 flight list 0a, 60b, 62a, 62b data host 4 message sequence normalization module 6 data host 8a, 68b, 68c, 68d, 68e transaction 0 interface definition table 0a, 70b, 70c message sequence 1a, 71b message set element 2 data host 4 eligible passenger list 6 dynamic filter module 8 eligibility criteria list 0 data location table 2a, 82b data host 4 mobile device 6 data host 8 boarding passenger list

Claims

1. Method for performing a clearance procedure of a passenger, preferably an air passen¬ ger, comprising the steps of

• assigning of identification data to the boarding pass data; and

• communicating of the identification data to at least one identification device by the passenger to allow the passenger a boarding onto at least one transportation vehi¬ cle, preferably an airplane, based on the boarding pass data.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the accomplishing of the check-in procedure is carried out by the passenger at least partly via at least one mobile device, wherein preferably the passenger initiates the check-in procedure via the mobile device, especially by starting a software application on the mobile device for a communication between the passenger service module and the mobile device.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the check-in procedure is accomplishable for at least one transportation company, preferably for a plurality of transportation companies and the passenger service mod¬ ule is in operational connection with respective data hosts of the transportation com¬ panies.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein before accomplishing the check-in procedure at least one transportation trip list, pref¬ erably comprising information concerning the trips provided by the transportation company or companies at at least one departure location, is rendered and stored by the passenger service module.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the passenger service module contacts at least one respective data host of the transpor¬ tation company or companies, preferably comprised by the reservation system (RES), the operation system (OPS) and/or the Departure Control System (DCS) of the respec¬ tive transportation company for rendering the transportation trip list.

6. Method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the transportation trips of the transportation company or companies departing within a predefined time range are stored in the transportation trip list and/or the data stored in the transportation trip list are updated in a periodical manner, preferably by periodi¬ cally retrieving the respective data from the respective data hosts of the transportation company or companies.

7. Method according to one of the claims 4 to 6, wherein predefined transportation trips are not stored in the transportation trip list, especially based on the date of transportation, departure city, departure location, arrival city, ar¬ rival location and/or the number of stop over during the transportation trip.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the passenger service module accomplishes prior to the check-in procedure at least one passenger eligibility check to determine the eligibility of at least one passenger for the check-in procedure.

9. Method according to claim 8, wherein the eligibility check is accomplished by at least one comparison of at least one piece of passenger related data information, especially passenger related data information stored in the transportation trip list, with at least one predefined criteria, wherein pref¬ erably the passengers fulfilling the criteria are stored in at least one eligible passenger list by the passenger service module.

10. Method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the eligibility check is preformed only for passengers having registered in a registra¬ tion procedure for participating at the check-in procedure, preferably listed in at least one registered user list stored by the passenger service module.

11. Method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the eligibility check is accomplished based on criteria predefined by the transportation company or companies and/or based on criteria stored by the passenger service mod¬ ule in at least one eligibility criteria list.

12. Method according to one of the claims 8 to 11, wherein the passenger service module retrieves during the eligibility check, preferably for each transportation trip listed in the transportation trip list, at least one reservation passen¬ ger list from at least one data host of the respective transportation company, especially from at least one data host comprised by a reservation system (RES) of the respective transportation company.

13. Method according to claim 12, wherein the reservation passenger list comprises at least one passenger data set, preferably comprising at least one piece of information of a passenger name record (PNR) like a passenger name, travel segments, especially air and/or rail segments, an urgent indica¬ tor, a destination indicator, frequent flyer details and/or a unique identifier of the pas¬ senger.

14. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least after initiating the check-in procedure the passenger service module determines the transportation trips for which the passenger can check-in via the check-in proce¬ dure, preferably by querying the eligible passenger list and/or the transportation trip list, and preferably communicates at least one determined transportation trip, espe¬ cially via the mobile device.

15. Method according to claim 14, wherein the transportation trips are only communicated to the passenger in the case that more than one transportation trip is determined.

16. Method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the transportation trip for which the check-in is accomplished is defined by the pas¬ senger choosing at least one of the communicated transportation trips.

17. Method according to one of the claims 14 to 16, wherein the passenger service module communicates data with at least one data host of the transportation company executing the determined transportation trip, preferably com¬ prised by the DCS system of the respective transportation company.

18. Method according to claim 17, wherein the passenger service module retrieves at least one piece of information concerning available seats of the determined transportation trip from the data host and preferably communicates these information to the passenger, especially via the mobile device.

19. Method according to claim 18, wherein at least one piece of information concerning available seats of the determined trans¬ portation trip is communicated together with a seat pre-assignment, preferably deter¬ mined by the passenger service module based on personal data of the passenger, espe¬ cially comprised in the registered user list, and/or determined by the transportation company.

20. Method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the passenger selects at least one available seat based on the information concerning available seats and/or by amending the seat pre-assignment.

21. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one piece of information concerning the number of baggage items the passen¬ ger checks-in at the departure location and/or at least one piece of information con¬ cerning security questions is sent to the passenger service module during the check-in procedure.

22. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the passenger service module sends, preferably after finishing the check-in procedure, the necessary check-in data, especially the flight number, the seat selection data and/or the number of baggage items, to at least one data host of the transportation company executing the determined transportation trip, preferably a data host comprised by the DCS system of the transportation company and/or stores the check-in data at least partly in a boarding passenger list, especially comprised by the passenger service module.

23. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boarding pass data comprises at least one passenger name, at least on flight num¬ ber, at least one departure airport information, at least one departure city information, at least one departure terminal information, at least one departure time, at least one gate number, at least one seat allocation number, at least one destination airport in¬ formation, at least one Destination City information, at least one arrival time, at least one airplane type information and/or at least one Passenger Name Record (PNR).

24. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boarding pass data is stored in at least one database, especially one data host of the respective transportation company or companies, preferably comprised by the DCS system of the transportation company or companies, and/or one database comprised by the passenger service module, preferably the boarding passenger list.

25. Method according to claim 24, wherein the boarding pass data is stored together with the identification data assigned to the boarding pass data.

26. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the identification data comprises at least one identifier of the mobile device and/or the passenger.

27. Method according to claim 26, wherein the identification data comprises at least one, preferably unique, identifier of the mo¬ bile device, preferably at least one International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) and/or at least one Security Identity Module (SIM) identifier.

28. Method according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the identification data comprises at least one piece of personal data of the passenger, preferably at least one first name, at least one surname and/or at least one date of birth, especially the unique identifier stored in the reservation passenger list.

29. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the identification data comprises at least one random generated identifier, preferably generated during the respective check-in procedure.

30. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the identification data comprises at least one piece of additional information to assign different identification data to different boarding pass data of the same passenger gen¬ erated during different check-in procedures, especially the additional information comprises information allowing to reproduce the order of the respective check-in pro¬ cedures of the passenger during which the respective boarding pass data are generated, preferably at least one sequential number and/or at least one piece of information con¬ cerning the point in time of generating of the respective set of boarding pass data.

31. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the identification data, especially the at least one identifier of the mobile device and/or the passenger, is at least partly transmitted to the passenger service module prior to the check-in procedure, preferably during the registration procedure, especially by the mobile device and/or the passenger.

32. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the identification data, especially the at least one random generated identifier and/or the additional information, is at least partly generated by the passenger service module and/or the mobile device, preferably during and/or subsequent to the check-in proce¬ dure.

33. Method according to claim 32, wherein the identification data at least partly generated by the mobile device is transmitted to the passenger service module.

34. Method according to one of the claims 31 to 33, wherein the identification data is stored by the passenger service module, especially in the reg¬ istered user list, the eligible passenger list, the boarding passenger list and/or the res¬ ervation passenger list.

35. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the identification data, especially the identification data stored by the passenger ser¬ vice module, is at least partly transmitted to the passenger and/or the mobile device by the passenger service module.

36. Method according to claim 35, wherein the identification data is at least partly transmitted to the passenger in form of at least one paper document, in form of at least one Radio Frequency Identification Device (RPID), in form of at least one acoustic message and/or in form of at least one elec¬ tronic message, preferably by using at least one e-mail, at least one SMS, at least one MMS, at least on FMS and/or at least one notification via a send/retrieve procedure.

37. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the identification data is at least partly transmitted to the passenger service module, the mobile device and/or the passenger and/or is at least partly stored by the mobile device and/or the passenger service module in encrypted form.

38. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the identification data is at least partly and at least indirectly communicated to the identification device, especially the identification data is at least partly communicated to a person operating a respective identification device.

39. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein after communication of the identification data to the identification device the identifi¬ cation device transmits the identification data at least partly to the passenger service module, preferably via a wireless connection, like a wireless local Area Network (WLAN), an optical connection and/or an electromagnetic connection, and/or a wired connection.

40. Method according to claim 39, wherein after receiving of the identification data the passenger service module retrieves the boarding pass data assigned to the identification data.

41. Method according to claim 40, wherein the passenger service module sends at least partly the boarding pass data to the identi¬ fication device, especially to allow a verification of the passenger prior to boarding of an transport vehicle.

42. Method according to claim 40, wherein the identification device transmits additional information concerning the boarding pass data, like departure gate and/or terminal information data and/or flight information data, especially concerning a flight number, a departure time and/or a destination loca¬ tion, wherein the passenger service module verifies the additional information with the retrieved boarding pass data and preferably transmits the result of this verification to the identification device.

43. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the identification device is located at the departure location, preferably at at least one baggage drop counter, especially for generating at least one bag tag, at at least one se¬ curity check location especially to check the identity of the passenger, at at least one location to generate a physical boarding pass and/or at at least one boarding gate.

44. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one physical identification document, particularly a printed and/or machine readable paper document like a boarding pass and/or a bag tag for the passenger is generated by the identification device based on the boarding pass data, send by the passenger service module.

45. Method according to claim 44, wherein the generating of the identification document comprises the printing of information onto a paper document and/or the writing of information onto a magnetic strip.

46. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the communication of the identification data comprises reading of two-dimensional barcode information, the reading of an paper document, the acoustic transmitting of information, especially the reading to a third person, the transfer of data via an infra¬ red link, the transfer of data via at least one short distance communication method, e.g. Bluetooth^® and/or short distance link (SDL), the transfer of data via a mobile network like GSM, CDMA, TDMA, GRPS, UMTS, HCSD and/or CSD, and/or the reading of an Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID).

47. System for performing a clearance-procedure of a passenger, preferably an air passen¬ ger, equipped to carry out the method according to one claims 1 to 45, comprising at least one passenger service module (50), preferably in operational connection with at least one mobile device (84) and/or at least one data host (60a, 60b, 62a, 62b, 66, 82a, 82b) of the at least one transportation company.

48. System according to claim 47, wherein the passenger service module (50) is a software module executable by a data proces¬ sor.

49. System according to one of the claims 47 or 48, wherein the mobile device (84) is at least one mobile phone, like a WAP phone, a GSM phone, a CDMA phone, a TDMA phone, a GRPS phone, a UMTS phone, a HCSD phone, a CSD phone and/or a smart phone, a Smartpad Notepad or a two way pager, a personal digital assistant, a short distance communication device, e.g. a Bluetooth" device and/or a short distance link (SDL) device, a wireless internet device and/or a handheld PC.

50. System for performing a clearance procedure of a passenger, preferably an air passen¬ ger, wherein with the system the steps of

• accomplishing of a check-in procedure via at least one passenger service module (50);

• generating of boarding pass data by the passenger service module (50) at least after accomplishing of the check-in procedure;

• assigning of identification data to the boarding pass data; and

• communicating of the identification data to at least one identification device by the passenger to allow the passenger a boarding onto at least one transportation vehi¬ cle, preferably an airplane, based on the boarding pass data, are executed or executable.

51. System according to claim 50, wherein the accomplishing of the check-in procedure is carried out by the passenger at least partly via at least one mobile device (84), wherein preferably the passenger initiates the check-in procedure via the mobile device (84), especially by starting a software application on the mobile device (84) for a communication between the passenger ser¬ vice module (50) and the mobile device (84).

52. System according to claim 50 or 51, wherein the check-in procedure is accomplishable for at least one transportation company, preferably for a plurality of transportation companies and the passenger service mod¬ ule (50) is in operational connection with respective data hosts (60a, 60b, 62a, 62b,66a, 66b, 72a, 72b, 86a, 86b) of the transportation companies.

53. System according to one of the claims 50 to 52, wherein before accomplishing the check-in procedure at least one transportation trip list, pref¬ erably comprising information concerning the trips provided by the transportation company or companies at at least one departure location, is rendered and stored by the passenger service module (50).

54. System according to claim 53, wherein the passenger service module (50) contacts at least one respective data host (60a, 60b, 62a, 62b,66a, 66b, 72a, 72b, 86a, 86b) of the transportation company or companies, preferably comprised by the reservation system (RES), the operation system (OPS) and/or the Departure Control System (DCS) of the respective transportation company for rendering the transportation trip list.

55. System according to claim 53 or 54, wherein the transportation trips of the transportation company or companies departing within a predefined time range are stored in the transportation trip list (58) and/or the data stored in the transportation trip list (58) are updated in a periodical manner, preferably by periodically retrieving the respective data from the respective data hosts (60a, 60b, 62a, 62b,66a, 66b, 72a, 72b, 86a, 86b) of the transportation company or companies.

56. System according to one of the claims 53 to 55, wherein predefined transportation trips are not stored in the transportation trip list (58), espe¬ cially based on the date of transportation, departure city, departure location, arrival city, arrival location and/or the number of stop over during the transportation trip.

57. System according to one of the claims 50 to 56, wherein the passenger service module (50) accomplishes prior to the check-in procedure at least one passenger eligibility check to determine the eligibility of at least one passen¬ ger for the check-in procedure.

58. System according to claim 57, wherein the eligibility check is accomplished by at least one comparison of at least one piece of passenger related data information, especially passenger related data information stored in the transportation trip list (58), with at least one predefined criteria, wherein preferably the passengers fulfilling the criteria are stored in at least one eligible pas¬ senger list (74) by the passenger service module (50).

59. System according to claim 57 or 58, wherein the eligibility check is preformed only for passengers having registered in a registra¬ tion procedure for participating at the check-in procedure, preferably listed in at least one registered user list (54) stored by the passenger service module (50).

60. System according to claim 58 or 59, wherein the eligibility check is accomplished based on criteria predefined by the transportation company or companies and/or based on criteria stored by the passenger service mod¬ ule (50) in at least one eligibility criteria list (78).

61. System according to one of the claims 57 to 60, wherein the passenger service module (50) retrieves during the eligibility check, preferably for each transportation trip listed in the transportation trip list (58), at least one reservation passenger list from at least one data host (60a, 60b, 62a, 62b,66a, 66b, 72a, 72b, 86a, 86b) of the respective transportation company, especially from at least one data host (72a, 72b) comprised by a reservation system (RES) of the respective transportation company.

62. System according to claim 61, wherein the reservation passenger list comprises at least one passenger data set, preferably comprising at least one piece of information of a passenger name record (PNR) like a passenger name, travel segments, especially air and/or rail segments, an urgent indica¬ tor, a destination indicator, frequent flyer details and/or a unique identifier of the pas¬ senger.

63. System according to one of the claims 50 to 62, wherein at least after initiating the check-in procedure the passenger service module (50) de¬ termines the transportation trips for which the passenger can check-in via the check-in procedure, preferably by querying the eligible passenger list (74) and/or the transpor¬ tation trip list (58), and preferably communicates at least one determined transporta¬ tion trip, especially via the mobile device (84).

64. System according to claim 63, wherein the transportation trips are only communicated to the passenger in the case that more than one transportation trip is determined.

65. System according to claim 63 or 64, wherein the transportation trip for which the check-in is accomplished is defined by the pas¬ senger choosing at least one of the communicated transportation trips.

66. System according to one of the claims 63 to 65, wherein the passenger service module (50) communicates data with at least one data host (62a, 62b) of the transportation company executing the determined transportation trip, pref¬ erably comprised by the DCS system of the respective transportation company.

67. System according to claim 66, wherein the passenger service module (50) retrieves at least one piece of information concern¬ ing available seats of the determined transportation trip from the data host (62a, 62b) and preferably communicates these information to the passenger, especially via the mobile device (84).

68. System according to claim 67, wherein at least one piece of information concerning available seats of the determined trans¬ portation trip is communicated together with a seat pre-assignment, preferably deter¬ mined by the passenger service module (50) based on personal data of the passenger, especially comprised in the registered user list (54), and/or determined by the trans¬ portation company.

69. System according to claim 67 or 68, wherein the passenger selects at least one available seat based on the information concerning available seats and/or by amending the seat pre-assignment.

70. System according to one of the claims 50 to 69, wherein at least one piece of information concerning the number of baggage items the passen¬ ger checks-in at the departure location and/or at least one piece of information con¬ cerning security questions is sent to the passenger service module (50) during the check-in procedure.

71. System according to one of the claims 50 to 70, wherein the passenger service module (50) sends, preferably after finishing the check-in proce¬ dure, the necessary check-in data, especially the flight number, the seat selection data and/or the number of baggage items, to at least one data host of the transportation company executing the determined transportation trip, preferably a data host (62a, 62b) comprised by the DCS system of the transportation company and/or stores the check-in data at least partly in a boarding passenger list (88), especially comprised by the passenger service module (50).

72. System according to one of the claims 50 to 71, wherein the boarding pass data comprises at least one passenger name, at least on flight num¬ ber, at least one departure airport information, at least one departure city information, at least one departure terminal information, at least one departure time, at least one gate number, at least one seat allocation number, at least one destination airport in¬ formation, at least one Destination City information, at least one arrival time, at least one airplane type information and/or at least one Passenger Name Record (PNR).

73. System according to one of the claims 50 to 72, wherein the boarding pass data is stored in at least one database, especially one data host (62a, 62b) of the respective transportation company or companies, preferably comprised by the DCS system of the transportation company or companies, and/or one database comprised by the passenger service module (50), preferably the boarding passenger list (88).

74. System according to claim 73, wherein the boarding pass data is stored together with the identification data assigned to the boarding pass data.

75. System according to one of the claims 50 to 74, wherein the identification data comprises at least one identifier of the mobile device and/or the passenger.

76. System according to claim 75, wherein the identification data comprises at least one, preferably unique, identifier of the mo¬ bile device (84), preferably at least one International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) and/or at least one Security Identity Module (SIM) identifier.

77. System according to claim 75 or 76, wherein the identification data comprises at least one piece of personal data of the passenger, preferably at least one first name, at least one surname and/or at least one date of birth, especially the unique identifier stored in the reservation passenger list.

78. System according to one of the claims 50 to 77, wherein the identification data comprises at least one random generated identifier, preferably generated during the respective check-in procedure.

79. System according to one of the claims 50 to 78, wherein the identification data comprises at least one piece of additional information to assign different identification data to different boarding pass data of the same passenger gen¬ erated during different check-in procedures, especially the additional information comprises information allowing to reproduce the order of the respective check-in pro- cedures of the passenger during which the respective boarding pass data are generated, preferably at least one sequential number and/or at least one piece of information con¬ cerning the point in time of generating of the respective set of boarding pass data.

80. System according to one of the claims 50 to 79, characterized in that the identification data, especially the at least one identifier of the mobile device and/or the passenger, is at least partly transmitted to the passenger service module (50) prior to the check-in procedure, preferably during the registration procedure, especially by the mobile device (84) and/or the passenger.

81. System according to one of the claims 50 to 80, characterized in that the identification data, especially the at least one random generated identifier and/or the additional information, is at least partly generated by the passenger service module (50) and/or the mobile device (84), preferably during and/or subsequent to the check- in procedure.

82. System according to claim 81, wherein the identification data at least partly generated by the mobile device (84) is transmitted to the passenger service module (50).

83. System according to one of the claims 80 to 82, wherein the identification data is stored by the passenger service module (50), especially in the registered user list (54), the eligible passenger list (74), the boarding passenger list (88) and/or the reservation passenger list.

84. System according to one of the claims 50 to 83, wherein the identification data, especially the identification data stored by the passenger ser¬ vice module (50), is at least partly transmitted to the passenger and/or the mobile de¬ vice (84) by the passenger service module (50).

85. System according to claim 84, wherein the identification data is at least partly transmitted to the passenger in form of at least one paper document, in form of at least one Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), in form of at least one acoustic message and/or in form of at least one elec- tronic message, preferably by using at least one e-mail, at least one SMS, at least one MMS, at least on FMS and/or at least one notification via a send/retrieve procedure.

86. System according to one of the claims 50 to 85, wherein the identification data is at least partly transmitted to the passenger service module (50), the mobile device (84) and/or the passenger and/or is at least partly stored by the mobile device (84) and/or the passenger service module (50) in encrypted form.

87. System according to one of the claims 50 to 86, wherein the identification data is at least partly and at least indirectly communicated to the identification device, especially the identification data is at least partly communicated to a person operating a respective identification device.

88. System according to one of the claims 50 to 87, wherein after communication of the identification data to the identification device the identifi¬ cation device transmits the identification data at least partly to the passenger service module (50), preferably via a wireless connection, like a wireless local Area Network (WLAN), an optical connection and/or an electromagnetic connection, and/or a wired connection.

89. System according to claim 88, wherein after receiving of the identification data the passenger service module (50) retrieves the boarding pass data assigned to the identification data.

90. System according to claim 89, wherein the passenger service module (50) sends at least partly the boarding pass data to the identification device, especially to allow a verification of the passenger prior to board¬ ing of an transport vehicle.

91. System according to claim 89, wherein the identification device transmits additional information concerning the boarding pass data, like departure gate and/or terminal information data and/or flight information data, especially concerning a flight number, a departure time and/or a destination loca¬ tion, wherein the passenger service module verifies the additional information with the retrieved boarding pass data and preferably transmits the result of this verification to the identification device.

92. System according to one of the claims 50 to 91, wherein the identification device is located at the departure location, preferably at at least one baggage drop counter, especially for generating at least one bag tag, at at least one se¬ curity check location especially to check the identity of the passenger, at at least one location to generate a physical boarding pass and/or at at least one boarding gate.

93. System according to one of the claims 50 to 92, wherein at least one physical identification document, particularly a printed and/or machine readable paper document like a boarding pass and/or a bag tag for the passenger is generated by the identification device based on the boarding pass data, send by the passenger service module.

94. System according to claim 93, wherein the generating of the identification document comprises the printing of information onto a paper document and/or the writing of information onto a magnetic strip.

95. System according to one of the claims 50 to 94, wherein the communication of the identification data comprises reading of two-dimensional barcode information, the reading of an paper document, the acoustic transmitting of . information, especially the reading to a third person, the transfer of data via an infra¬ red link, the transfer of data via at least one short distance communication method, e.g. Bluetooth^® and/or short distance link (SDL), the transfer of data via a mobile network like GSM, CDMA, TDMA, GRPS, UMTS, HCSD and/or CSD, and/or the reading of an Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID).

96. .Software product comprising program code information to accomplish all steps ac¬ cording to one of the claims 1 to 46, in case the software product is executed by a computer processor.

97. Software product comprising program code information according to claim 96, stored on a computer-readable storage medium.

98. Software product comprising program code information stored on a storage medium to accomplish all steps according to one of the claims 1 to 46, in case the program is exe¬ cuted by a computer processor.