Due to the high level of usage, Lufthansa has pushed forward the expansion of the mobile boarding card service to cover nearly 400 routes.

The extension of the mobile boarding card was announced by the project's partners, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and MindMatics AG. Around 7,000 consumers per week use the mobile check-in service, which was introduced in April 2008.

"MindMatics wants to offer innovative and secure mobile services to airline-partners such as Deutsche Lufthansa, and Lufthansa and MindMatics are working together very close to evaluate and develop the next level of mobile aviation services concerning usability and efficiency," said Felix Heimbrecht, vice president of mobile Internet services for MindMatics, Munich, Germany. "In the past some airlines introduced mobile services which did not fulfil the requirements of a 'full-service mobile' approach.

"Lufthansa and MindMatics are about to close these gaps to offer a unique and 360-degree mobile service portfolio for passengers," he said. "The entire customer lifecycle is reflected by the mobile services available."

As a result of customer interest, Lufthansa has moved forward the date of the third planned phase of the project -- the international use of the mobile boarding card.

Lufthansa recently started to operate the system for all European routes departing from Germany, as well as for flights from Amsterdam and Vienna to Germany.

At the same time, Lufthansa and its project partner MindMatics are planning numerous developments to the mobile portal.

The latest development allows immediate mobile check-in using the booking reference.

With the new service, Lufthansa customers can carry out the complete check-in process, including seat choice and boarding card collection, via their mobile phone on a large number of routes.

Many services are also available though the online check-in.

"The wide portfolio of mobile services helps Lufthansa to strengthen the customer relationships especially in the field of frequent business flyers, which are of course a very important target group for airlines in the mean of revenue per customer," Mr. Heimbrecht said. "The quality of the services produces an enormous viral marketing effect, especially in the preferred target group of frequent flyers and business travellers."

The mobile boarding card's technology is based on a 2D barcode, which is delivered to customers by e-mail or through an SMS link to their mobile phone.

The code gives direct access to the boarding gate and contains all relevant information, which can be read directly from the mobile phone screen with a scanner at boarding.

A printed boarding card is no longer necessary and there is no more waiting at the check-in desk or at ticket machines.

The portal can be found at http://mobile.lufthansa.com and also offers the opportunity to test the check-in and mobile boarding card on your own mobile phone.

MindMatics specializes in the development and implementation of mobile services.

MindMatics is active in three areas: mobile messaging and payment, mobile Internet and mobile marketing.

More than 500 businesses throughout Europe have realized their mobile services with MindMatics.

Customers include Unilever, T-Mobile, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, ProSieben and Vodafone.

"The challenge is to provide best service to mobile customers for Lufthansa, and this gives travellers easy check-in and lets them travel paperless," Mr. Heimbrecht said. "Every service which is available on a mobile phone as a mobile customer self-service -- like the paperless mobile boarding card -- does not require any further resources."