Airline introduces SMS check-in

Singapore Airlines has introduced check-in by SMS for frequent flyers and users of its website, from most cities in its global network.

The international airline has announced its SMS check-in service starts this month. Passengers can check in and confirm their seat allocation by mobile phone text message from 12 Singapore Airlines destinations, the company said.

Singapore Airlines said it would eventually extend the service to "most" cities to which it flies. PPS Club and KrisFlyer frequent flyers would be eligible, as well as registered users of the Singapore Airlines website.

Passengers must register on the Singapore Airlines website, www.singaporeair.com, and log in to the check-in notification by SMS section, the airline said.

Singapore Airlines would send an SMS alert 48 hours before their flight left the destination involved, it said.

Passengers who replied by SMS two to 48 hours before departure would be confirmed as checked in and allocated a seat number via another SMS, the airline said.

Singapore Airlines said passengers that checked in by SMS would then only need to collect a boarding pass and check their bags at a special counter at the airport before flying.

"With phone, internet and fax services, the SMS check-in service is part of a suite of mobile services Singapore Airlines provides," the airline said in a statement.

The company said that airports exempt from the service were Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai in India, Colombo in Sri Lanka and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

Also, the SMS check-in service would not be available to customers using mobile phones subscribed to service providers in Japan, Korea, China, Canada and the US, the airline said.