This post shows you how to add airplane boarding passes to the Passbook app and use them from your iPhone, letting you skip long airport check in lines!

Recently, I took a flight from Portland to Dallas for work. I don’t fly very often so I was excited to try out my airline’s iPhone app and connect it with Apple’s Passbook. I was pretty impressed by the experience and it ended up saving me a lot of time in the airport. In this post, I’ll show you how to do this for yourself on your next trip!

Step 1: Download and install your airline’s iOS app – My flight was with American Airlines, so that’s the app I’ll be using in this demonstration. However, most of the major airlines’ iOS apps integrate with Passbook, and should work similarly. See the bottom of this post for direct links to some commonly-used airlines.

Step 2: Sign in – After downloading and installing your airline’s app, you’ll need to sign in. For American Airlines, this meant I needed to create an AAdvantage account, something I was able to do right there in the app. From there I was able to use my flight’s record locator and my first and last name to look up and add my flight information to the app. You’ll likely follow a similar process if you’re using a different airline’s app. The goal, though, is to get the app to associate you with your flight information. If you reach a dead-end, many airlines have a help line that you can call to get help completing this process.

Step 3: Check in – The American Airlines app allowed me to check in for my flight 24-hours in advance. To do this, I hit the “Check In” button, selected the names I wanted to check in, and hit Check In.

Note that you don’t actually have to be at the airport to check in – I checked in it the night before in the comfort of my bedroom. Checking in ahead of time allows you to skip the long check in line at the airport, as long as you don’t have a checked bag. It was really nice to just walk directly to security rather than having to get my boarding pass printed at the desk or at a kiosk.

A side-note on checking in: Because my flight was booked along with with my two coworkers I had to check in all three of us to access my boarding pass. In this case, checking us all in didn’t present any problems for my coworkers when they arrived at the airport, but you might want to give your airline a call just in case if you find yourself in a similar situation.

Step 4: Add your boarding pass to Passbook – After checking in you’ll be able to access your boarding pass and add it directly to Passbook. In the American Airlines app, this is done by tapping “Boarding Pass,” which reveals your boarding pass.

You can add it to Passbook by tapping “Add” in the top right of your screen.

iOS will then display a cool animation of your boarding pass flying over to the Passbook app and sliding into your other passes. You can then tap on the boarding pass again to display it.

Step 5: Skip the lines and go through airport security – On the day of your flight, iOS will add your Boarding Pass to your lock screen via a notification. You can use this notification to quickly pull up your boarding pass when you arrive at the airport without even having to unlock your iPhone. Unlike normal notifications this one won’t disappear until you’ve successfully taken your flight, allowing you to access your boarding pass again and again from your lock screen.

When you arrive at the airport, as long as you don’t have any bags to check and just have carry-ons, you can proceed past the check in lines directly to airport security. When the TSA agent asks you for your ID and boarding pass, simply show them your ID card and swipe the notification on your iPhone to show your boarding pass. The agent will ask you to scan your iPhone’s screen using a scanner. Then you’ll be all set to go through security screening.

Step 6: Board your flight – Your boarding pass will display helpful information like your flight’s departure time, what gate your flight is boarding at, what boarding group you’re in, and what your seat number is. After you make it through airport security, head to the gate and wait for your flight to board. Once it’s your turn to board, the gate agent will ask you for your boarding pass. Again, display your boarding pass and scan your iPhone’s screen using the agent’s scanner. You’re all set! Enjoy your flight!

Note that for your return flight you’ll need to repeat this process from Step 4 on.

Here are some links to major airlines’ apps that support Passbook: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, United Airlines, and US Airways. For an exhaustive list, and for different kinds of companies that support Passbook, see this Wikipedia article.

The next time you fly, give Passbook a try! It will save you a ton of time and hassle at the airport!