Continental Airlines is now offering paperless boarding passes on several major routes. Air Canada has had a similar program in place since September.

Continental is the first US carrier to gain TSA approval for such a program. The agency cited enhanced security as the primary reason its timing of the approval.

The utility and convenience of electronic boarding passes will be clear to frequent travelers who already use advance check-in services to print their own passes. Expect to see paperless ticketing as an option on all major US airlines next year and donít be surprised if this creeps into other industries that use printed tickets. Think Fandango.

Dan Neumann