Southwest introduces wireless check-in

Josh Roberts believes the best trips involve long hikes and muddy boots. His life goals haven't changed much since he was a kid: He still wants to be Indiana Jones when he grows up.

Follow him on Twitter (@joshwhowrites) and Instagram (@joshwhowrites), and visit his website (joshrobertsbooks.com) or Goodreads page to learn more about his forthcoming novel.

Josh joined SmarterTravel in 2001, and is an active member in both the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

In addition to SmarterTravel, he has written for USA Today, The Boston Globe, Yahoo! Travel, The Huffington Post, Airfarewatchdog, TripAdvisor, Jetsetter, ABC News, Oyster, and Business Insider. His travel photography can be seen in Britain and Ireland's Best Wild Places, published by Penguin UK.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "A lacrosse ball. It's small, lightweight, and works wonders on loosening up tight muscles."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Being the first to discover an ancient lost city. Failing that, visiting as many of the already-discovered ancient ruins as possible."

Travel Motto: "Not all those who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle."

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On Monday, low-cost king Southwest introduced another innovation for travelers: wireless check-in. The move targets harried business travelers (or, for that matter, harried travelers of any sort) and provides Web-enabled mobile devices immediate access to flight check-in information, as well as the option to cancel boarding passes if necessary.

Kevin Krone, Southwest’s Vice President of Marketing, says, “We wanted to offer our customers the convenience of checking in for their flight wherever they may be.” To do so, customers can log into mobile.southwest.com, then skip the airport line and head directly to the nearest Rapid Check-In kiosk to print their boarding passes.

“This is just one more example of how we are striving the make the travel experience even easier for our customers,” says Krone. Maybe, but personally, I’m still more impressed by JetBlue’s new coffee initiative.

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