Lufthansa's Self-Boarding Gate. Image via USA Today By Dominik Mentzos.
Step by step the United States is beginning to catch up to European travel advances. It was announced over the weekend in USA Today, that Continental is beginning to test self-boarding at its hub in Houston. Instead of having gate agents take your boarding pass and scaning them for you, the self-boarding process will have you scan your own barcode. This way, airline agents won't have to waste their time on such a mundane task. While some may question whether this will pose any further security risks, Greg Soule, a TSA spokesman "determined it does not impact the security of the traveling public. All passengers are screened at airport checkpoints prior to arriving at boarding gates." Scanning your own boarding pass in Europe has become rather commonplace, after Lufthansa began using this method over seven years ago. You won't have to worry about your grandparents struggling to scan their tickets, an agent will be there to ensure that things run smoothly.
