Mobile Phone Paying for Airline Tickets

Airplane tickets will be payable by your mobile phones.

On July 18, 2002, Asiana Airline announced that it would provide the “mobile phone payment” service to customers who are using the Kookmin credit cards and mobile services starting with 016, 018 or 109.

Asiana also plans to extend the service to users of 011 and other credit cards.

Under the service, payment is made through the exchange of information between the in-built computer chips on the handsets and the infrared receptors installed at Asiana’s ticketing desks located within Korea.

Already in use are approximately 60,000 handsets that can function as credit cards. By the end of this year, the number will reach 1 million.

Kwang-Am Cheon iam@donga.com