A study by Cambridge University and SITA, an IT provider to the airline industry, suggest airlines could save up to £306 million and reduce flight delays by tracking passengers and getting them to the departure gates in better time.

According to CBR Online, mobile phones already have the potential to include boarding passes, baggage tracking and payment data.

Jim Peters, Chief Technology Officer at SITA said,

“Digital travellers will have on-demand access to a range of mobile-enabled services such as real time flight updates, self-service booking, check-in and boarding, and mobile payments.”

Not surprisingly, the report also found that mobile phone technology could be affectively used by airlines to promote other services.  A trial of this service at Manchester Airport resulted in 45% increase in sales via redemption vouchers.

Once again it looks like advances in mobile technology to give more power to the individual is a weigh off against mobile intrusion.  With these kind of services over the next few years will undoubtedly come an massive increase in mobile advertising and mobile spam.