JetBlue continues to lead the industry as the first domestic airline to launch a fully-integrated biometric self-boarding gate for international flights

Latest biometric enhancement builds on the success of the airline’s expanding biometric boarding programs in Boston, New York, Fort Lauderdale and Washington, D.C.

New York | November 15, 2018– JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU), in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), today announced the roll-out of its first fully-integrated biometric self-boarding gate at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Customers flying to select international destinations from Terminal 5 at New York-JFK can now board even faster with a dual lane biometric self-boarding gate, which uses facial recognition technology to verify travelers with a quick photo capture.

JetBlue’s new biometric self-boarding gate comes on the heels of the airline’s successful biometric boarding trials at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and New York-JFK. This week, JetBlue also became the first airline to partner with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to launch a one-step biometric boarding experience for customers flying to Nassau, Bahamas (NAS) from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

Since the program’s launch in 2017, more than 50,000 customers have participated in biometric boarding on 500+ flights across all four cities. There is no pre-registration required. Customers can simply step up to the camera for a photo match and make their way onto the aircraft.

“The success of JetBlue’s biometric boarding program is a testament to the airline’s ongoing work to create a personal, helpful and simple experience,” said Ian Deason, senior vice president of customer experience, JetBlue. “The boarding touchpoint is an area that needs innovation and we feel biometrics will change the future of air travel as we look to create a more seamless journey throughout the airport.”

This latest biometric enhancement complements JetBlue’s existing self-service efforts, including self-service lobbies with interactive kiosks that feature self-bag tag and self-bag drop capabilities. The airline plans to expand its biometric boarding program to more international flights from New York-JFK, Boston and Fort Lauderdale, and expects to pilot a biometric bag drop station at New York-JFK early next year.

Multimodal biometrics to streamline travel and deliver industry innovation

Long Beach, California | September 26, 2017– Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic), the world leader in inflight entertainment and connectivity, and Tascent, Inc., a biometrics and identity innovation company, today announced their intent to enter into a strategic partnership to bring biometric passenger identification to every stage of the passenger journey – both on the ground and in the air.

The companies will combine Tascent’s biometric identity devices, software and services with Panasonic Avionics Corporation’s in-flight entertainment and communications systems to provide streamlined, easy-to-use identity recognition before departure, during flight, and upon arrival. These combined capabilities coupled with enabling technologies from Panasonic Corporation will support industry trends toward smart airports and the connected passenger journey, while bringing innovations such as seatback immigration, streamlined personalization and in-flight biometric payment within reach.

Together, Panasonic and Tascent will bring additional value to Panasonic’s aviation customers through improved personalization and convenience for passengers, helping to reduce friction points for passengers and airlines from the journey’s start to finish.

Chris Lundquist, Vice President Corporate Strategic Initiatives at Panasonic Avionics Corporation, said, “Our partnership with Tascent is yet another example of our vision for the connected aircraft and its benefits becoming a reality for the commercial aviation community. With this agreement, Panasonic and Tascent will create unique offerings that use biometrics to personalize the in-flight experience and beyond. We look forward to working with Tascent on a host of capabilities that will take the traveler journey to new heights.”

Alastair Partington, founder and co-CEO of Tascent, said: “We are excited to combine our specialist knowledge of biometrics with Panasonic Avionics’ outstanding track-record of air travel innovation. Tomorrow’s air travelers will be best served by an aviation industry that adopts biometrics technologies in an intelligent, personal and thoughtful way. Tascent and Panasonic share a joint vision of an exciting future in which biometrics technologies improve the air traveler experience for all.”

Lisbon | June 1, 2017– The Indonesian Direktorat Jenderal Imigrasi PT Jaya Teknik Indonesia and its partner, Vision-Box, the worldwide leader in Passenger Experience and Automated Border Control solutions, inaugurated an advanced biometric Automated Border Control infrastructure system at Soerkarno-Hatta International Airport’s (CGK) brand-new terminal 3.

The Vision-Box state-of-the-art biometric border control solution consists of 32 vb i- matchTM Automated Border Control eGates for eligible Indonesian nationals self- service border clearance and 10 vb e-passTM portable biometric suitcases for enhanced mobility in passenger clearance. Additionally, it includes 32 individual fingerprint and passport scanners to expedite the processing of foreign travelers at manual counters. The integrated Automated Border Control solution provides higher accuracy in passenger identity verification at the border, while increasing airport security and passenger processing capacity.

The ABC solution is considered a centerpiece of the Indonesian government’s plan to develop new economic opportunities. It is designed to ease the strain on the country’s transportation, tourism, and aviation industries, while increasing its commercial appeal.

Completion of the 3rd terminal, as well as renovations to Terminals 1 and 2, allows CGK to increase its passenger traffic significantly. By the end of 2017, the airport is slated to reach a targeted 61 million annual passengers. This is a remarkable 84% increase from its current 33 million annual passenger capacity. Already serving passengers since August 2016, Terminal 3 will reach its full capacity of 25 million yearly passengers once completed in 2017.

The ABC solution provides CGK and the Direktorat Jenderal Imigrasi a modern technology cornerstone for its new terminal to quickly and accurately process arriving and departing passengers while enhancing airport security. Together, these cutting- edge authentication and verification systems represent the first major deployment of Automated Border Control eGates in the country. It is also the first-of-its-kind mobile border control system for immigration officers to efficiently process passengers, taking advantage of a quick and secure user-centric system.

Washington | May 2, 2017– Exhibiting at Connect:ID, Vision-Box has unveiled a new integrated Biometric Exit solution which allows border authorities to efficiently collect the necessary information to assist in identifying persons of interest based on accurate identity verification and rules-based monitoring of travel patterns.

With the tremendous growth of the number of travelers and national entry and exit points, many countries are vulnerable to illegal immigration, identity fraud, smuggling, or trafficking. All the while legitimate travelers line up in long queues to get to their families, reach their holiday destination or to get to their business meetings. At a time when security threats haunt international borders around the world, one of today’s greatest challenges is to find a pragmatic balance between security and facilitation.

An effective immigration system requires an end-to-end process that collects exit data and correlates it with entry data. The goal is to ensure that a traveler cannot depart using someone else’s identity or have someone depart on his or her behalf. Without biometrically verified exit data, there is no meaningful way to accurately determine whether foreign nationals have overstayed his or her visa. The challenge is to collect and match relevant data in a reliable and efficient manner.

Exhibiting at Connect:ID, in Washington, Vision-Box has unveiled an integrated Biometric Entry-Exit system which allows Border Authorities to efficiently collect the necessary information to assist in apprehending illegal immigrants and over stayers based on accurate identity verification and rule-based monitoring of travel patterns. Building upon the company’s renowned innovative approach to integrated Border Management and Traveler Facilitation, the system features a powerful orchestration platform connecting different land, air and sea border immigration systems with traveler- centric self-service touchpoints for biometric verification at every national Entry-Exit point.

An Entry-Exit system is, however, only as strong as its weakest link. As such, the physical touchpoints used by passengers must comply with appropriate specifications. The most recent self-boarding gate technology launched by Vision-Box paves the way for the highest standards in on-the-move matching accuracy and efficiency against biometric systems of record while adhering to pragmatic security protocol focused on facilitated travel. In the new paradigm, the creators of the first eGate in the world have taken it to the next level, seamlessly merging previously disparate processes into harmonized, efficient passenger facilitation with the benefit of biometric authentication.

“The successful future of integrated border control relies on stakeholders collaboration, engaged in the joint management of a privacy responsible ecosystem with the passenger at the epicenter, guaranteeing a sustainable, safe and effective entry/exit process, unleashing the power of biometrics to the next level”, stated Jean-François Lennon, Vice President for Global Business Development and Sales of Vision-Box. The company will be demonstrating the technological basis for the new Biometric Entry-Exit solution at stand #506.