Update: According to a news release from Delta, customers are not only able to automatically check in through the Fly Delta app, but also add checked bags, change their seat assignments, and buy upgrades.
"Our customers have told us Delta can eliminate some of their stress associated with upcoming travel if they know their boarding pass is ready and can see their seat assignment," Rhonda Crawford, Delta's vice president of global distribution and digital strategy, said in the statement. "Auto check-in provides that peace of mind in a simple, automated solution that also saves valuable time."
This story was originally published on October 16, 2017, at 1:40 p.m.
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Slowly but surely, airline check-in technology is inching toward the 21st century. Delta Air Lines just became the first U.S. airline to let customers automatically check in for their flights through a mobile app, according to The Verge.
If you have the latest version of the Fly Delta app, the airline will now automatically send you a push notification or email 24 hours before departure, through which you can open the app and get your boarding pass — much more convenient than the typical online process. This means no more clicking and clicking just to get your boarding pass. While the iOS app has this capability, the Android app does not as of yet.
The Verge noted that while JetBlue did a brief automatic check-in pilot program back in 2014 and German carrier Lufthansa has an automatic check-in program that sends passengers their boarding passes through text or email, this is the first service of its kind in the United States.
We've reached out to Delta for more details, and will update this story as they become available.