Paperless boarding schemes aren’t exactly revolutionary, but they’re still far from common at US airports. Now, however, Continental Airlines has announced that it will be experimenting with a cell phone-based boarding pass setup at Houston’s Intercontinental Airport. This will enable single passengers (as in one bar code per person, per device) to show security personnel a jumbled mixture of blocks alongside their ID in order to board the plane. The three-month trial program will allow people to receive a paper pass should their mobile/PDA run out of juice before boarding time approaches. While hard plans for future use aren’t yet laid out, the process could spread to other airlines and airports if things go smoothly.

Here’s how the system works. The two-dimensional bar code, a jumble of squares and rectangles, stores the passenger’s name and flight information. A TSA screener confirms the bar code’s authenticity with a handheld scanner. Passengers still need to show photo identification. The electronic boarding pass also works at airport gates.

The system has some limits. For instance, only passengers traveling alone can use the electronic pass. Continental is trying to upgrade the technology so that it can accommodate multiple passengers traveling together. Continental will be the first airline in the United States to try this system, but Air Canada has been offering paperless boarding since September.